AA Gill, 1954 - 2016 | The Spectator

When we redesigned The Spectator six years ago, we spent months working on the launch issue and there was one name we wanted on the cover more than anyone else’s: AA Gill. These six letters could make you smile all on their own. They were a guarantee of wonderfully entertaining writing, gorgeous, unusual turns of phrase and, always, originality and spark. He was rather expensive; we couldn’t afford him very often. But always worth the money, when we had it. It surprised me, at first, to see that he’d phone in his copy, and dictate it. He had written it down, he’d tell me, but it would make no sense to anyone: he was dyslexic, which made the whole process harder. I always thought that this also helped explain why his writing flowed with such gorgeous distinction. That his dyslexia was a gift, endowing him with superior powers of expression.