In April 1992, the painter Francis Bacon took ill while holidaying in Spain. He died in a Madrid hospital, alone, except for the ministrations of a hospice nun, Sister Mercedes. In his bold and brilliant short work of experimental fiction, Max Porter (author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny) inhabits the great painter in his final moments, translating the explosive final workings of the artist’s mind into seven writings. Hear how Porter played with imagery to write this painting in words, and how he came to envison the painter’s writering final moments, during this englightening conversation.

Interviewer: Martin Colthorpe

English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ button in the video toolbar to turn it on.