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I want to tell you about a really rather special book.
My Father's Things by Wendy Aldiss is a collection of photographs taken by Wendy after the death of her father, the writer Brian Aldiss.
As the title suggests, she took pictures of many of the things he left behind.
My Father's Things by Wendy Aldiss is a collection of photographs taken by Wendy after the death of her father, the writer Brian Aldiss.
As the title suggests, she took pictures of many of the things he left behind.
Aldiss wrote hundreds of novels, stories, reviews, articles and books of poetry and non-fiction, so many of the images in the book reflect that. I particularly liked the different editions of his books that were featured, and the badges and passes from literary conferences.
But far more poignant, for me, were the photographs that collected the ephemera of daily life. The odds and ends that each of us accumulate during out time on Earth, even if we don't spend our time as creatively as Brian did.
I was fortunate to be Brian's editor for a few years later in his life. I published his final SF novel, Finches of Mars, as well as reissuing a range of other work. I would often visit him at his home in Oxford, so these scenes from his study and living room brought it all back.
And I was touched to see two gifts from me, a copy of William Wharton's wartime memoir, Shrapnel, and a DVD of the movie I Wish (Aldiss used to have a weekly film club at his house), in amongst the piles.
And I had no idea that so many SF novels were issued as vinyl LPs. Look at this splendid collection.
The book was crowdfunded and people who helped make it happen each received one of Brian's random bookmarks, found in various volumes within his collection. This is mine.
My Father's Things is both a celebration of an amazing life and a thoughtful catalogue of grief. It charts a daughter's attempt to make sense of her father's passing and to record, one final time, the things that surrounded him during life.
You can learn more about the project here: https://www.aldissphotography.co.uk/portfolios/my-fathers-things/
