Now and Then: The Poems of Gil Scott-Heron

by Gil Scott-Heron

Now and Then is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging collection of Gil Scott-Heron's poetry ever to be published and draws on work written over four decades.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Politics, Nonfiction, African American, Race, Memoir

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Gilbert Scott Heron was born in 1949. His mother was a librarian and his father a soccer player from Jamaica. In his youth Heron displayed both sporting prowess and academic ability (he won a place at Pennsylvania Lincoln University, like his role model Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance man). But he quit college after the first year to write his first novel, The Vulture (1970). While Heron was writing this the ferment of black politics and student radicalism was coming to a head, and his second novel The Nigger Factory (1972) reflects these developments.
Heron has been more adventurous in his work as a musician and rapper.

Reviews

[Rowena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad I own a copy of this one. I was thinking of keeping this read for Black History Month but recently I've been listening to a lot of Gil Scott-Heron's music (which is excellent, by the way) and decided I couldn't wait to read his poetry.

This was a great collection. From his writing you can tell that Scott-Heron was many things. As well as being a musician, he was a social activist, a pacifist,an advocate for education, a person who strove for authenticity etc. Some of his poem's topics include the media, poverty, racism, family, drugs and HIV (which he calls Henry IV). There is definitely a passion in his words.

The majority of the poems in the book were written in the 70s and 80s so there were a lot of historical and political references to that time period (Watergate, Nixon, Reagan, Vietnam etc). To me it seemed ironic that decades later, Gil Scott-Heron's words still ring true, it's just the players that have changed.

[Comfortably · Rating 5 out of 5]

Είναι λίγες οι φορές που διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο σε kindle/ebook edition και ανυπομονώ να το ξαναδιαβάσω σε hardcopy κρατώντας το στα χέρια μου..
Και δε ξέρω πόσες φορές αυτό το μήνα άνοιξα το βιβλίο αυτό - έστω και σε ebook version - και το διάβαζα από άκρη σε άκρη ή απλά σκόρπια λόγια και ποιήματα.
Ο Gil Scott-Heron ήταν σπουδαίος. Τα λόγια του έχουν δύναμη, διορατικότητα, αλήθεια και φως.
Θα μπορούσα να κάνω quote όλο το βιβλίο απ τον ενθουσιασμό μου.
Αλλά θα μείνω σε αυτά τα τρία:
"Because I always feel like running
Not away, because there is no such place
Because if there was, I would have found it by now
Because it's easier to run,
Easier than staying and finding out you're the only one who didn't run
Because running will be the way your life and mine will be described,
As in "the long run"
Or as in having "given someone a run for his money"
Or as in "running out of time"
Because running makes me look like everyone else, though I hope there will never be cause for that
Because I will be running in the other direction, not running for cover
Because if I knew where cover was, I would stay there and never have to run for it
Not running for my life, because I have to be running for something of more value to be running and not in fear
Because the thing I fear cannot be escaped, eluded, avoided, hidden from, protected from, gotten away from,
Not without showing the fear as I see it now
Because closer, clearer, no sir, nearer
Because of you and because of that nice
That you quietly, quickly be causing
And because you're going to see me run soon and because you're going to know why I'm running then
You'll know then
Because I'm not going to tell you now"
*************************************
"Plastic people with plastic minds
Are on their way to plastic homes
No beginning, there ain't no ending
Just on and on and on and on and on
It's all because they're so afraid to say that they're alone.."
*************************************
"I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)"

[taylor :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

between school and work and *the world* i’ve been finding it difficult to read for pleasure. in my last barnes and noble binge, i bought four books, three nonfiction, and this. while i’m enjoying the nonfictions (i’m finally reading revolutionary suicide and in love with it) i can truly say that this one was a pleasure read, despite me not knowing that from the jump. gil scott heron’s lyrics are so direct, so to the point, yet still feel like a secret between us. the intersection of beautiful poetry and revolutionary thought is one that is hard to conquer, one that in my own writing, i struggle to reach. closing now and then, i’m feeling inspired and driven.

i would love recommendations for similar poets/lyricists.

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

now and then collects nearly five dozen of gil scott-heron's poems, many of which were also recorded and released on albums spanning three decades. as a musician, poet, proto-rapper, and novelist, the accomplished scott-heron's writing never strayed far from the sociopolitical ramifications of poverty, racism, violence, and empire. many of his poems actually have a greater effect on record, as the rhythm, cadence, and overall essence of his vocal delivery enriches his wordplay. imbued with passion, determination, and an uncanny knack for re-encoding political doublespeak, scott-heron's poems are often incisive and darkly humorous. while some of them may topically dated, their themes remain, sadly, all too timely.

work for peace

back when eisenhower was the president
golf courses was where most of his time was spent
so i never paid much attention to what the president said
because in general, i believed the general was politically dead,
but he always seemed to know how muscles were going to be flexed
he kept mumbling something about a military-industrial complex

the military and monetary
the military and monetary
the military and monetary

the military and the monetary
get together whenever they think its necessary
they have turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries,
they are turning the planet into a cemetery.

the military and the monetary
use the media as intermediaries.
they are determined to keep the citizens secondary
they make so many decisions that seem arbitrary.

we've been standing behind the 'commander-in-chief'
who was under a spotlight, shaking like a leaf
because the ship of state had landed on an economic reef
so we knew he'd be bringing us messages of grief.

the military and the monetary
were 'shielded' by january and went 'storming' into february.
they brought us pot-bellied generals as luminaries.
two weeks before i hadn't heard of the sons of bitches
and then all of a sudden they were legendary.

they took the honor from the honorary
they took the dignity from the dignitaries
they took the secrets from the secretaries
but they left the 'bitch' in 'obituary'

yeah, they had some 'smart bombs'
but they had some dumb ones as well
they scared the hell outta cnn in that baghdad hotel.

the military and the monetary
the military and monetary
the military and monetary

get together whenever they think its necessary
war in the desert sometimes sure could seem scary
but they beamed out the war to all of their subsidiaries
tried to make 'so damn insane' (saddam hussein) a worthy adversary

keeping all of the citizens secondary
scaring old folks into coronaries
making us all wonder if all of this was really, truly necessary.

we've got to work for peace.
we've got to work for peace.
if we all believed in peace we could have peace.
the only thing wrong with peace is that
you can't make no money from it.

the military and the monetary
get together whenever they think it's necessary
they have turned our brothers and sisters into mercenaries
we are turning parts of the planet into a cemetery.

we hounded the ayatollah religiously,
bombed libya and killed qadafi's son hideously.
we turned our back on our allies, the panamanians
watched ollie north selling guns to the iranians
witnessed gorbachev slaughtering lithuanians
so we better warn the amish, they may bomb the pennsylvanians.

we've got to work for peace.
peace ain't coming this way.
we've got to work for peace.

peace is not (merely) the absence of war
it is the absence of the rumors of war and the threats of war
and the preparation for war.
peace is not (merely) the absence of war
we will have all touched the power of peace within ourselves.
because we will have all come to peace within ourselves.

peace ain't gonna be easy.
peace ain't gonna be free.
we've got to work for peace.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott-Heron published prose and poetry even before he’d embarked very far in his musical career but much of this collection seems to be the lyrics to songs from his long recording career. Like Dylan lyrics (or song lyrics by most anyone), they play better than they read and I found myself enjoying most the ones my ears knew best.

An innovative songwriter and performer, Gil Scott-Heron was influential; but beyond influence, his political lyrics, his distinct perspective, and his linking of past to present, myth to reality, perception to misperception remain necessarily cold water tossed on the sleepy head of America. This brief book is a good resource to spend time with as you listen to his jazzy-blues recordings. The work is vibrant, caustic, a dissenter’s voice, a rebel’s cry, defiant, strong and true. Oh, and relevant.

I write this a bunch of weeks after finishing reading it but a day and a half after the racist murders, the take-back-our-country terrorist provocation, of nine African-American citizens in a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Not just a church but a landmark church of resistance to slavery, Jim Crow, and those who oppose freedom, equality and justice. Scott-Heron: “The blues was born on the American wilderness / The blues was born on the beaches where the slave ships docked, / born on the slave man’s auction block / The blues was born and carried on the howling wind. / The blues grew up a slave. / The blues grew up as property. / The blues grew up in Nat Turner’s visions. / The blues grew up in Harriet Tubman’s courage. / The blues grew up in small town deprivation. / The blues grew up in the nightmares of the white man.” (Bicentennial Blues) It was a white man’s nightmare that prompted the murders of nine better Americans.

Scott-Heron also saw our propensity for inertia: “It’s winter, winter in America / and ain’t nobody fighting ‘cause nobody knows what to save … it’s winter, winter in America / and all the healers done been killed or put in jail” (Winter in America).

He also saw how television news would not get things right for fear of offending shopping (shopping, a metaphor for complacency): “The revolution will not be televised. // The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people. / You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom, / a tiger in your tank or the giant in your toilet bowl. / The revolution will not go better with Coke. / The revolution will not fight germs that might cause bad breath. / The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat. / The revolution will not be televised / will not be televised / not be televised / be televised / The revolution will be no re-run, brothers. / The revolution will be LIVE.” (The Revolution Will Not be Televised).

[Hanzalah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heron’s poetry is beautiful and brilliant. His cadences are superbly rhythmic, proto-rap whose messages ring louder than ever. I’d recommend listening to each piece after reading it, and possibly reading it again after the listening.

[Tobias van der Wal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gil Scott-Heron modestly addresses the reader in the introduction of this volume of his selected poems: "Your most significant asset is your time and your commitment to invest a portion of it considering my ideas means it is worth a sincere attempt on my part to transmit the essence of the idea."

With the passing of time, the transmission of some of these ideas could however be enhanced if the texts here presented were accompanied by clarifying remarks.

The piece 'Work for Peace' has been deemed puzzling enough to merit three footnotes, but these are the only ones that can be found in the volume. Since some of these poems are deeply rooted in the political circumstances of the times in which they have been written—a period that spans from 1970 to 1994—and generally cultural references abound, a great deal of texts would benefit from the addition of more contextual information.

Take for example the 'H2O-Gate Blues' from 1974, which contains the line 'Haldeman, Erlichmann [sic], Mitchell and Dean/It follows a pattern if you dig what I mean.' I sort of dig what Scott-Heron means, but still an explanatory note on the intricacies of the Watergate-related pattern that is alluded to would be a great addition in a future edition of this volume.

[Charlie Eskew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book...damn.
The worst part is I never really knew about Gil Scott-Heron until now, beyond of course his most recognizable "The Revolution Won't Be Televised." His work is filled with wit, and a display of absurdity, but mostly what I dove into, what I often find myself lacking honestly, is that ownership of his anger. His frustration at the hypocrisies and inequalities surrounding marginalized groups. Read. This. Book.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought Now and Then for my dad a few years ago for Christmas because he loves Gil Scott-Heron and ever since I contemplated borrowing it from him to read for myself. I finally did and needless to say I loved it. I wasn't super familiar with Gil Scott-Heron prior to this, but my dad at least made me aware of his songs "Winter in America," "Watergate Blues," "Whitey on the Moon," and of course the iconic "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." If you aren't ready to spend money on this collection right away I'd highly recommend listening to those songs to get a taste of his lyricism but having the whole collection to read is amazing. There are so many poems in here that gushing about all of them would require writing a dissertation so I'll try to keep it as short as possible and highlight a few favorites.

The Movie poems, "'B' Movie" and "Re-Ron," are Gil Scott-Heron's reflections on Ronald Reagan's election and re-election, and what kind of country would have a washed up B-list actor play the biggest role in American politics. In the 'B' movie introduction he states, "I remember what I said about Raygun: 'I called him "Hollyweird." Acted like an actor. Acted like a liberal. Acted like General Franco when he acted like Governor of California. That's after he started acting like a Republican. Then (in 1976) acted like somebody was going to vote for him for President.' Now he acted like 26% percent of the registered voters is actually a mandate. We're all actors in this I suppose."
In "'B' Movie" he emphasizes the backlash that Reagan's presidency represented: "Nostalgia. That's what America wants. The good old days. When we 'gave them hell!' When the buck stopped somewhere and you could still buy something with it! To a time when movies were in black and white and so was everything else." I especially love "Re-Ron," not just for its clever title, but for breakdown of what a good old Ronnie presidency entails. From invasions of Grenada to arming reactionary forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua and how it all feels so familiar; how America just loves reruns of its greatest hits:
It's a Re-Ron, a time machine
stuck in reverse and filming new scenes.
20 years at the point of a gun.
To hell with reality: 'Places everyone!'
It's a Re-Ron. Nostalgia got stoned.
Mom and apple pie.
No place like home.
And leave it to Beaver and the Twilight Zone.
can't they face it, Goddamnit? Yesterday's gone.

Just like the movie poems "Space Shuttle" (1978) is so good that I would just recommend reading the entire thing, but to summarize it, it's about how space was supposed to be about the infinite beauty of the universe but ended up being a Cold War agenda:
Space was the place
where at least we thought our dreams were safe;
where yesterdays of youth and innocence and grace
floated somewhere high above the planet's face.
Ah, but the distance has been erased
'cause Uncle Sam is on the case.
E.T. is joining the Arms Race!

The refrain of the poem never lets you forget that millions is being spent on space while the planet and people are suffering for it: "Space Shuttle/raising hell down on the ground!/ Space Shuttle/turning the seasons upside down./ Space Shuttle/and all the hungry people know/ all change sho' 'nuff ain't progress when you're poor./ No matter what man goes looking for/ he always seems to find a war./ As soon as dreams of peace are felt/ the war is raging somewhere else."

"Work For Peace" (1994) is Heron's rage against the moneyed interest of U.S. militarism, how the media plays its role as a stenographer for their agenda, and how it's up to us, the masses of people, to stop it: "The military and the monetary/ Get together whenever they think its necessary/ They have turned our brother and sisters into mercenaries,/ They are turning the planet into a cemetery." // "War in the desert sometimes sure could seem scary/ But they beamed out the war to all their subsidiaries/ Tried making 'so damn insane' (Saddam Hussein) a worthy adversary"

Gil Scott-Heron states that his "Inner City Blues" (1981) was meant to be a "compliment/supplement" to Marvin Gaye's song by the same name: "To see sweet sisters, the blossoms of our African tree/ Profiling on the corners talking about 'ten and three'/ Because in spite of all the money we made and taxes we paid/ The woman was looking at hungry babes/ And some decisions had to be made/ Could you tell her it's better to go to your grave/ As a slave to the minimum wage."

In a similar fashion "Paint It Black" depicts the poverty and struggles of African Americans in the inner city. This one is extremely short so what I type below is the entirety of it:
Picture a man of nearly thirty
who seems twice as old with clothes torn and
dirty.
Give him a job shining shoes
or cleaning out toilets with bus station crews.
Give him six children with nothing to eat.
Expose them to life on a ghetto street.
Tie an old rag around his wife's head and
have her pregnant and lying in bed.
Stuff them all in a Harlem house.
Then tell them how bad things are down South.

"The Ghetto Code" (1978) is a clever use of language and play on words to tell the history of FBI/CIA meddling in the world as well as in the domestic politics of Black America. He describes "the ghetto code" as a way of using code words when speaking on the phone to avoid giving away secrets to whoever may be listening in on the conversation. What he lays out in this poem is long list of the government's dirty laundry from war on Cuba to the overthrow of Allende in Chile to Che Guevara's execution to the hinting at the conspiracies surrounding infamous assassinations. It's all told with this never ending "dot-dot-dit-dit" throughout to replicate the sound of wiretapping a phone, implying that they're always listening:
JFK. You believe that?
RFK. You believe that?
MLK. You believe that?
Malcolm X. You believe that?
All some elaborate 'c' - Coincidence?
Or just a little old 'c' - Conspiracy?

There are several questions concerning the letter
'c,' this most important of letters, that most in-
dividuals should be asking themselves:
'The C.I.A.... who runs that organization?'
And, 'Who runs this country?'
'Dot-dot-dit-dit-dot-dot-dash.' (Damned if I know!)

One of the last ones in this collection is, "King Henry IV" (2010) which is another clever title that envisions HIV as a king conquering, killing, and taking over people's lives: "The kids believed if you wasn't gay and didn't shoot dope/ You was home free, take the day off and float"
And while people blamed it on being gay or some kind of deficiency in your character, it was taking over the world like a monarchical empire on a mission:
He was no more than a whisper at gay after-hours spots
If there are no bloodless revolutions why hadn't he fired a
shot?
Sunday mornings from the pulpit he was blamed on
promiscuity
More confusing newspaper bullshit only furthered the
ambiguity
Preacher's became obsessed and called him a message from
above
The creature's game progressed since nobody knew who the
fuck he was
Completely taking over areas that had never seen royalty
But soon millions on five continents could all pledge their
loyalty
The invisible monarch was steady doing his thing
He never heard folks once saying, 'Hail to the King!'

Again, all of these poems are available to read online because they are songs he released. Some are more musically inclined, others are performed in a more spoken word style, but all are incredibly powerful and relevant. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places but I certainly can't think of any current artist or poet producing anything today at the level of political consciousness Gil Scott-Heron had in every one of these song-poems. I think it just goes to show how much revolutionary change was going on at the time and how much the capitalist forces he wrote about have sedated us and captured not only our political imaginations but, in doing so, has deeply inhibited artistic output. Now and Then is a wonderful reminder of how deeply intertwined music (especially black music) and politics has been.

[Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it's "Pride month", and I am reminded of what Gil called "The Rainbow conspiracy" on 'Comment #1' (which unfortunately isn't in this bundle). His way of critiquing the left and a lot of the revolutionaries and their potential is unmatched and still rings true to this day. He would see in 1970 if not sooner the moral and ethical ineptitude of leftist advocacy and revolutionary groups pandering to the marginalized and oppressed. He would see that a black liberation movement in the 60s and 70s would more than anything have to mean an overthrowing of capitalism as America knew at the time, a similar agenda you would see with Ella Baker, Angela Davis and James Baldwin.

Gil sang and wrote for the marginalized like only the very best and most talented could, such as Ralph Ellison. The back cover of my edition says: "Some of the funniest and most literate lyrics in all music" Time Out. Which is exactly the thing Gil would warn you against: anything less than a truly radical and outrageously confrontational civil rights movement will keep the marginalized subject wedded to the illusion of everything being fine (Pride month! Rainbow colored credit card and bank logos!).

On a micro level, Gil hits home too. His poem on a broken home will leave anyone with a less than ideal and fractured household shivering. A quote from 'On Coming From A Broken Home':

And so my life has been guided
and all the love I needed was provided
and through my mother's sacrifices I saw where her life went
to give more than birth to me, but life to me

[Antonis Maronikolakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and powerful read. Heron writes with a voice distinct and fearless. You can feel the rhythm in his words, and some of the poetry is breathtaking. This is definitely something everyone should experience, spectacular and unique.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best poems I've ever read (not that I've read that many). Really interesting to read his takes on the politics and culture of the time, though some of it went a bit over my head, especially since the poems present his ideas so beautifully. Really inspiring stuff, makes me want to try and write poems which are anything like his at all, poems with rhymes and an obvious rhythm

[Marlène · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce recueil de poèmes et chansons de Gil Scott-Heron vient sympathiquement compléter ses quelques albums en ma possession.
Le support écrit offre une perspective complètement différente, même si la majorité de ses textes DOIVENT être lus ou récités. C'est vraiment bon de pouvoir s'y arrêter.
Le commentaire socio-politique percutant et juste sur des États Unis (et un monde occidental) des années 70 et 80, en particulier sur l'ère Reagan (le poème 'B' Movie est un incontournable), est presque entièrement transposable à cette année 2012. Alarmant comme le monde change...
Un plaisir de richesse culturelle et de finesse.
Éteignez la télé, ouvrez-vous au monde: "the revolution will not be televised".

[Elke de Echte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gil Scott-Heron’s songs is what lead me to his powerful writing. How upbeat & uplifting the rythm and sound may be, the lyrics reveal a deeper understanding of what is going on in the world. A striving for authenticity that is so passionate in its fragility that it shakes one all together. Poverty, family, drugs and HIV, the media... seem to all boil down to the structural racism that is still sweeping America (withstanding the decades since it was written). Now and then. Singer, proto-rapper, jazz pianist, published poet, novelist and socio-political commentator Gil Scot-Heron owns his anger, owns his frustration. Truly revolutionary and inspiring and to be read again.

[Sanjuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musician, poet, social activist - Scott-Heron's poems are insightful and convicting. The quality of the poems, in terms of meter and rhyme scheme, varies from time to time, but the content is always spot on, and the poems always come across as authentic. I not only enjoyed most of the poems, I was motivated by them - motivated to be better and to do more to listen to and understand the narrative of people with different backgrounds than mine. A highly recommended collection.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his music, love the weird fact that his Jamaican dad played football at Celtic and Third Lanark in Glasgow in the 1950s and this collection of lyrics/ poems is a great read. I particularly liked the ones about Ronald "Raygun" and those from the recent "I'm New Here" album.

[Tiara walls · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection worth the read. My first introduction toe Gil Scott-Heron was through his music. I've added his to the log list of talented and influential African-American figures we should but fail to learn about in the American Public school system.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One to re-read every year, at least once.

[Eleanor]

great poems

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poetry. The topical nature of many of the poems left me frequently referring to secondary sources, and I'm sure I still missed a great deal. Worth revisiting in a few years.

[James Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this. Stripped away of the music, GSHs poetry is laid bare in its brilliance. At once a snapshot of history and durable work.

[Christoph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll need to write more about this piece of timeless dissent, of 'poetry as an insurgent art', so expect a blogpost on this in the not so distant future. Tbc.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading the music restructures the flow

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book, Now and Then is a collection of many of Gil Scott-Heron's lyrics and poems. For those that I was able to find audio versions of, I listened as I read. I have long been an admirer or Gil Scott-Heron's work. He is a writer and musician who approached the messed-up world we lived in head on, often with humor, often with righteous indignation at a society that has deeply and repeatedly wronged its black community. Many of the poems included in this piece are critical of current events from the 1970s and 80s: the presidencies of Nixon and Reagan in particular, putting man on the moon while people on Earth and particularly Harlem suffered, police violence, race hatred, corruption, the AIDS crisis, war, economic despair, and so on. In many ways, these are problems that remain with us today.

Rejecting the 'Godfather of Rap' title that had been bestowed on him (giving credit to the Last Poets in that genre), the 'radical, 'militant' and 'muckraker' labels that critics in the press tried to affix to him, and the jazz label (because he didn't consider his work in the same category as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and John Coltrane), Scott-Heron concludes that his music and poetry are "gifts from the Spirits" and so perhaps might best be classified as "spirituals." Whatever they are, wherever they came from, they are as bold, funny and brilliant as ever.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gil Scott-Heron's work absorbs me more and more overtime, the more I hear his songs and read his poetry. His wordplay is on point. His rhythms are fantastic on the page and in the speakers. Also he approached everything, on screen, on stage and on the page, as if he's a regular guy. He's not writing/performing etc like a big time performer, but someone who has insights, who has seen things and has a way of saying them that catches your attention without being gimmicky, artificial or superficial. He put effort into his work to make it valuable and it shows, with great wit and style.

While working on my writing I listen to "Winter in America"almost regularly. It would appear we are still frozen in that winter. His music is timeless and the criticisms he points out are still sadly relevant and timely, and other times, show the regression from the 70's or so on how we ended up here. Like in the poem "'B'-Movie", for example. He wrote about poverty and race and other issues that are now mainstream.


I highly recommend this work, and all the rest of Gil Scott-Heron's oeuvre.

[Reuben Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gil Scott-Heron is such an influential political poet/grandfather to rap - his words are sharper then either in 2025 as we have seen the rapid rise of fascist rhetoric/government. I found this all very refreshing and very needed. As I think, with how honestly hopeless everything has recently been feeling, it's so integurial for works like this to remind us that our being alive and choosing to actively vocalize our distaste in bigotry, misogyny is much needed. the revolution does not live inside your phone/or the television or your tik-tok feed - it's in the mind, it's your thoughts and decision to act/live in revolt of these disgusting evil institutions that continue to degrade and rape and murder and steal and marginalize and colonize.

idk aye, I'm on 3.5 hrs of sleep - and have exactly 2x IPA beers. And shit - I want more radical action at some point because I'm getting a bit fucking disgusted in the persistent evil eye of adventure capitalists, neo-liberal cucks and fuck off neo-fascist political fuckers.

thank ya 🙏

[jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

man. myth. legend. in the words of a dear friend, GSH is not simply a poet, nor rapper, not artist but an enigma. this book has been curated so beautifully that i started the first poem in tears and ended the very last poem in the same way. his way with words, his connect to life, to art, to the issues that plagued the ordinary black people of his time; many of which still haunt their kindred, is something i cannot explain. i have never seen such Beauty in poetry until the moment i picked up this. may he rest in peace and i hope that he is crafting more songs of life wherever his soul now resides.

[Lynn]

"It is not as important that I be understood. I believe that this is a matter of respect; your most significant asset is your time and your commitment to invest a portion of it considering my ideas means it is worth a sincere attempt on my part to transmit the essence of the idea. If you are looking, I want to make sure that there is something here for you to find.

Many of my favorite ideas are here. It is kind of you to take an interest. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed preparing them to be shared. I do hope you enjoy these things that I have been taught along the way. They are the most valuable things I have."

[james ml · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read a jazzwise review that said gil scott-heron is the lyrical equivalent of muhammad ali - 'smart, light on his feet and able to pack a killer punch' - and i couldn't agree more. there's something stentorian but also mellow about the way that he writes, with a need for revolution that comes from sorrow and reflection, rather than rage. one of the greatest musicians out there, and this collection was a joy to read, soundtracked to his performances of the poem-songs. he has a grasp of poetic and lyrical structure that is entirely inimitable, with an often sarcastic and ironic tone to it all. if i had to pick one word to describe it all, it would be 'galvanism'.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly every piece blew me away. I had known “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” but none of the others. An incredible performer, his words and messages are just as effective on the page, and they sadly still resonate today.

So many favorites, including “Coming From a Broken Home,” “Whitey on the Moon,” “Bicentennial Blues,” “Space Shuttle,” Pieces of a Man,” “Work for Peace,” “Bridging.” Clever turns of phrase, and great rhythm.

With so much talk about peace and social justice and politics, I know my Dad would have loved him, and I wonder if he did.