James Baldwin (writer) Summary
James Baldwin

Biography EssayJames Baldwin's eminence as a man of letters is now well established; indeed, his books, essays, and numerous other pieces attest to the truth of Benjamin DeMott's statement that "this ... Read more

A self-proclaimed disturber of the peace and subversive outsider whose modest goal was to change the world, James Baldwin is considered one of the most important American writers since World War II. A... Read more

As novelist, essayist, dramatist and social critic, James Baldwin's books and numerous other pieces attest not only to a sustained prolificacy but also to a consistent perspicacity. Alternately praise... Read more

James Baldwin emerged in the 1960s as one of America's most gifted writers and one of black America's most articulate spokesmen. Although he is primarily a novelist, Baldwin has also published essays,... Read more

When he died on 1 December 1987, James Baldwin was remembered as a prophet who addressed the causes and results of racial conflict. He spent his entire literary career writing essays, speeches, storie... Read more

Critical Essay by Charles Newman James Baldwin has made a reputation by exploiting social paradoxes, so it should not be surprising to trace his literary antecedents to neither Richard Wright nor Har... Read more

Critical Essay by Donald C. Murray In the world of "Sonny's Blues," the short story by James Baldwin, the author deals with man's need to find his identity in a hostile so... Read more

Critical Essay by Paul Levy In many of his earlier novels James Baldwin showed that he … was a distinguished craftsman. But in Just Above My Head, though he reverts to the fruitful matter of h... Read more

Critical Essay by Paul Bailey No one today excels James Baldwin in the writing of invective. His art is nourished and sustained by an unquenchable rage. He is, essentially, a prophet, with a prophet&... Read more

Critical Essay by Timothy S. Seibles Just Above My Head is a large work which concerns itself with many things and treats each of them with great reverence. There are no ready-made formulas for drama... Read more

Critical Essay by David Levin Baldwin has come to represent for "white" Americans the eloquent, indignant prophet of an oppressed people, a voice speaking … in an all but despera... Read more

Critical Essay by Philip Roth [The direction Blues for Mr. Charlie] takes is an expression of the will of one of the characters, Richard's father, who searches for the meaning of [his son�... Read more

Critical Essay by Daniel Stern Going to Meet the Man, Baldwin's first collection of short stories, is closer in spirit, tone, and achievement to his best critical work than it is to his ... Read more

Critical Essay by C.w.e. Bigsby The continuing battle which Baldwin has waged with the spirit of Richard Wright, a battle which started in 1949 with the publication of his essay, 'Everybody&#x... Read more

Critical Essay by Mario Puzo ["Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone"] is a simpleminded, one-dimensional novel with mostly cardboard characters, a polemical rather than narrati... Read more

Critical Essay by Brian Lee The particular social condition Baldwin diagnoses in his essays is the same one that makes the creation of a fictional world virtually impossible for a Negro novelist. His... Read more

Critical Essay by Anthony Bailey [One has] the feeling that Malcolm X's life and death do not furnish the best vehicle by which even an immensely talented writer can express in cinematic terms... Read more

Critical Essay by John Simon A "protest play," unfortunately, always has a hard time of it artistically, and even more so if, like Baldwin, the playwright doth protest too much. And not... Read more

Critical Essay by John Romano It isn't hard to see why James Baldwin in particular has chosen to shape his sixth novel along the lines of a saga in the contemporary mode. His fiction has often... Read more

Critical Essay by Margo Jefferson [Despite Baldwin's] absorption in culture's complexities and conundrums, despite his indictments of racism, his deepest impulses are religious, mytholo... Read more

Critical Essay by Whitney Balliet The novelistic walls of "Just Above My Head" bulge and leak. But the form Baldwin chooses to write in no longer matters. His great and peculiar power i... Read more

Critical Essay by Irving Howe To transcend the sterile categories of "Negro-ness," whether those enforced by the white world or those erected defensively by Negroes, became Baldwin�... Read more

Critical Essay by James Finn [Nobody Knows My Name] is confirmation that James Baldwin is one of America's finest writers. The essays are uneven; some are slight and dated already because of t... Read more

In the following interview, Baldwin discusses his relationships, his writing, other writers, and America. [Baldwin]: It all comes back now. [Troupe]: When did you first meet Miles? Oh, a long... Read more

Chinua Achebe is a novelist whose works include Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah. In the following essay, he asserts the value of James Baldwin's legacy. The many and varied tr... Read more

In the following essay, Rohy analyzes how the questions of origin and identity in Baldwin's Giovanni's Room relate to the concepts of passing and nostalgia. "America is my coun... Read more

According to James Baldwin, if people were to "guard" and "keep" themselves from society, they are trying to portray an "identity" of which they only assume themselves to be. This can be true in many... Read more