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James Baldwin: The Legacy

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Baldwin, mentor to a generation of black artists and writers, is eulogized through essays and interviews as well as speeches delivered at his memorial service.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

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About the author

James Baldwin

406 books18.8k followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Works of American writer James Arthur Baldwin, outspoken critic of racism, include Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel, and Notes of a Native Son (1955), a collection of essays.

James Arthur Baldwin authored plays and poems in society.

He came as the eldest of nine children; his stepfather served as a minister. At 14 years of age in 1938, Baldwin preached at the small fireside Pentecostal church in Harlem. From religion in the early 1940s, he transferred his faith to literature with the still evident impassioned cadences of black churches. From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France but often returned to the United States of America to lecture or to teach.

In his Giovanni's Room, a white American expatriate must come to terms with his homosexuality. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in city of New York.

James Baldwin offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s.
He first partially autobiographically accounted his youth. His influential Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time informed a large white audience. Another Country talks about gay sexual tensions among intellectuals of New York. Segments of the black nationalist community savaged his gay themes. Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers stated the Baldwin displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." People produced Blues for Mister Charlie , play of Baldwin, in 1964. Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, defended Baldwin.

Going to Meet the Man and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone provided powerful descriptions. He as an openly gay man increasingly in condemned discrimination against lesbian persons.

From stomach cancer, Baldwin died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. People buried his body at the Ferncliff cemetery in Hartsdale near city of New York.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Thing Two.
1,002 reviews48 followers
January 7, 2013
This is a collection of essay written about James Baldwin, including a conversation he had with a friend, a few funeral elegies, and the last interview he ever granted before he died of cancer in 1987.

I have never read anything James Baldwin wrote, but I gained an appreciation of his life and the impact he had on fellow writers, which makes me want to read his more popular books soon.

Very interesting collection.
Profile Image for Wizzard.
73 reviews11 followers
October 7, 2009
Jimmy Baldwin is the f'in man! The book contains a number of tributes, some interviews, and two writings from Baldwin himself. His reach and influence is remarkable. I give the book five stars mainly on the strength of learning so much about Baldwin and the impact he had on Black and progressive life. He epitomizes a rage and frustration of living in the segregated and racist US. He carries a committment to love and clear critical thinking. He was an exile/ expatriate who left the US in order to be able to grow and express himself.


The interviews I like the best because you can actually see his thought process in play and read him interacting with a variety of questioners.

In these days when we can say anything, it seems like no one is really saying anything. Especially in comparison to the heartfelt, introspective, and insightful writings of Baldwin. This book really got me to thinking about my own life, status, and contemporary priveleges. It got me thinking of the experiences of previous generations. It got me thinking. If it wasn't a library book, I could revisit this book for years to come.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews