Gil Scott-Heron
Photo Credit: Mischa Richter
Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago in 1949. A highly influential and widely admired singer, proto-rapper, jazz pianist, poet, novelist and socio-political commentator, Scott-Heron was a unique and major figure in global music. With over fifteen albums to his name, his politically charged output won him an international following. His work illuminates a philosophy of life that held human affection as well as political and artistic responsibility as the underlying factors that inspired his writing. Gil Scott-Heron spent more than thirty years opening eyes, minds and souls. He died in 2011.
The Last Holiday
‘Leave it to Scott-Heron to save some of his best for last … He’s a real writer, a word man, and [The Last Holiday] is as wriggling and vital in its way as Bob Dylan’s Chronicles: Volume One’ New York Times
“Words have been important to me for as long as I can remember. Their sound, their construction, their origins”
Canongate’s own Jamie Byng interview’s Gil Scott-Heron in 2010. This year would have marked Gil’s 68th birthday. His posthumously published, indelible memoir The Last Holiday is now a Canon.