Ian McGillis is a regular contributor to the Montreal Gazette and co-edits the Montreal Review of Books. His journalism has also appeared in the Globe and Mail and the National Post. McGillis is the author of A Tourist’s Guide to Glengarry, the critically acclaimed story of a day in the life of a nine-year old Edmontonian. The book was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal, the Hugh MacLennan prize, and the QWF First Book Award.McGillis was born in Hull, Quebec, grew up in Edmonton, and now lives in Montreal.

Higher Ground

Ian McGillis may well have grown up in the whitest place in North America: Edmonton, Alberta in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, through a series of fortuitous accidents, he became exposed to the world of black music — first soul and Motown, then reggae, then hip-hop — and it became a lifelong passion. A life-study in musical appreciation, Higher Ground tackles the tough questions: Can a white person truly understand soul, reggae and hip-hop? Can a black form “cross over” without losing its essence? McGillis blends memoir, cultural history and musical theory to answer these questions, and many more.