Encounters with James Baldwin

Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the trailblazing African American author, Encounters with James Baldwin is a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections, interviews and poetry. This moving collection demonstrates the significant legacy of the writer and activist who spoke truth to power during the era of the fight for Black civil liberties in the US, and after.

In this literary anthology, over 30 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin's thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice.

Authors included: VictorAdebowale; Toyin Agbetu; Rosanna Amaka; Michelle Yaa Asantewa; Lindsay Barrett;Eugen Bacon; Gabriella Beckles-Ray; Alan Bell; Selina Brown; Michael Campbell;Fred D’Aguiar; Thomas Glave; Sonia Grant; Zita Holbourne; RashidaIsmaili-AbuBakr; Paterson Joseph; Peter Kalu; Roy McFarlane; Ronnie McGrath;Michael McMillan; Tony Medina; Bill V Mullen; Nducu wa Ngugi; Lola Oh; EwuareX. Osayande; Nii Ayikwei Parkes; Anton Phillips; Ray Shell; SuAndi; TadeThompson; Patrick Vernon; Tony Warner.

Encounters with James Baldwin isthe spiritual evidence seen by some of the finest writers and thinkers anddoers of our times. It is their majestic love letter to J.B., a love letterthat is poetry, essay, social justice, awareness, and the beautiful strugglefor freedom for all that Jimmy Baldwin represented his entire life. Life, yes,the words of this remarkable collection are breath blown back to our belovedancestor James Baldwin, and he to them, to us: air we breathe, air we need, forthese troubled times.


- Kevin Powell, GRAMMY-nominated poet; human & civil rights activist;

"Fromreflective pieces, interviews, essays, and poetic interventions, Encounterswith James Baldwin confirms the enduring resonance of the life and work ofJames Baldwin across the globe. This is an important text for readers eager toconsider the expansive legacy of arguably the most piercing and committedauthor and critic of the last century."

- RichBlint, writer and critic

"What a joythis book is, a fabulous collection of poems, interviews, think pieces andcultural commentary, all marking and celebrating the life and work of JamesBaldwin. One to dip in and out of, rather than read all the way through, youneed time to fully absorb what each writer has to say and process the newperspectives on Baldwin. Wonderful. " ****

- Claire Estelle - Reviewer, netgalley

"Encounterswith James Baldwinis a heartfelt celebration of the author's 100th birthday, a testament to hisenduring influence and legacy. This book features over thirty contributors whoreflect on Baldwin's life and work in fiction and non-fiction. Each sectionreflects on how his thoughts and actions affected their lives and the socialjustice movement. For fans of Baldwin, this book offers a deeper understandingof his life and, more importantly, its profound impact on the world, inspiringreaders to reflect on their own contributions to social justice."

- --- BethKelly, Reviewer, netgalley

Stella Dadzie, writer and activist, is best known for her co-authorship of The Heart of the Race: Black Women's lives in Britain which won the 1985 Martin Luther King Award for Literature. She is a founder member of OWAAD (Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent), a national umbrella group that emerged in the late 1970s as part of the British Civil Rights movement, and was recently described as one of the "grandmothers" of Black Feminism in the UK. Her career as a teacher, writer, artist and education activist spans over 40 years. She previously worked with editor Cheryl Robson on 'Hairvolution: Her Hair, Her Story, Our History'.

Kadija George Sesay, co-editor, MBE, Hon. FRSL is a British literary activist, short story writer and poet of Sierra Leonean descent, and the publisher and managing editor of the magazine SABLE LitMag. Her work has earned her many awards and nominations, including the Cosmopolitan Woman of Achievement in 1994, Candace Woman of Achievement in 1996, The Voice Community Award in Literature in 1999 and the Millennium Woman of the Year in 2000. She is the General Secretary for African Writers Abroad (PEN International) and organises the Writers' HotSpot - trips for writers abroad, where she teaches creative writing and journalism courses.

Sesay has edited or co-edited several books, including Burning Words, Flaming Images: Poems and Short Stories by Writers of African Descent (1996), IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (with Courttia Newland, 2000),[5][6] Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa (Flipped Eye Publishing, 2005), and (as Kadija George) Six Plays by Black and Asian Women Writers (Aurora Metro Books, 2005), Write Black, Write British: From Post Colonial to Black British Literature (Hansib Publications, 2005). In 2007, she created the first SABLE Literary Festival in The Gambia, where she now programmes the Mboka literary festival and bookfair, which she co-founded in 2016.

Sesay's first full collection of poems, entitled Irki, was published in 2013. Her poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in a range of publications, including the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby. In 2021, with Joan Anim-Addo and Deirdre Osborne she curated This is The Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books highlighting alternatives by people of African or Asian descent and indigenous peoples.

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