Lanark 1982 an unofficial Alasdair Gray website Sixteen Occasional Poems (2000)

Contents: First of March 1990 Winter Housekeeping Waiting in Galway South Africa April 1994 Genesis Postmodernism Dear Colleague Epitaph 1998 Eden Biblical Themes (shuffled like dreams) Agamemnon's Return Tales from the Polish Woods Bosnian Heads No Way Alba To Tom Leonard Postscript on What Occasioned the Foregoing Verses

Listen to Alasdair Gray read the poem 'Postmodernism'. (Real Player file: 30 secs)
Listen to Alasdair Gray read the poem 'Dear Colleague'. (Real Player file: 44 secs)

This collection brings together most of Gray's poetic output since Old Negatives. The poems are lighter in tone and weight than the earlier collection, but are worth reading. The back cover of the book says that: 'These poems were written when Gray was mainly working on his BOOK OF PREFACES, and reflects some themes in that book: self-government, love, god, legends, language and some national states'. The poems themselves are printed on grey paper.

In addition to the paperback edition, a leather-bound hardback edition of two hundred copies numbered and signed by the author was printed and sold at £40. This edition does not seem to be available anywhere other than through Morag McAlpine. The limited edition has no jacket, instead silver blocking on the boards reproduces the paperback cover design.