A Historical Guide to James Baldwin

Author: Douglas Field Series: Historical Guides to American Authors

A comprehensive examination of Baldwin's varied body of work, focusing on the four tumultous decades that defined the great author's life and art.

With contributions from major scholars of African American literature, history, and cultural studies, A Historical Guide to James Baldwin focuses on the four tumultous decades that defined the great author's life and art. Providing a comprehensive examination of Baldwin's varied body of work that includes short stories, novels, and polemical essays, this collection reflects the major events that left an indelible imprint on the iconic writer: civil rights, black nationalism and the struggle for gay rights in the pre- and post-Stonewall eras. The essays also highlight Baldwin's under-studied role as a trans-Atlantic writer, his lifelong struggle with faith, and his use of music, especially the blues, as a key to unlock the mysteries of his identity as an exile, an artist, and a black American in a racially hostile era.

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Summary

A comprehensive examination of Baldwin's varied body of work, focusing on the four tumultous decades that defined the great author's life and art.

Description

With contributions from major scholars of African American literature, history, and cultural studies, A Historical Guide to James Baldwin focuses on the four tumultous decades that defined the great author's life and art. Providing a comprehensive examination of Baldwin's varied body of work that includes short stories, novels, and polemical essays, this collection reflects the major events that left an indelible imprint on the iconic writer: civil rights,black nationalism and the struggle for gay rights in the pre- and post-Stonewall eras. The essays also highlight Baldwin's under-studied role as a trans-Atlantic writer, his lifelong struggle with faith, andhis use of music, especially the blues, as a key to unlock the mysteries of his identity as an exile, an artist, and a black American in a racially hostile era.

Critic Reviews

“"A Historical Guide to James Baldwinis welcome and timely. It caps a decade of renewed interest in this major twentieth-century figure and sets the terms of debate for the decade to come. Moreover, as a Baldwin scholar and a student in an undergraduate seminar on Baldwin, we can testify to how it speaks to scholars at all levels and lends itself to course adoption...This collection belongs on the shelf of any Baldwin scholar, student, or aficionado." --Brian Norman and Lauren A. Wilson,Callaloo”

"A Historical Guide to James Baldwin is welcome and timely. It caps a decade of renewedinterest in this major twentieth-century figure and sets the terms of debate for the decadeto come. Moreover, as a Baldwin scholar and a student in an undergraduate seminar onBaldwin, we can testify to how it speaks to scholars at all levels and lends itself to courseadoption...This collection belongs on the shelf of any Baldwin scholar, student, or aficionado." --Brian Norman and Lauren A. Wilson, Callaloo