The poem describes a photograph of the poet's grandmother. In the photo, the grandmother appears tall and dignified in a broderie anglaise shirt, representing her mixed-race family heritage. As the poet remembers her grandmother, she became smaller and more forgetful with signs of dementia, until passing away. The poet takes comfort in remembering her grandmother through the photograph, which allows her to preserve the image of her grandmother in better health.

1. The Living
Photograph
By Jackie Kay

2. The Poet : Jackie Kay
 Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1961
 Scottish mother Nigerian father
 Adopted by a white couple
 Raised in Glasgow

3.  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)

4. Stanza 1
 Describing 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

5. Stanza 2
 ‘was’ – how she remembers her
grandmother used to be
 Has 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. Questions
 What 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:

11. Questions
 Why 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 :

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