Alasdair Gray (1934-2019) Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Riddrie-born, reared in the years of War
Alasdair Gray was evacuated twice
Perth shire, then on to Lanark shire

He is Glasgow's William Blake, a visionary,
His mural for the auditorium of the Òran Mór
Is one of our country's most magnificent works
His plays were broadcast on radio and TV

Philip Hobsbaum included Gray in his nest of writers
His golden clutch of eggs
Who's Who of Scotland's very finest writers
Kelman, Lochhead, Leonard,
Black Aonghas MacNeacail, the living voice of the Gael

He was Glasgow's Artist Recorder
Drawing places, poets, politicians, the general public

Shall we sound the roll call of his children?
His own creations?

Lanark, Janine, The Fall of Kelvin Walker
Poor Things, Old Men In Love, The Ends of Our Tethers,
Ten Tales Tall & True, Old Negatives

The Loss of the Golden Silence
Homeward Bound: A Trio for Female Chauvinists
Sam Lang and Miss Watson: A One Act Sexual Comedy
McGrotty and Ludmilla
Working Legs: A Play for Those Without Them

Speaking of physical parts,
He instructed his body be gifted for medical science

Will anatomists find within him the Scottish Disease?
That endemic Caledonian Antisyzygy?