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On James Baldwin
Colm Tóibín’s personal account of encountering James Baldwin’s work, published in Baldwin’s centenary year.
Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín first read James Baldwin just after turning eighteen. He had completed his first year at an Irish university and was struggling to free himself from a religious upbringing. He had even considered entering a seminary and was searching for literature that would offer illumination and insight. Inspired by the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, Tóibín found a writer who would be a lifelong companion and exemplar.
From On James Baldwin
Baldwin was interested in the hidden and dramatic areas in his own being, and was prepared as a writer to explore difficult truths about his own private life. In his fiction, he had to battle for the right of his protagonists to choose or influence their destinies. He knew about guilt and rage and bitter privacies in a way that few of his White novelist contemporaries did. And this was not simply because he was Black and homosexual; the difference arose from the very nature of his talent, from the texture of his sensibility. “All art,” he wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.”
On James Baldwin is a magnificent contemporary author’s tribute to one of his most consequential literary progenitors.
Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín first read James Baldwin just after turning eighteen. He had completed his first year at an Irish university and was struggling to free himself from a religious upbringing. He had even considered entering a seminary and was searching for literature that would offer illumination and insight. Inspired by the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, Tóibín found a writer who would be a lifelong companion and exemplar.
From On James Baldwin
Baldwin was interested in the hidden and dramatic areas in his own being, and was prepared as a writer to explore difficult truths about his own private life. In his fiction, he had to battle for the right of his protagonists to choose or influence their destinies. He knew about guilt and rage and bitter privacies in a way that few of his White novelist contemporaries did. And this was not simply because he was Black and homosexual; the difference arose from the very nature of his talent, from the texture of his sensibility. “All art,” he wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.”
On James Baldwin is a magnificent contemporary author’s tribute to one of his most consequential literary progenitors.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2024
About the author
Colm Tóibín
236 books5,710 followersColm Tóibín FRSL, is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, journalist, critic, and poet. Tóibín is currently Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University in Manhattan and succeeded Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
January 1, 2025
I adored the author’s careful analysis of Baldwin the activist and writer, and his careful reading of three of Baldwin’s key texts. I especially loved the way the author leveraged his commanding knowledge of Irish literature to contextualize themes of exile, memory, and resistance in African-American literature. Swift, Yeats, Wilde, Joyce and others are set alongside Wright, Ellis, Baldwin and others. The author’s own experience as a homosexual writer was also useful in illuminating many of the artistic and political choices Baldwin made.
March 24, 2026
3½ stars on the blog.
This book started out strong as an analysis of Baldwin's writing, but around sixty-five percent it started becoming less and less about Baldwin and his specific works and writing style, as a Black American writing in the 1960s, and more about the author's own ideas about the subject matter in Baldwin's books and Baldwin's personal motivations.
At first Tóibín was basing his observations on interviews Baldwin had done, talks he had given and journalistic articles he had written, and that was wonderful, but then he started projecting a white Irishman's thoughts, and what would have been his own motivations, onto the whys and hows of Baldwin's writings. He should have stayed with the original direct analysis of Baldwin's writing and the factual biographical account he had been giving up until that point. For readers who are not American nor Black, or those not having grown up in the 1920s and '30s, or in Harlem, or even been navigating society as a gay man during those times and in those places... Tóibín has shaded his retrospective of Baldwin's life and career with his own experiences of life in a very, very different world and time.
Near the end of the book Tóibín sounded a little befuddled about gender and biological sex when it comes to sexuality. He was also placing too much emphasis on gay men and their being effeminate. I hate to tell him, but there are also masculine gay men. He seemed to think a gay Black man's experiences in America during the 1940s, '50s, and even '60s would be similar to a gay White man's experiences in Ireland in the 1970's and '80s. When one is writing a literary analysis, and/or biography of an author, they must keep themselves out of the mix unless they are relating how the author's works affected them or why their writing has meaning for them. Tóibín's belief that he has a deeper understanding of James Baldwin's life and writing because he is also a gay writer and oppressed as an Irish man is ridiculous. Being a White gay man in more contemporary times is far from having equal comparison to Baldwin's life, and being an oppressed Irish citizen in a post 1960s UK is also not the same experience as a Black man's in the pre-'70s United States.
That being said... I still want either an ebook or paperback of my own to re-read and annotate. I listened to an audiobook borrowed from Hoopla. Despite the analysis weakening and puddling past the halfway point, there is more than enough solid insight, biographical information and history background imparted (I never knew Baldwin was being closely monitored by the FBI) to keep this book's rating at four stars; three and a half stars on the blog. I highly recommend reading this book before reading Baldwin's works. I wish I had read On James Baldwin before Giovanni's Room. You must, however, take Tóibín's assumptions about Baldwin's innermost motivations and personal actions, based on flimsy comparisons to his own life experences, with a grain of salt.
This book started out strong as an analysis of Baldwin's writing, but around sixty-five percent it started becoming less and less about Baldwin and his specific works and writing style, as a Black American writing in the 1960s, and more about the author's own ideas about the subject matter in Baldwin's books and Baldwin's personal motivations.
At first Tóibín was basing his observations on interviews Baldwin had done, talks he had given and journalistic articles he had written, and that was wonderful, but then he started projecting a white Irishman's thoughts, and what would have been his own motivations, onto the whys and hows of Baldwin's writings. He should have stayed with the original direct analysis of Baldwin's writing and the factual biographical account he had been giving up until that point. For readers who are not American nor Black, or those not having grown up in the 1920s and '30s, or in Harlem, or even been navigating society as a gay man during those times and in those places... Tóibín has shaded his retrospective of Baldwin's life and career with his own experiences of life in a very, very different world and time.
Near the end of the book Tóibín sounded a little befuddled about gender and biological sex when it comes to sexuality. He was also placing too much emphasis on gay men and their being effeminate. I hate to tell him, but there are also masculine gay men. He seemed to think a gay Black man's experiences in America during the 1940s, '50s, and even '60s would be similar to a gay White man's experiences in Ireland in the 1970's and '80s. When one is writing a literary analysis, and/or biography of an author, they must keep themselves out of the mix unless they are relating how the author's works affected them or why their writing has meaning for them. Tóibín's belief that he has a deeper understanding of James Baldwin's life and writing because he is also a gay writer and oppressed as an Irish man is ridiculous. Being a White gay man in more contemporary times is far from having equal comparison to Baldwin's life, and being an oppressed Irish citizen in a post 1960s UK is also not the same experience as a Black man's in the pre-'70s United States.
That being said... I still want either an ebook or paperback of my own to re-read and annotate. I listened to an audiobook borrowed from Hoopla. Despite the analysis weakening and puddling past the halfway point, there is more than enough solid insight, biographical information and history background imparted (I never knew Baldwin was being closely monitored by the FBI) to keep this book's rating at four stars; three and a half stars on the blog. I highly recommend reading this book before reading Baldwin's works. I wish I had read On James Baldwin before Giovanni's Room. You must, however, take Tóibín's assumptions about Baldwin's innermost motivations and personal actions, based on flimsy comparisons to his own life experences, with a grain of salt.
August 1, 2025
A great companion to my nascent readings of Baldwin, replete with (fucking crazy) excerpts of books, essays and interviews - what a writer, what a thinker, what a man.
The discussions about the inner life and its relationship with fiction were very interesting, as were Toibin’s reflections on sexuality and masculinity in Baldwin’s thinking. The most interesting takeaway was perhaps Baldwin’s view that the problems faced by individual Americans (at a time of rampart racism and fierce struggles for civil rights) were due to some deficiency or infection in the inner life - an infection which perpetuates problematic structures, rather than the inverse occurring.
I was periodically bogged down by extended technical discussions about language, as well as the ever expanding catalogue of textual references to both Baldwin’s and Toibin’s contemporaries and peers.
But, overall, the book was awesome :)
The discussions about the inner life and its relationship with fiction were very interesting, as were Toibin’s reflections on sexuality and masculinity in Baldwin’s thinking. The most interesting takeaway was perhaps Baldwin’s view that the problems faced by individual Americans (at a time of rampart racism and fierce struggles for civil rights) were due to some deficiency or infection in the inner life - an infection which perpetuates problematic structures, rather than the inverse occurring.
I was periodically bogged down by extended technical discussions about language, as well as the ever expanding catalogue of textual references to both Baldwin’s and Toibin’s contemporaries and peers.
But, overall, the book was awesome :)
August 18, 2024
I am a fan of Colm Toibin's work, both fiction and non fiction. This book is a personal analysis of the ife and work of James Baldwin[another of my favourite author's!]. It is a short book which concentrates on three of Baldwin's novels - "Go Tll it to a Mountain", "Giovanni's Room" and "Another Country" plus a small selection of his essaysd.
Toibin gives a personal Isympathetic appreciation at Baldwin's profound visions of race and freedom which is rewardingly insightful An acadaemic work but easy to read and which highlights the talents of both writers.
Toibin gives a personal Isympathetic appreciation at Baldwin's profound visions of race and freedom which is rewardingly insightful An acadaemic work but easy to read and which highlights the talents of both writers.
July 17, 2024
i really love this one. really proud to be a part of its journey :)
January 11, 2026
Gracefully & thoughtfully written, & it's always a real pleasure to go along with one writer as they seriously engage with the work of another. I admit that a sense of curiosity was one of my initial motivations to take this up, not sure why Baldwin was of such interest to Tóibín (though admittedly my engagement with Tóibín's work is shamefully slight). But it quickly made all the sense in the world: a shared sexual identity, of course, but it was even more fascinating to realize how much Baldwin's work resonated with Irish interest in the American Civil Rights Movement, as well as the echos between Baldwin's early religious fervor & Irish Catholicism (Tóibín nearly left university to go to seminary).
Deepened my appreciation for the Baldwin texts & biographical information I was already familiar with & made me want to seek out what I wasn't. Which, to my mind, is exactly what a study like this should accomplish.
"Baldwin's essays and articles come first from the self, from the body and the beating heart, from what the eyes see and the spirit feels, and then, in a set of darting shifts in perspective, Baldwin could make his own life, his own experience, become political, public."
Deepened my appreciation for the Baldwin texts & biographical information I was already familiar with & made me want to seek out what I wasn't. Which, to my mind, is exactly what a study like this should accomplish.
"Baldwin's essays and articles come first from the self, from the body and the beating heart, from what the eyes see and the spirit feels, and then, in a set of darting shifts in perspective, Baldwin could make his own life, his own experience, become political, public."
December 2, 2024
Always the keenest most sensitive reader of others, especially when reading lesbian or gay writers like Elizabeth Bishop or Henry James, here we get a very personal, sometimes tender, affectionate but almost line reading of James Baldwin's novels and essays. Interesting even to scan at the back the list of authors cited in the bibliography, of course, as mentioned in these pages references to Wright, Yeats, James, Cullen,but no mention of Joyce who is set side by side to Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain. Book recommended to me by a goodreads friend.
Read
January 18, 2026a compelling and accessible academic read. appreciated the hands-on textual analysis and discussions of musicality which i am a sucker for. i love baldwin and i love ireland so this was perfect.
June 3, 2025
Beautifully written. For any fans of Baldwin, this is easy but insightful reading full of parallels and ideas which Tobin clearly draws out. Would definitely recommend.
January 12, 2025
i need to read „go tell it on the mountain“ and „another country“ now
October 2, 2025
Three-page review of Colm Tóibín's "On James Baldwin."
Page 1: Introduction and Baldwin's Early Life
Colm Tóibín’s "On James Baldwin" isn't a regular biography. It's more like a deeply personal and insightful look at the life and work of James Baldwin, one of America's most important writers. Tóibín, himself a celebrated novelist, doesn't just tell us what Baldwin did; he tries to understand why he did it. He explores Baldwin's books, essays, and life experiences to paint a picture of a complex and often conflicted man.
The book starts by looking at Baldwin's difficult childhood in Harlem. Baldwin grew up poor, with a strict stepfather who was a preacher. Tóibín shows how this religious upbringing both shaped and haunted Baldwin. On the one hand, the church gave him a powerful voice and a sense of community. He became a captivating young preacher himself. But on the other hand, he felt trapped by the church's rigid rules and its condemnation of his homosexuality.
Tóibín emphasises the importance of Baldwin’s early escape from Harlem. At 24, he moved to Paris, seeking freedom from American racism and homophobia. This move was crucial for Baldwin's development as a writer. In Paris, he could observe America from a distance, gaining a clearer perspective on its problems. He could also explore his identity as a gay man without the same level of social pressure he faced back home.
Tóibín does a great job of showing how Baldwin's early life experiences – poverty, religion, racism, and his sexuality – all fed into his writing. These weren't just background details; they were the core of who he was and what he wrote about.
Page 2: Key Themes in Baldwin's Work
A major theme in Baldwin’s work, as highlighted by Tóibín, is race. Baldwin wrote powerfully about the black experience in America, exposing the deep-seated racism that permeated every aspect of society. He didn't shy away from uncomfortable truths. He challenged white Americans to confront their own prejudices and to see black people as fully human. Tóibín discusses Baldwin's famous essays, like "Notes of a Native Son" and "The Fire Next Time," showing how Baldwin used his personal experiences to explore the larger issues of race and identity. He notes how Baldwin's writing was both deeply personal and politically charged.
Tóibín also delves into Baldwin’s exploration of sexuality. Baldwin was one of the first African American writers to openly write about homosexuality. This was a brave act at a time when homosexuality was widely stigmatised. Tóibín examines how Baldwin's sexuality influenced his writing, particularly his novels like "Giovanni's Room" (which notably features white characters). He argues that Baldwin's exploration of love and desire, regardless of gender, was a challenge to societal norms and expectations.
Another key aspect of Baldwin’s work that Tóibín explores is the theme of identity. Baldwin was constantly grappling with his own identity as a black man, a gay man, an American, and an expatriate. He questioned what it meant to be any of these things, and he challenged the labels that society placed on people. Tóibín demonstrates how Baldwin's search for identity was a central driving force in his writing. He wasn't just writing about race or sexuality; he was writing about the universal human need to find belonging and meaning in a complex world.
Page 3: Baldwin's Later Life and Legacy
In the final part of the book, Tóibín examines Baldwin's later life and his lasting impact. He discusses Baldwin's growing disillusionment with the Civil Rights Movement and his increasing sense of despair about the state of race relations in America. While Baldwin initially offered a message of hope and reconciliation, he became more critical and pessimistic as he witnessed the slow pace of change and the persistence of racism.
Tóibín also looks at Baldwin's relationships with other writers and activists, such as Richard Wright, Marlon Brando and Martin Luther King Jr. He shows how Baldwin was both influenced by and critical of these figures. He was a complex and independent thinker who refused to be easily categorised.
Ultimately, Tóibín argues that Baldwin's legacy lies in his unflinching honesty and his willingness to confront difficult truths. Baldwin forced America to look in the mirror and see its own flaws. He challenged readers to think critically about race, sexuality, and identity. His writing remains relevant today because the issues he grappled with are still very much with us.
"On James Baldwin" is a valuable contribution to our understanding of this important writer. It's not just a summary of Baldwin's life and work; it's a thoughtful and engaging exploration of his complex and enduring legacy. Tóibín's book will encourage readers to pick up Baldwin's books and essays and to engage with his ideas in a new and meaningful way. It's a reminder of the power of literature to challenge, provoke, and inspire.
Page 1: Introduction and Baldwin's Early Life
Colm Tóibín’s "On James Baldwin" isn't a regular biography. It's more like a deeply personal and insightful look at the life and work of James Baldwin, one of America's most important writers. Tóibín, himself a celebrated novelist, doesn't just tell us what Baldwin did; he tries to understand why he did it. He explores Baldwin's books, essays, and life experiences to paint a picture of a complex and often conflicted man.
The book starts by looking at Baldwin's difficult childhood in Harlem. Baldwin grew up poor, with a strict stepfather who was a preacher. Tóibín shows how this religious upbringing both shaped and haunted Baldwin. On the one hand, the church gave him a powerful voice and a sense of community. He became a captivating young preacher himself. But on the other hand, he felt trapped by the church's rigid rules and its condemnation of his homosexuality.
Tóibín emphasises the importance of Baldwin’s early escape from Harlem. At 24, he moved to Paris, seeking freedom from American racism and homophobia. This move was crucial for Baldwin's development as a writer. In Paris, he could observe America from a distance, gaining a clearer perspective on its problems. He could also explore his identity as a gay man without the same level of social pressure he faced back home.
Tóibín does a great job of showing how Baldwin's early life experiences – poverty, religion, racism, and his sexuality – all fed into his writing. These weren't just background details; they were the core of who he was and what he wrote about.
Page 2: Key Themes in Baldwin's Work
A major theme in Baldwin’s work, as highlighted by Tóibín, is race. Baldwin wrote powerfully about the black experience in America, exposing the deep-seated racism that permeated every aspect of society. He didn't shy away from uncomfortable truths. He challenged white Americans to confront their own prejudices and to see black people as fully human. Tóibín discusses Baldwin's famous essays, like "Notes of a Native Son" and "The Fire Next Time," showing how Baldwin used his personal experiences to explore the larger issues of race and identity. He notes how Baldwin's writing was both deeply personal and politically charged.
Tóibín also delves into Baldwin’s exploration of sexuality. Baldwin was one of the first African American writers to openly write about homosexuality. This was a brave act at a time when homosexuality was widely stigmatised. Tóibín examines how Baldwin's sexuality influenced his writing, particularly his novels like "Giovanni's Room" (which notably features white characters). He argues that Baldwin's exploration of love and desire, regardless of gender, was a challenge to societal norms and expectations.
Another key aspect of Baldwin’s work that Tóibín explores is the theme of identity. Baldwin was constantly grappling with his own identity as a black man, a gay man, an American, and an expatriate. He questioned what it meant to be any of these things, and he challenged the labels that society placed on people. Tóibín demonstrates how Baldwin's search for identity was a central driving force in his writing. He wasn't just writing about race or sexuality; he was writing about the universal human need to find belonging and meaning in a complex world.
Page 3: Baldwin's Later Life and Legacy
In the final part of the book, Tóibín examines Baldwin's later life and his lasting impact. He discusses Baldwin's growing disillusionment with the Civil Rights Movement and his increasing sense of despair about the state of race relations in America. While Baldwin initially offered a message of hope and reconciliation, he became more critical and pessimistic as he witnessed the slow pace of change and the persistence of racism.
Tóibín also looks at Baldwin's relationships with other writers and activists, such as Richard Wright, Marlon Brando and Martin Luther King Jr. He shows how Baldwin was both influenced by and critical of these figures. He was a complex and independent thinker who refused to be easily categorised.
Ultimately, Tóibín argues that Baldwin's legacy lies in his unflinching honesty and his willingness to confront difficult truths. Baldwin forced America to look in the mirror and see its own flaws. He challenged readers to think critically about race, sexuality, and identity. His writing remains relevant today because the issues he grappled with are still very much with us.
"On James Baldwin" is a valuable contribution to our understanding of this important writer. It's not just a summary of Baldwin's life and work; it's a thoughtful and engaging exploration of his complex and enduring legacy. Tóibín's book will encourage readers to pick up Baldwin's books and essays and to engage with his ideas in a new and meaningful way. It's a reminder of the power of literature to challenge, provoke, and inspire.
March 5, 2025
Really enjoyed this thoughtful exploration of Baldwin's work, exploring the social and political history both of the states but also how as an Irishman he can relate. Alongside his thoughts as a gay writer considering another gay writer. Many literary references in this book including Joyce, Yeats, Wright, Ellison, Heany and Didion. Recommended for anyone wishing to further understand Baldwin's work.
December 23, 2024
ONE MILLION STARS. What a pleasure this was to read.
August 11, 2025
A wonderful book that illuminates both Baldwin & Tòibin’s work & lives. The interweaving of the history & operation of US & Irish exile, racism, etc are well judged & very moving.
February 14, 2025
To possess the same clarity of thought!
July 11, 2025
Ever since I saw James Baldwin's Interviews on you tube I was impressed by his words and how he spoke. My son told me Giovanni's Room was a great book, so I read it a few years ago. He was so right and I wanted to find out more. This book shows the appreciation (by one of our own great Irish novelists) of Baldwin's style and powerful writing. Can't wait to get my hands on more of his books and Essays.
May 12, 2026
This book of lectures/essays resulted from the author's delivery of the Mandel Lectures in the Humanities at Brandeis University just outside of Boston in 2024. I wish I could have been there for this five-day lecture series!
The Lectures are titled:
* The Pitch of Passion
* Crying Holy
* Paris, Harlem
* The Private Life
* The Terror and the Surrender
Three, but not exclusively three, of James Baldwin's books are the focus:
* Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)
* Giovanni's Room (1956)
* Another County (1962)
The fact that this lecture series is delivered by a celebrated author adds weight and skill to the telling of James Baldwin's journey. This lecture series aims and for me succeeds in focusing on the heart and soul of James Baldwin's journey and quest as a man - and the heartache at the centre of this quest - the wavering between love of self and hate of self - throughout his life and the external environments that made the journey so precarious for Baldwin. I feel the author really got the heart of Baldwin in this series.
Although not new, I loved the framing of Baldwin's reason for moving to Paris, his self exile from the USA, and his surprise at his welcoming there as a man who could walk into a restaurant and expect to be served. That felt fresh to me in the telling of it by Toibin.
I loved the contextual friendships and journey along with other writers, whether living and writing in Paris at the time of Baldwin, or experiencing the same tensions and obstacles as he did, in other times and places. This made me want to read works by authors I have not read read.
Of course reading On James Baldwin has made me want to re-read many of Baldwin's works again - and I will - soon.
I love the question that hovers over all these lectures that Baldwin aims to answer - What makes a man? What is it to be a man? And that in the context of US history believing and operating on the misconceived perception that people who are Black of Aboriginal are not human. What does that belief by the White supremist movement do to other people, including themselves? And what journey did this context set James Baldwin on?
The fact that James Baldwin didn't ever know his natal father also plays into his journey of self-discovery and that is followed in this lecture series. What does it mean to self identity to not know your actual roots? How much did this pull on James Baldwin?
So the series of lectures really achieves for me a deep dive into the soul and soul searching that was part of the private life of James Baldwin. And this calls the reader to do the same deep dive into self. What does it mean to be human in the context of the world and the universe we live in? What does it really mean in each of us and how do we journey through life with this knowledge?
Really liked this read. A book I will keep and re-read for sure.
The Lectures are titled:
* The Pitch of Passion
* Crying Holy
* Paris, Harlem
* The Private Life
* The Terror and the Surrender
Three, but not exclusively three, of James Baldwin's books are the focus:
* Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)
* Giovanni's Room (1956)
* Another County (1962)
The fact that this lecture series is delivered by a celebrated author adds weight and skill to the telling of James Baldwin's journey. This lecture series aims and for me succeeds in focusing on the heart and soul of James Baldwin's journey and quest as a man - and the heartache at the centre of this quest - the wavering between love of self and hate of self - throughout his life and the external environments that made the journey so precarious for Baldwin. I feel the author really got the heart of Baldwin in this series.
Although not new, I loved the framing of Baldwin's reason for moving to Paris, his self exile from the USA, and his surprise at his welcoming there as a man who could walk into a restaurant and expect to be served. That felt fresh to me in the telling of it by Toibin.
I loved the contextual friendships and journey along with other writers, whether living and writing in Paris at the time of Baldwin, or experiencing the same tensions and obstacles as he did, in other times and places. This made me want to read works by authors I have not read read.
Of course reading On James Baldwin has made me want to re-read many of Baldwin's works again - and I will - soon.
I love the question that hovers over all these lectures that Baldwin aims to answer - What makes a man? What is it to be a man? And that in the context of US history believing and operating on the misconceived perception that people who are Black of Aboriginal are not human. What does that belief by the White supremist movement do to other people, including themselves? And what journey did this context set James Baldwin on?
The fact that James Baldwin didn't ever know his natal father also plays into his journey of self-discovery and that is followed in this lecture series. What does it mean to self identity to not know your actual roots? How much did this pull on James Baldwin?
So the series of lectures really achieves for me a deep dive into the soul and soul searching that was part of the private life of James Baldwin. And this calls the reader to do the same deep dive into self. What does it mean to be human in the context of the world and the universe we live in? What does it really mean in each of us and how do we journey through life with this knowledge?
Really liked this read. A book I will keep and re-read for sure.
June 3, 2026
There is a lot of good in this short voulume of Colm Toibin's critical analysis of James Baldwin's work, fiction and non-fiction, as well as his speeches. I talk a lot about how each reader has a different experience of every work, and that we each bring our life experiences to reading. This book stands as proof of that concept. Colm and I see things very differently.
In this observation, Toibin blends Baldwin's fiction and non-fiction, as well as his activism. If you are going to look at the work of a man's life, especially a man like James Baldwin who was brilliant and prolific both as an author and a public intellectual, then endeavoring to find perfect cohesion is a fool's errand. It is almost physically painful to witness Toibin try to rationalize Baldwin's fanboy regard of the cruel and violent homophobe (and misogynist, which is not addressed here) Eldridge Cleaver. Toibin notes Cleaver's public statements (which are also set out in writing in Soul on Ice) indicating that Baldwin (by name) and other Gay Black men had a "racial death-wish", that they all wanted to bend over for the white man and lived in despair because they were unable to bear the white men's children. Toibin then seems ot indicate that Baldwin worked this all through and saw the Panthers as so important to the liberation of Black Americans that this needed to be overlooked. I mean, maybe? I doubt it. Either way, it is pure conjecture. Baldwin never said that, but we do know that he worshiped Eldridge and Huey, and the rest of the Panther leaders, who all publicly labeled Gay people as vile degenerates. Toibin also twists himself into a pretzel to compare his experiences as a Gay man in Ireland with Baldwin's experiences as a Gay Black man in America. That really does not align. Especially given Baldwin's own comments on being Black in America, bringing on a great deal more oppression than being Gay in America and in Paris. Also, even if this kept to fiction, I don't think Toibin and I saw Giovanni's Room or Another Country at all the same in theme or messaging. I may be totally wrong, he knows far more about Baldwin than I, but still, it brings home the differences in how we see works.
Still, though, the book was interesting and made me think deeply about my reading of the works discussed, fiction and non-fiction. I love Baldwin's work, but his misogyny has gotten in the way of my studying his public speaking more fully. (If you have not checked out his debates with Audre Lorde, I recommend them.) So another plus for me was the inspiration to seek out more of those artifacts.
Very worthwhile short read.
In this observation, Toibin blends Baldwin's fiction and non-fiction, as well as his activism. If you are going to look at the work of a man's life, especially a man like James Baldwin who was brilliant and prolific both as an author and a public intellectual, then endeavoring to find perfect cohesion is a fool's errand. It is almost physically painful to witness Toibin try to rationalize Baldwin's fanboy regard of the cruel and violent homophobe (and misogynist, which is not addressed here) Eldridge Cleaver. Toibin notes Cleaver's public statements (which are also set out in writing in Soul on Ice) indicating that Baldwin (by name) and other Gay Black men had a "racial death-wish", that they all wanted to bend over for the white man and lived in despair because they were unable to bear the white men's children. Toibin then seems ot indicate that Baldwin worked this all through and saw the Panthers as so important to the liberation of Black Americans that this needed to be overlooked. I mean, maybe? I doubt it. Either way, it is pure conjecture. Baldwin never said that, but we do know that he worshiped Eldridge and Huey, and the rest of the Panther leaders, who all publicly labeled Gay people as vile degenerates. Toibin also twists himself into a pretzel to compare his experiences as a Gay man in Ireland with Baldwin's experiences as a Gay Black man in America. That really does not align. Especially given Baldwin's own comments on being Black in America, bringing on a great deal more oppression than being Gay in America and in Paris. Also, even if this kept to fiction, I don't think Toibin and I saw Giovanni's Room or Another Country at all the same in theme or messaging. I may be totally wrong, he knows far more about Baldwin than I, but still, it brings home the differences in how we see works.
Still, though, the book was interesting and made me think deeply about my reading of the works discussed, fiction and non-fiction. I love Baldwin's work, but his misogyny has gotten in the way of my studying his public speaking more fully. (If you have not checked out his debates with Audre Lorde, I recommend them.) So another plus for me was the inspiration to seek out more of those artifacts.
Very worthwhile short read.
December 14, 2024
Irish novelist Colm Toibin's short (147 pages), well-written, informative appreciation of author/activist James Baldwin with a focus on insightful analysis of his writing style was my welcomed first exposure to the author's tender, empathetic works and sensibility outside of the documentary "I Am Not Your Negro." Toibin puts Baldwin in context with his peers Henry James, Oscar Wilde, and others, and highlights his particular relationships with Paris, the American South, Greenwich Village, and the Harlem of his youth.
Favorite excerpts:
From Baldwin's novel "Giovanni's Room" :
"There are so many ways to be despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain."
Toibin's critique of a story Baldwin wrote around the same time of his decision to return to America from Europe to join the civil rights struggle of the 1960s:
"The story ('Going to Meet the Man') belongs to the rage of its moment. Its tone is inflammatory, as the story seeks to connect racist violence with sexual excitement--as it tries to connect the most vile public images with the most private urges. The story offers the sheriff's lack of humanity as a demonstration of Baldwin's views on race and sex and violence and the South. Clearly, this is not a time for distance from the burning world."
Recommended.
Favorite excerpts:
From Baldwin's novel "Giovanni's Room" :
"There are so many ways to be despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain."
Toibin's critique of a story Baldwin wrote around the same time of his decision to return to America from Europe to join the civil rights struggle of the 1960s:
"The story ('Going to Meet the Man') belongs to the rage of its moment. Its tone is inflammatory, as the story seeks to connect racist violence with sexual excitement--as it tries to connect the most vile public images with the most private urges. The story offers the sheriff's lack of humanity as a demonstration of Baldwin's views on race and sex and violence and the South. Clearly, this is not a time for distance from the burning world."
Recommended.
August 25, 2024
Colm Toibin first encountered Baldwin when he was 18 and struggling with life decisions. He found a lifelong companion and exemplar. I'm glad I read this after recently reading three of Baldwin's most famous novels because Toibin's reflections on what Baldwin was trying to do in his fiction resonated. Baldwin's characters transcend race because he was willing to explore difficult and universal truths about the human condition. "all art," he wrote, "is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up." To me, Baldwin's genius has not been diminished over the years. Baldwin's experiences growing up as an African American, living in Harlem, accepting his sexuality and living abroad in Paris opened his mind to truths that few people recognize: "People who have had no experience have no compassion. People who have had no experience suppose that if a man is a thief, he is a thief; but, in fact, that isn't the most important thing about him. The most important thing about him is that he is a man, and furthermore, that if he's a thief or a murderer or whatever he is, you could also be and you would know this, anyone would know this who had really dared to live."
September 26, 2024
Using Baldwin's body of work, Toibin analyzes the meaning of Baldwin's life experience as it is expressed in his fiction and nonfiction, his lectures and interviews. He also deconstructs Baldwin's unique stylistic genius.
What was it like to be a Black man in mid-century America, in the south or in the north, in Harlem or in Greenwich Village. What was the release from tension that American artists sought in Paris then, the Paris that was at war in Algeria at the time. American Blacks may have felt more free, but racism flourished there too, only in a different key.
Toibin finds some personal identification with Baldwin. He also struggled with his homosexuality in the context of his religious upbringing.
Baldwin moves between the political and the philosophical. From tensions outside to the inner drama with which we all contend.
His solution to life and all its vagaries is, in the end, the Scriptural message: love one another.
Lose the binary mentality. Racism hurts both the guilty and the victim.
People struggle within bec we are not (yet?) 'whole'.
I am a fan of both Toibin and Baldwin, which was why I chose to read the book.
What was it like to be a Black man in mid-century America, in the south or in the north, in Harlem or in Greenwich Village. What was the release from tension that American artists sought in Paris then, the Paris that was at war in Algeria at the time. American Blacks may have felt more free, but racism flourished there too, only in a different key.
Toibin finds some personal identification with Baldwin. He also struggled with his homosexuality in the context of his religious upbringing.
Baldwin moves between the political and the philosophical. From tensions outside to the inner drama with which we all contend.
His solution to life and all its vagaries is, in the end, the Scriptural message: love one another.
Lose the binary mentality. Racism hurts both the guilty and the victim.
People struggle within bec we are not (yet?) 'whole'.
I am a fan of both Toibin and Baldwin, which was why I chose to read the book.
December 31, 2024
“There was a sense that once you left, you belonged neither in the place you had gone to or the place you might have once called home.”
“Fiction and Poetry and songs may be the best ways to explore the estrangement that comes with displacement; the idea that what is missing has become almost unnamable but stays in the air-palpable, potent-is part of the lure of this subject for a writer.”
“A novelist can create a self-portrait; a woman novelist can make a man; a contemporary novelist can make a German; a straight novelist can make a homosexual; an African American novelist can make a White American.”
“Baldwin’s imagination remained passionately connected to the destiny of his country.”
“All art,” he wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.”
“Fiction and Poetry and songs may be the best ways to explore the estrangement that comes with displacement; the idea that what is missing has become almost unnamable but stays in the air-palpable, potent-is part of the lure of this subject for a writer.”
“A novelist can create a self-portrait; a woman novelist can make a man; a contemporary novelist can make a German; a straight novelist can make a homosexual; an African American novelist can make a White American.”
“Baldwin’s imagination remained passionately connected to the destiny of his country.”
“All art,” he wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.”
April 12, 2025
A lovely read with interesting insights into Baldwin's personal and social context, alongside Tóibín's personal feelings about Baldwin and his work. I liked the line by line analysis of passages from Baldwin's novels and am keen to re-read them with these ideas in mind.
It didn't blow me away though, it feels like it's trying to do too much in too few pages and doesn't reach a conclusion. The combination of literary analysis, personal reflection and biography felt a little muddled and meant that none of these elements were executed truly well. I believe this was originally a lecture series and I can see it being better suited to that context than print.
It didn't blow me away though, it feels like it's trying to do too much in too few pages and doesn't reach a conclusion. The combination of literary analysis, personal reflection and biography felt a little muddled and meant that none of these elements were executed truly well. I believe this was originally a lecture series and I can see it being better suited to that context than print.
October 8, 2024
Baldwin is captured in these essays - his influences, his voice and his subject matter set out and analysed with great rigour. It is, however, Toibin, who's essence is most clearly reflected in this collection. The author's attention and care as a reader and his deep well of cultural understanding are highlighted above all else. Toibin's Irishness and his advocacy for the tradition from which he emerged and to some extent, has shaped throughout his career, are front and centre. Baldwin's life and work are the backbone of these speeches but it is Toibin who is captured across this text.
September 5, 2025
What a beautiful, emotional tribute that made me feel even closer to Baldwin’s work. I’ve only read two of his novels so far (Giovanni’s Room and Go Tell It on the Mountain), but even with that limited familiarity, I found myself deeply moved by the way Tóibín traces Baldwin’s brilliance and humanity. It’s tender without being overly reverent, and it gave me fresh eyes for why Baldwin continues to matter so much. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Baldwin or wants to step into his world with both insight and feeling.
December 8, 2025
"He liked complex connections, strange distinctions, ambiguous implications. Thus even in a time when gay identity was becoming easier to denote or define, Baldwin resisted the concept of gay and straight, even male and female, insisting in an essay in 1985 that, "Each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other—male in female, female in male, white in black and black in white. We are part of each other.""
January 19, 2025
It's relatively interesting but an odd compound. It's a mix of personal memoir, literary criticism and literary biography. My frustration with it is that I didn't feel it succeeded in being any one of these. It's a very slight volume and that's the biggest issue with it. Just not sure what this is.
August 27, 2025
Colm Tóibín is such a good writer and likeable person. This book is like a nice chat with a smart friend about a well known person you both like, but I do think it might have benefitted from a deeper dive.
There's an absolute doorstop of a book about Baldwin that just came out - ideally something between this and that, please?
There's an absolute doorstop of a book about Baldwin that just came out - ideally something between this and that, please?
September 7, 2025
4.25 stars. i know a lot of james baldwin from his work as an author and civil rights activist, but found that this exploration of his work and life so refreshing. colm toibin is also an incredible writer and this book was basically him fangirling over our favourite author. an absolute gem, but maybe not for starter fans of james baldwin.
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January 3, 2025Not quite a memoir, not quite literary criticism, but in the way of Baldwin’s own The Devil Finds Work also kind of both. Each informs the other.
Tóibín is an insightful reader and a precise writer. I’ll always value these insights on reading, fiction and art from one author to another.
Tóibín is an insightful reader and a precise writer. I’ll always value these insights on reading, fiction and art from one author to another.
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