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One glance at So Far, So Good and it becomes evident that this is not merely a collection of a song writer's lyrics. The song-poems of this undisputed "Bluesologist" triumphantly stand on their own, evoking the rhythm and urgency which have distinguished Gil Scott-Heron's 20 year career. This collection carries the reader from the global topics of political hypocrisy and the dangers posed by Capitalist culture to painfully personal themes and the realities of African American life. Always, Scott-Heron supports his mission of unveiling America's hypocrisy and inaction with hope for an African American future of self-liberation. There is a very interesting introduction in the book by Haki R. Madhubuti that is a must read. Some excerpts include: "Gil Scott-Heron was definitely in the tradition of Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Larry Neal and others who brought in the powerful decade of the sixties.. He had listened to and digested the works of Malcolm X, Nina Simone, Jimmy Reed and John Coltrane. In him we saw the poetic storytelling skills of Sterling Brown and the precise word usage of Margaret Walker Alexander and Gwendolyn Brooks." The afterword was written by Dr. Joyce Joyce, titled "Gil Scott-Heron: Larry Neal's Quintessential Artist. This book should be in everyone's collection!!! |
(Contents)
| H20gate Blues | The "Movie" Poems | "B" Movie Introduction |
| "B" Movie - The Poem | Re-Ron | Space Shuttle |
| Black History | The World | Beginnings |
| Thought Out | The Ghetto Code | The New Deal |
| I Think I'll Call It Morning | No Knock | Billy Green is Dead |
| Winter in America | The Bottle | Johannesburg |
| Pieces of a Man | Paint It Black | The Vulture |
| Whitey on the Moon | Bicentennial Blues | Plastic Pattern People |
| Coming from a Broken Home | What You See Ain't What You Goetz | The Oldest Reason in the World |
| Lady Day and John Coltrane | We Beg Your Pardon, America | A Poem for Jose Campos Torres |
| Small Talk at 125th and Lenox | The Revolution Will Not Be Televised |