James Baldwin
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| + | "[[We can't be free until they are all free]]" --[[James Baldwin]], ''[[The Progressive]]'', December 1, 1962 | ||
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| - | '''James Arthur Baldwin''' ([[August 2]], [[1924]] – [[November 30]], [[1987]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[novelist]], [[writer]], [[playwright]], [[poet]], [[essayist]], and [[civil rights activist]] best known for his novel ''[[Go Tell It on the Mountain (novel)|Go Tell It on the Mountain]]''. | ||
| - | Most of Baldwin's work deals with [[racism|racial]] and [[human sexuality|sexual]] issues in the mid-20th century [[United States]]. His novels are notable for the personal way in which they explore questions of identity as well as for the way in which they mine complex social and psychological pressures related to being black and [[homosexuality|homosexual]] well before the social, cultural or political equality of these groups could be assumed. | + | '''James Arthur "Jimmy" Baldwin''' (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an [[American writer]] and [[social critic]]. His essays, as collected in ''[[Notes of a Native Son]]'' (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of [[racism|racial]], [[human sexuality|sexual]], and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Some of Baldwin's essays are book-length, for instance ''[[The Fire Next Time]]'' (1963), ''[[No Name in the Street]]'' (1972), and ''[[The Devil Finds Work]]'' (1976). An unfinished manuscript, ''[[Remember This House]]'', was expanded upon and adapted for cinema as the [[Academy Award]]-nominated documentary film ''[[I Am Not Your Negro]]''. |
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| + | Baldwin's novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration not only of [[African Americans]], but also of gay and bisexual men, while depicting some internalized obstacles to such individuals' quests for acceptance. Such dynamics are prominent in Baldwin's second novel, ''[[Giovanni's Room]]'', written in 1956, well before the [[LGBT social movements#Gay Liberation movement|gay liberation movement]]. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[List of civil rights leaders]] | ||
| + | *[[Sonny's Blues]] | ||
| + | *[[Revolutionary Hope: A Conversation Between James Baldwin and Audre Lorde]] | ||
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"We can't be free until they are all free" --James Baldwin, The Progressive, December 1, 1962 |
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James Arthur "Jimmy" Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and social critic. His essays, as collected in Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America. Some of Baldwin's essays are book-length, for instance The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976). An unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, was expanded upon and adapted for cinema as the Academy Award-nominated documentary film I Am Not Your Negro.
Baldwin's novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration not only of African Americans, but also of gay and bisexual men, while depicting some internalized obstacles to such individuals' quests for acceptance. Such dynamics are prominent in Baldwin's second novel, Giovanni's Room, written in 1956, well before the gay liberation movement.
See also
- List of civil rights leaders
- Sonny's Blues
- Revolutionary Hope: A Conversation Between James Baldwin and Audre Lorde
