Letters to Gil: A Luminous Memoir of Racism, Life in the Care System and the Power of Discovering Music under the Mentorship of Gil Scott-Heron — with a Foreword from Lemn Sissay

‘A searing, triumphant story. A testament to the tenacity of the human spirit as well as a beautiful ode to an iconic figure’ IRENOSEN OKOJIE

Letters to Gil is Malik Al Nasir’s profound coming of age memoir – the story of surviving physical and racial abuse and discovering a new sense of self-worth under the wing of the great artist, poet and civil rights activist Gil Scott-Heron.

Born in Liverpool, Malik was taken into care at the age of nine after his seafaring father became paralysed. He would spend his adolescence in a system that proved violent, neglectful, exploitative, traumatising and mired in abuse. Aged eighteen, he emerged semi-literate, penniless with no connections or sense of where he was going – until a chance meeting with Gil Scott-Heron.

Letters to Gil will tell the story of Malik’s empowerment and awakening while mentored by Gil, from his introduction to the legacy of Black history to the development of his voice through poetry and music. Written with lyricism and power, it is a frank and moving memoir, highlighting how institutional racism can debilitate and disadvantage a child, as well as how mentoring, creativity, self-expression and solidarity helped him to uncover his potential.

Malik Al Nasir is an author, film maker, performance poet, and an award winning academic from Liverpool.

Malik started tracing his roots back through Caribbean slavery over 20 years ago and his pioneering research has been recognised by Sir Hilary Beckles (Chair: CARICOM Commission for slavery reparations), historian David Olusoga, and The University of Cambridge, where Malik has just completed a PhD in history with a full scholarship. In recognition of the significance of his research, Malik received several awards whilst at Cambridge, as well as an honorary Doctorate from Liverpool Hope University.

Malik is co-founder of the policy making initiative, 'Black Academia – Lifting the Barriers.' He has produced and appeared in several documentaries with Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Benjamin Zephaniah, Public Enemy, Ice T and many other luminaries.