19 January 2012
Book Slam
Please note venue change! Read why here.
Doors: 6.30p.m.
Stuff starts: 7.30p.m.
Book Slam has teamed up with Canongate Books and XL Recordings to celebrate the life of legendary poet, novelist and hip hop pioneer, Gil Scott-Heron with the launch of his posthumous memoir, ‘The Last Holiday’. Twenty-one years ago, Gil traversed America with Stevie Wonder to gather popular support for a national holiday for Martin Luther King. This 41 city tour provides the framework for a remarkable tale of a unique life. A stellar line-up at Book Slam includes host, the inimitable Salena Godden, dynamic young poets Kate Tempest and Ben Mellor, and iconic DJs and tastemakers Jamie XX and Gilles Peterson playing a one-off, back-to-back musical tribute to the great man.
For more on Gil including a short film of part of the last interview he did before he died and to check out exclusive readings from ‘The Last Holiday’ go to www.canongate.tv.
Tickets
Tickets to Book Slam on 19 January 2012 are now sold out. Sorry! We hope to see you at another Book Slam soon.
Old School Wisdom #105:
Gil: ”I can’t pay no dr’s bills/ But Whitey’s on the moon/ 10 years from now I’ll be paying still/ But Whitey’s on the moon …’
http://bookslam.com/events/item/?e=59
NEWS FLASH: Book Slam 19/1 - Venue Change!
07 January 2012
We’ve moved Book Slam x Canongate’s tribute to Gil Scott-Heron on 19th January from Wilton’s to The Grand. Here’s why: we decided to hold back the sale of tickets to this event until the morning of January 5th to ensure that we spread the word as widely as possible and it wasn’t just friends of Book Slam who had the chance to purchase them - unfortunately, we didn’t anticipate the level of interest! Tickets sold out in 90 seconds at which point our Shopping Cart system fell over and allowed people to continue buying tickets for a further 5 minutes until we were able to turn off sales manually. The event, therefore, outsold the capacity of Wilton’s by some margin and we were faced with a choice - disappoint many of those who believed they’d bought tickets or come up with another plan.
In the end, the utilitarian principle of ‘the greatest good of the greatest number’ won the day and we decided to move the event to the sumptuous Clapham Grand (21-25 St John’s Hill, Clapham Junction, SW11 1TT). As many of you will know, it’s a venue that we’ve worked with a lot in the past, it’s ideally suited to Book Slam and it’s big enough to accommodate all who bought tickets without compromising the intimacy which is a key part of what we do. Doors will still be at 6.30pm and the fantastic line-up stays exactly the same.
Wilton’s is a brilliant venue and we know that some people will be disappointed by this decision. We truly apologise, but truly think it’s the best option. We will happily refund your ticket purchase if you wish, but we really hope you’ll still want to join us to celebrate the life and work of one of the most important and beloved artists of the last 40 years - it’s going to be a fantastic night.
For those who missed out on tickets, I’m sorry to say that the oversell ensured we have also sold out The Grand, so we’re not currently making further tickets available. If this changes, we will let you know via bookslam.com and social networks.
