A Historical Guide to James BaldwinWith 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. |
Contents
| 3 | |
A Brief Biography | 21 |
The Burdens and Gifts of Black Evangelicalism | 61 |
James Baldwin and Music | 83 |
Lieux de Mémoire and a Usable Past | 111 |
James Baldwin and the Civil Rights Movement | 141 |
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African American Amen Corner American Culture American literature Arthur artist Baldwin writes Baldwin’s later become Bessie Smith Black Queer Studies black writer Blues for Mister characters Christian church civil rights movement Collected Nonfiction critical David Douglas Field edited Everybody’s Protest Novel father Fire Giovanni’s Room Go Tell gospel Handlin Harlem Historical Guide homosexuality identity immigrant James Baldwin jazz Kennedy King’s Knows My Name Langston Hughes Leeming Library of America lieux de mémoire live Long the Train’s Lorraine Hansberry Malcolm Malcolm X Martin Luther King Mississippi Mister Charlie Mountain musician narrative Native Negro never Notes one’s Paris play political Price published Queer Studies racial racism Ralph Ellison religion religious Review rhetoric Richard Wright sing singer social song Sonny Sonny’s Blues South Standley struggle Ticket tion Toni Morrison Train’s Been Gone transatlantic U.S. president University Press Weatherby York