Brief Biography
Clem Byard is a writer and researcher based in the inner-western suburbs of Naarm (Melbourne). His current project is a work of creative non-fiction about the life of the esoteric author Fred Gettings (1937–2013).
Clem developed his writing and research skills during his fifteen-year career as a psychosocial nurse-researcher. He managed multi-site NHMRC-funded studies at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Cancer Council Victoria, where he also served on the Institutional Research Review Committee and the Reconciliation Action Plan Subcommittee.
Clem is a former executive member of the Australian Haiku Society and remains an active contributor to the international haiku community.
Current Project
A Broken Pentagram: Fred Gettings, an Occult Life
Prolific yet secretive, uncompromising and urbane, Fred Gettings (1937–2013) authored dozens of books, under his own name and various pseudonyms, before his sudden death in 2013. His beautifully illustrated books span the breadth of Western esoteric traditions: alchemy, demonology, astrology and tarot. His works The Occult in Art (1978) and Secret Symbolism in Occult Art (1987) explore arcane symbols concealed in famous works of art and architecture. His most important work, the Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils (1981) is the unrivalled authority on the symbolic languages of the occult.
Intrigue surrounds the occult thriller The Zealator (1998). Published variously under the names “David Overson” and “Mark Hedsel”, the work is the subject of intense speculation on among students of the occult who believe the text to be a thinly veiled autobiographical account of Gettings’ own initiation into an occult society.
A Broken Pentagram is a work of creative non-fiction in the tradition of A. J. A. Symons’ The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography (1934). A Broken Pentagram will draw on the study of rare texts and magical objects from institutional collections, combined with textual analysis of Gettings own work, and a recently unearthed cache of personal correspondence spanning four decades. This project will illuminate the life of this fascinating, though largely overlooked, scholar of the unseen.
Previous Project
Cactus Haiku: Australian Symbols in English Language Haiku (2020–2025)
A digital monograph comprising a collected series of more than 40 essays and original haiku. This work explores the use of Australian kigo (symbolic keywords) in English-language haiku. Cactus Haiku.
Haiku Publications
“Lemon-Scented Gum” and “Agapanthus in Bloom” (haiku). In Reeves L., Proctor V., and Scott. R., eds. 2023. Under the Same Moon, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology. Hobart: Forty South Publishing. Under the Same Moon.
“Photinia Hedge” (haiku). 2021. Echidna Tracks. Echidna Tracks.
“Lemon-Scented Gum” (haiku). 2020. Echidna Tracks. Echidna Tracks.
Scholarly Publications
Ugalde, A., O’Callaghan, C., Byard, C., Breen, S., MacKay, J., Boltong, A., Davoren, S., et al. 2018. “Does Implementation Matter if Comprehension Is Lacking? A Qualitative Investigation into Perceptions of Advanced Care Planning in People with Cancer.” Supportive Care in Cancer 26, no. 11: pp. 3765–3771.
“Cancer-Related Hair Loss and the Cancer Council Victoria Wig Service.” Personal Website, 2017. Cancer-Related Hair Loss and the Cancer Council Victoria Wig Service.
Haiku Presentations
“Saijiki Australis — Towards an Australian Haiku Almanac.” Paper presented at Haiku Down Under. 7–9 October 2022. Haiku Down Under.
“Mindfulness in 17 Syllables, an Introduction to Haiku.” Presentation at Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC. 2021.
Scholarly Presentations
Byard, C., Lane, K., Marco D., Kirkland, T., Langenbach, S., Wynne, R., & Boltong, A. 2017. “I feel like a normal person – Cancer-Related Hair Loss and the Cancer Council Victoria Wig Service.” Paper presented at the 13th Behavioural Research in Cancer Control (BRCC) Conference, Melbourne, VIC, May 3–5.
Byard, C., Lane, K., Marco, D., Kirkland, T., Barson-Cole, B., Cacador, M., Camiling, et al. 2016. “Evaluating the impact of a cancer council operated wig service for patients experiencing cancer related hair loss.” Poster presented at the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting, Gold Coast, QLD, November 15–17.
Byard, C. & Eakin, E. 2016. “Translating research into practice: The healthy living after cancer partnership project.” Paper presented at the VCCC Survivorship Conference, Melbourne, VIC, October 13.
Byard, C., Breen, S., & Aranda, S. 2013. “A Phase II Randomised Controlled Trial of the Patient Remote Intervention and Symptom Management System (PRISMS).” Paper presented at the 11th Behavioural Research in Cancer Control (BRCC) Conference, Adelaide, SA, May 8–10.
Byard, C., Breen, S., & Aranda, S. 2013. “The Patient Remote Intervention and Symptom Management System (PRISMS): Interim Results From A Phase II Clinical Trial.” Symposium presentation and poster at the International Society for Internet Interventions 6th Scientific Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA, May 16–18.
Byard, C., Kamateros, R., Breen, S., & Aranda, S. 2013. “Patient Remote Intervention and Symptom Management System (PRISMS) a Case Study.” Paper presented at the 5th Annual National Cancer Centres Symposium, Melbourne, VIC, December 9.
Education
Master of Nursing Science, The University of Melbourne (2008–2010)
Bachelor of Arts (English), La Trobe University (1991–1994)
Contact: clem.byard@icloud.com