GRANDMOTH

ER

THE LIVING
PHOTOGRAP
H
BY JACKIE
KAY

ABOUT THE POET

Born Edinburgh, 1961
Scottish Mother & Nigerian Father
Adopted by Helen and John Kay at birth;
brought up in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.
Studied English at Stirling University
Son, Matthew born 1988
Contacted birth mother while pregnant
Met birth mother - Elizabeth - in 1991
Met birth father - Jonathan O - in 2003
MBE for services to literature in 2006
Currently lives in Manchester
Professor of Creative Writing at
Newcastle University.

The Living Photograph

M y s m a l l g r a n d m o t h e r i s t a l l t h e re ,
S t r a i g h t - b a c k , w h i t e b ro d e r i e a n g l a i s e s h i r t ,
P l e a t e d s k i r t , fl a t s h o e s , g re y b u n ,
A k i n d , o l d s m i l e a ro u n d h e r e y e s .
Her big hand hands hold mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her even death in the eye.
I t w a s t r u e a ft e r a l l , t h a t l o o k .
My tall grandmother became small.
H e r b a c k ro u n d a n d h u n c h e d .
H e r s o u p f o rg o t t o b o i l .
S h e w e n t t o t h e a w f u l p l a c e g r a n d m o t h e r g o.
S o m e w h e re u n k n o w n , u n t h i n ka b l e .
B u t t h e re s h e i s s t i l l ,
I n t h e p h o t o w i t h m e a t t h re e ,
T h e c r i n k l e d s m i l e i s s t i l l l i v i n g , b re a t h i n g .
J a c k i e Ka y

LITERAL MEANING
Stanza 1
My small grandmother is tall there,
Straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,
Pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
A kind, old smile around her eyes.
Her big hand hands hold mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her even death in
the eye.

Stanza 2
It was true after all, that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.
She went to the awful place grandmother
go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.

Stanza 3
But there she is still,
In the photo with me at three,
The crinkled smile is still living, breathing

In the photograph, the persona describes

her grandmother as tall and well-dressed
with a kind smile. Her greying hair is tied
up in a bun. Her smile comes from her
eyes. On her deathbed, she held the
personas small black hand in her big
white hand. She was not afraid to leave
the world.

The persona accepts that her

grandmother has gone to the other world,
as all grandmothers do. Her grandmother,
who was of a tall stature become small,
hunched and forgetful.

The persona at the age three had taken a

photograph with her grandmother. When
she looks at the photograph she feels
grandmothers presence. To the persona,
her grandmother is still very much alive
and smiling at her.

FIGURATIVE MEANING

Stanza 1
My small grandmother is tall there,
Straight-back, white broderie anglaise
shirt,
Pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
A kind, old smile around her eyes.
Her big hand hands hold mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her even death in
the eye.

As we start off with our life, we stand tall and

confident. We make sure everything is carried out
properly without a flaw. We approach every
situation with a smile even as we offer
encouragement to others and receive support in
return. When face with an inevitable situation, we
face the inevitability bravely.

Stanza 2
It was true after all, that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.
She went to the awful place grandmother
go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.

Stanza 3
But there she is still,
In the photo with me at three,
The crinkled smile is still living, breathing

We can feel the onset of inevitable as we look

around and notice the signs of changes. We begin
to lose our grip as things change beyond our
control. We may even forget to do certain things.
But finally, the situation is out of our hands and we
have to let go.

But sometimes there may be a memento to

remind us f what we used to be. The memento
helps to keep our memories alive.

THEME
Close family ties
Grandmother-granddaughter relationship
Love and appreciation
Coping with grief and loss
Unwillingness to let go of someone close
Value of photograph

POINT OF VIEW
1 s t person point of view
- the persona uses the words my and me

TONE AND MOOD

Appreciative and thankful
Thoughtful and loving
Sense of strong family ties

LITERARY ELEMENTS
a) Imagery

b) Contrast

Descriptive image of
the grandmother
when she was young
in the photograph
(1 s t stanza) and
when she became
old (2 n d stanza)

Two contrasting
images of
grandmother in the
1 s t and 2 n d stanza
e.g. tall, straight
back
VS
small, hunched

LITERARY ELEMENTS
c) Symbolism

a photograph is
used to fl ashback
the sweet memory
of a grandmother by
her grandchild

d) Irony
The title presents
irony in denying
death. The
grandmother is
dead. However, her
photographs bring
her back to life.

MORAL VALUES

We must strive for close family relationship with our

grandparents and parents
We should love and appreciate close family members
while they are still alive
We must learn to let go of the dead
We must not dwell on the past too much

VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY

THANK YOU!!

sf2015