Alasdair Gray reads The Star, one of his most popular short stories from Unlikely Stories Mostly

In the last year of my uncle Alasdair’s life he read excerpts from his favourite books to me - as we sat together at his home in Glasgow. These recordings are very special to me and I want to share them with you. You can visit Alasdair Gray's last home in an interactive 360 video experience A Gray's place alasdairgraysp...
In this podcast Alasdair reads The Star to his sister Mora - my mother. It's one of his best loved short stories and her own personal favourite - although Alasdair confesses he has rather gone off it because so many other people like it!
I couldn't have made this podcast without the help of family and friends:
Alasdair Gray - uncle
Mora Rolley - mother
David Thomas - technical advice and support
Berniya Hamie - closing piano
Matthew Robinson - rereads logos
Featured book: Unlikely Stories Mostly by Alasdair Gray. If you have any questions or thoughts please do leave a comment. And there are more Alasdair Gray inspired projects in A Gray Space | A creative space inspired by Alasdair Gray: www.alasdairgr...

[@bel1eve934]

a fantastic find - thank you

[@elpepe1918]

Thank you for the work

[@davidhasson7578]

Lovely... and today I managed to get hold of a screenprint of the drawing. The story (especially in his voice) and the drawing make me happy. I once took Alasdair and Morag to dinner. It was an unforgettable experience!

[@alasdairgrayspace]

What a lovely memory - how did the dinner come about and where did you go? And you're lucky to get a copy of the print as I think they're quite hard to find now, aren't they?

[@davidhasson7578]

@@alasdairgrayspace I was teaching architecture at strathclyde uni, and I used Alasdair´s novels and stories to encourage the students to think more deeply about life in a city. We organised an international event called "Literature and a City" and Alasdair gave a talk (in the Fruitmarket). Then we went for dinner in Cathedral House. He was gregarious and entertaining: telling stories and reciting poetry (a lot of Tom Leonard´s I seem to remember) . Morag was grumpy, but seemed to enjoy herself. It was in 2012. I think.

[@davidhasson7578]

And yes very hard to find. By pure luck I found it at a recent auction at Mctears. I had given up hope of ever finding one for sale. Mine is 41 of 125.

[@alasdairgrayspace]

@@davidhasson7578 Ha! That all sounds very true to form. ☺

[@alasdairgrayspace]

Alasdair gave us each a print of The Star when they were first done - but I think from memory it was an early version that he wasn't going to use because (also typically) he wasn't happy with the colours.

[@harveymain664]

I read it

[@harveymain664]

Teams