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About the author
James Baldwin
391 books17k followersLibrarian 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 11, 2021
Told from the perspective of Peter, an African American actor in his twenties, this short story looks at the challenges experienced by those who are different. Unable to find work, or even suitable accommodation, purely because of the colour of his skin, Peter is disillusioned by everything.
Really, this is all about trying to find your place in the world. Whilst Peter clearly has issues with white people’s treatment of his, based purely on the fact he is not-white, he also does not feel at home with “his people”. Hating his upbringing, he left the family home as quickly as possible and seems to constantly swing from wanting to accept, and to be accepted.
For me, the most interesting part of this short were the different experiences of discrimination. A black man may well be discriminated against, but his experience won’t be the same as a Jewish woman. Peters argument though is that no one necessarily knows you’re Jewish as soon as you walk in to a room – whilst skin colour is the first thing anyone will see.
A thought-provoking and interesting read, that is as relevant today as it ever has been.
Really, this is all about trying to find your place in the world. Whilst Peter clearly has issues with white people’s treatment of his, based purely on the fact he is not-white, he also does not feel at home with “his people”. Hating his upbringing, he left the family home as quickly as possible and seems to constantly swing from wanting to accept, and to be accepted.
For me, the most interesting part of this short were the different experiences of discrimination. A black man may well be discriminated against, but his experience won’t be the same as a Jewish woman. Peters argument though is that no one necessarily knows you’re Jewish as soon as you walk in to a room – whilst skin colour is the first thing anyone will see.
A thought-provoking and interesting read, that is as relevant today as it ever has been.
May 8, 2024
He's an amazing writer, let that be established. I just wanted to mention that this reads like a white person trying to write about black experiences, but it's not, which makes everything worse.
For the unobliging, I probably will have to mention that this isn't criticism
For the unobliging, I probably will have to mention that this isn't criticism
September 1, 2025
you can feel his confidence grow as he writes, it’s incredible
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews