The Living PhotographBy Jackie Kay

The Poet : Jackie Kay

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1961

Scottish mother Nigerian fatherAdopted by a white coupleRaised in Glasgow

Studied English at the University of Stirling, Scotland

Currently a professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University, England

A Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Stanza 1Describing her grandmother in a

photograph – ‘is’Standing tall and straight, tall,

broderie anglaise shirt – shows a woman of class; upper or middle class

White hand in black hand – come from a mixed race family

Sharp blue eyes – isn’t afraid of death

Stanza 2‘was’ – how she remembers her

grandmother used to beHas become smaller in size‘Her soup forgot to boil’ –

forgetful, senile, signs of dementia

She passes away and goes to a place that is unimaginable to the persona

Stanza 3

‘is’ – in the photograph (still living in her heart)

Feels her grandmother’s presence whenever she looks at the photograph

She wants to remember her as healthy, not old and fragile

Theme:

The positive image people create in remembrance of a departed person

Coping with grief and loss – one way is to hang on to the good memories of a person

Moral Values

We must strive for close family relationships

We should love and appreciate our family members while they are still alive

We must not dwell on the past too much

We should learn to let go of the dead

Questions

How are the people in the photograph related?

What does the line, My small grandmother is tall there mean?

What is the grandmother wearing in the photograph?

QuestionsWhat does the line, white hand in

black hand suggest?Which line in the poem tells us

the grandmother has passed away?

Name one theme of the poem. Provide evidence from the text to support your answer. Theme: Evidence:

QuestionsWhy do you think the persona

describe the place that grandmothers go as awful?

Name one moral value you have learned from the poem. Provide evidence from the text that shows this moral value. Moral value :

Evidence :

Questions

Do you like the poem? Give one reason to support your response.Response:Reason :