Poetry: Old Negatives

Alasdair Gray rereads

In 1993 Alasdair sent his sister Mora (my mother) a cassette tape in reply to one of her letters. On it he reads some of her favourites poems - along with his own personal selection - from his collection Old Negatives (published the same year).

I started recording Alasdair in what turned out to be the last year of my uncle's life - so I could spend more time with him and share with you the very great pleasure of sitting quietly at home with Alasdair listening to him read and talk about books. Mum mentioned the existence of this earlier recording after Alasdair's death and kindly allowed me to share it.

You can find out more about the story behind Alasdair Gray rereads in A Gray Space a creative space inspired by Alasdair Gray.

I couldn't have made these podcasts without the help of my family and friends:
Alasdair Gray and Mora Rolley
David Thomas - technical advice and support
Berniya Hamie – closing piano
Matthew Robinson – rereads logos

Featured book: Old Negatives: 4 Verse Sequences by Alasdair Gray. You can follow @alasdairgrayrereads on Instagram for news, pictures and previews of upcoming episodes. And if you have any questions or thoughts to share I’d love to hear them – so please do leave a comment.