Happy 90th Birthday to James Baldwin, writer, activist, thinker, speaker of truth and teller of tales! They just named a portion of 128th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue James Baldwin Way. If you want to experience Baldwins work for the first time, Id start with the essays. The Fire Next Time is wonderful. Hes also written novels, plays, lots of essays and non-fiction. I met him several times during his frequent visits to Atlanta. He was always vibrating with new ideas and great adventures just past or on the way. I treasure a memory of one of his visits to City Hall. He spotted Mayor Jackson heading for his office and literally ran down the hallway and embraced Maynard in an enthusiastic hug that almost knocked them both down. Listening to him tell the stories of his travels was almost as good as reading about them, but nothing could replace the pleasure of his artful arrangement of words on paper. His prose makes you grateful that he found his calling. James Baldwin set a high standard for what it means to be a writer and for that I am grateful. He once said that to be a Negro writer, one must make oneself up as one goes along. When I first read it, I didnt know exactly what it meant. Now I do...
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:02:43 +0000
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