Reid was the author of two major plays, The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou and The World's Wonder, the former an undoubted classic of Scottish drama. He was also an accomplished poet, editor (of The Saltire Review) and adaptor of other writers' works for radio. The film director John Grierson has said of Reid: '... we have a wonderful voice in our midst - a Scots voice, the kind we all deeply need to hear ...' Reid is shown against a background of Gauguin's Vision of the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel). The artist, who was a friend of Reid, explains it as a reference to the playwright's interest in spiritual conflict and the dramatisation of legend.