Work samples

  • PLAYGROUND RULES.pdf
    Three young black men sit across from a newly renovated playground contemplating the changes in their neighborhood, the city and their futures.
  • HOUSEMATES.pdf
    On the eve of a protest for Freddie Grey, Kelly finds out a startling truth that hurts her. In the midst of her violent reaction, she realizes fighting for justice is much more important.
  • TUNNEL VISION.pdf
    After a strange occurrence in a train tunnel, a writer's discovers there is more to life than just survival.
  • BLUE MARBLE.pdf
    Pearl loves her sister, Sissy, but sometimes their differences get in the way. When the body of a young black girl is found in a vacant lot, Pearl is scared. It's almost midnight and Sissy hasn't come home.

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About Clynthia

Baltimore City
Clynthia Burton Graham is a passionate fiction writer who explores the emotional, impactful, and pivotal moments in the lives of people of color. Her inspiration has been honed through the years. From hiding under the kitchen table listening to “grown folk’s business” to walking the streets of Baltimore conversing with the homeless and the privileged, she has cultivated the art of storytelling in her prose. 
 
 She received honorable mention for her story, Miss Sage’s Anniversary… more
View Clynthia's Resume
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Baltimore City Blues

​Patrick Geddes, a nineteenth century urban planner stated, “A city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time”. Baltimore City Blues short story collection encompasses his quote. Each story, out of the full collection, is different, just like the people who provide the underpinning for the constant thrum of the city.

​My inspiration for this collection came from conversations and observations while walking the streets of Baltimore.  Often, through the news and outside versions of what Baltimore is and is not, the depth of their stories are eclipsed.  From the homeless lady begging for change at the gas station to the children playing stick ball in the streets to the tired mother's  and father walking home from work,  the rhythm of the city is complex and often sounds like the riff of a blues song, in which there is sadness , love and hope.

I seek to publish this work in the coming year.

  • RUBY'S WALL SINGER.pdf
    When life or death don't matter, music is a healing force.
  • UNLIKELY ARROW.pdf
    Mira learns that age and past hurt are barriers that love can penetrate.
  • SEVENTH WINDOW.pdf
    An immigrant couple fleeing potential trouble in their country find that trouble has found them in an apartment building in Baltimore.

    • DARK ROADS

    ​Dark Roads is a collection of short stories invoking the spirit of  Toni Morrison's concept of "playing in the dark". My inspiration for this collection was spurred by black voices underrepresented in literature. I wanted to explore defiant moments and moments that defined the actions of characters, not just the moments that exalt, but the ones that show the complexity of how culture, beliefs and circumstances influence outcomes.
    • MISS SAGE'S ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.pdf
      On the annual day of Miss Sage's anniversary celebration, a visit from an insurance man brings a vivid flashback and the possibility that he might do her harm.
    • SCATTER ROAD.pdf
      Some roads are desolate and foreboding. Scatter Road, steeped in the blood of history, is one of them.
    • GOD'S WILL.pdf
      Bessie is a dreamer, whose dreams help others, but provide her little relief from a hard life.
    • MOMENT OF DEFIANCE.pdf
      Sometimes freedom can only be achieved through death. On the shore, waiting to receive the cargo from a slave ship, Mattie, chooses freedom.