Letters to Gil

Letters to Gil is Malik Al Nasir’s profound coming of age memoir. Born in Liverpool, he was taken into care at the age of nine, after his seafaring father became paralysed and spent his adolescence in a system that would prove violent, neglectful, exploitative, traumatising and mired in abuse and racism. Aged eighteen, he emerged semi-literate, penniless with no connections or sense of where he was going – until a chance meeting with the great artist, poet and civil rights activist Gil Scott-Heron.

Letters to Gil will tell the story of Malik’s empowerment and awakening, while mentored by Gil. This is the story of a young man whose life was turned around under the guidance of a great master. From his discovery of both the context of his black history and the healing inherent within his 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 and nurturing through creativity and self-expression, can help undo the damage and turn the detriment into a driving force.