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R. Clifford Blair
Cliff’s family, as well as his wife’s, settled in Florida almost two hundred years ago. He grew up in the rich Southern tradition of storytelling and considers himself as much storyteller as author...view moreCliff’s family, as well as his wife’s, settled in Florida almost two hundred years ago. He grew up in the rich Southern tradition of storytelling and considers himself as much storyteller as author. While his father died when Cliff was nine years old, he can still recite many of the stories, poems, songs and homilies his father passed down to him.For a number of years during his childhood Cliff was mischaracterized as having an intellectual or learning deficit, but was finally diagnosed at age 16 with a rare eye disease that had significantly impacted his vision. He was subsequently sent to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind from which he graduated in 1957.After a series of menial jobs including that of a trash collector in a box factory, the Florida Council for the Blind sent him to a rehabilitation center in Daytona Beach, Florida, to assess whether he might be trained for gainful employment. As the result of a series of evaluations carried out there he was enrolled at the University Of Florida but left after one semester of study.Some years later he enrolled in the University Of South Florida where he earned bachelors, masters and a PhD degree. He subsequently joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University and later returned to the University Of South Florida where his primary duties involved teaching and research. He eventually became interim chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics.Now retired, Cliff lives with his wife and two dogs on a beautiful lake in the Appalachian mountains of northeast Tennessee. He has laid aside the expository writing which characterized his academic career for short story and novel writing—a long held ambition. In addition to assisting his wife in caring for stray dogs and other injured “critters” found in the mountains, Cliff enjoys his writing and is diligently working to develop a close meaningful relationship with his hammock. Shadows Behind The Wall is his first novel.view less