Cover of Now and Then...

Now and Then...

by Gil Scott-Heron · 2000

+ Want to read

"A poet and polemicist whose lyrics have inspired and galvanized generations." —GQOne glance at Now and Then and it becomes evident that this is not merely a collection of a songwriter'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 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 modern day life. His message is black, political, historically accurate, urgent, uncompromising, and mature, and as relevant now as it was in the early 1970s.

Subject
politicspoliticsMore like thisLess of this
Themes
musicmusicMore like thisLess of thisraceraceMore like thisLess of thisAfrican AmericanAfrican AmericanMore like thisLess of thisdiversitydiversityMore like thisLess of this
Setting
USAUSAMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
short · 120 pages
Form
poetrypoetryMore like thisLess of this

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

BuyAmazonGoogle Books

BorrowOpen LibraryA library near you

MoreCompare pricesHardcover

Liked Now and Then...? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Now and Then.... Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Early Years: The Lyrics, 1971-1983 Tom Waits · 2007 Shares music, poetry
  2. Patti Smith Collected Lyrics, 1970-2015 Patti Smith · 2015 Shares poetry, music
  3. The Lyrics: 1961-2012 Bob Dylan · 2016 Shares music, poetry
  4. King Ink II Nick Cave · 1997 Shares music, poetry
See more recommendations →

“People who read Now and Then... tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill Scott Jill Scott · 2005
  2. The Black Poets · 1971
  3. One Hundred Poems from the Chinese Kenneth Rexroth · 1956
  4. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America Tricia Rose · 1994

“If you want more of the same (politics about music), start with these.”

  1. Lyrics 1964-2008 Paul Simon · 2008
  2. Complete Lyrics Nick Cave · 1997
  3. Lyrics: 1962-2001 Bob Dylan · 1998
  4. The Anthology of Rap · 2010

“If it was the poetry that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. King Ink Nick Cave · 1988
  2. Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics Lou Reed · 1991
  3. The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen · 2009
  4. Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone Richard Farina · 1969

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Selected Poems, 1947–1995 Allen Ginsberg · 1996
  2. Blackbird Singing: Poems and Lyrics, 1965-1999 Paul McCartney · 2001
  3. Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding Your Voice Pat Pattison · 2011
  4. Native American Songs and Poems: An Anthology · 1996

Report a problem