Manchester poet Mike Garry joins Manchester Scene Stories for a deeply personal conversation about grief, death, family, faith, poetry and the people we carry with us after they are gone.
Known for his work with New Order, Philip Glass and Orbital, Mike has spent much of his life writing about people, place, loss and memory. In this conversation, he explains why he does not necessarily see death as something purely negative and why humour, storytelling and celebration can sit alongside grief.
Mike begins by reading “I Bet You’re Out Tonight”, his poem for Bryan Glancy — the Manchester character who inspired Elbow’s *The Seldom Seen Kid*. It is a funny, moving portrait of friendship and the Manchester music scene, filled with nights out, ridiculous stories and memories of someone who is still very much alive through the stories people tell about him.
We talk about Mike’s Irish Catholic upbringing, wakes, funerals and his belief that Western culture can sometimes focus too heavily on the sadness of death rather than celebrating a person’s life.
The conversation becomes personal as we both talk about losing our parents and what it is like to be with somebody at the end of their life. Mike reflects on losing his mum to cancer, his own experiences of meditation and spirituality, and his belief that our physical bodies may disappear while something of us continues.
Mike also reads “Live Forever”, written for Clint Boon and his family following the death of Clint and Charlie’s baby daughter Luna Bliss. It is a powerful meditation on love, family and the idea that somebody can continue to live through the people who remember them.
We discuss hospices, Macmillan nurses and Mike’s experiences performing for people approaching the end of life. He talks about leaving some of those encounters in tears, while also describing them as some of the richest and most meaningful experiences of his life.
There are reflections on his father, dreams and visitations, the idea that those we love may still be around us, and why saying somebody’s name matters.
“Speak their name and they will live.”
Mike also talks about writing his celebrated Tony Wilson poem, his reaction to the death of Terry Hall and why poetry allows him to look closely at grief rather than turn away from it.
The conversation ends with Mike reading a poem written for his own mother’s funeral — a warm, funny and moving celebration of everything she taught him.
This is not a conversation about grief as something to fear or avoid. It is about love, memory, humour, family and finding ways to continue carrying people with us.
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