Gil Scott-Heron
Photo Credit: Mischa Richter
Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago in 1949. He has been opening eyes, minds and souls for thirty years. A highly influential and widely admired singer, proto-rapper, jazz pianist, published 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 has won him an international following. His work illuminates a philosophy of life that holds human affection as well as political and artistic responsibility as the underlying factors that inspire his writing. 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.