History Creator / JamesBaldwin

->''"I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as [[ErnestHemingway Hemingway]] says, and get my work done. I want to be an honest man and a good writer."''

[[caption-width-right:350: [[{{Bookworm}} Baldwin in his natural habitat]].]]

->''"I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done. I want to be an honest man and a good writer."''

* ''The Amen Corner'', a play in three-acts describing the life of a Harlem preacher and her troubled family life.

* ''The Fire Next Time'', a collection of two essays intended to show white readers how they are viewed by their black counterparts, and offer a view on the inadequacy of their self-perception. The title serves as a warning of potential calamity if "the Negro problem" is simply ignored, and comes from an old Negro spiritual.

!!Tropes
* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: ''The Fire Next Time'' is titled after an old gospel music lyric.
-->''God sent [[TheArk Noah]] the rainbow sign\\
[[FalseReassurance No more water,]] the fire next time''

->''" I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done. I want to be an honest man and a good writer."''

* ''The Amen Corner,'' a play in three-acts describing the life of a Harlem preacher and her troubled family life.
* ''Notes of a Native Son,'' a collection of essays on various subjects of African-American life in the United States, Baldwin's own life, and art. The titular essay expounds on Baldwin's difficult relationship with his father, and his attempts to cope with the hatred he developed as a result.
* ''The Fire Next Time,'' a pair of essays intended to show white readers how they are viewed by their black counterparts, and offer a view on the inadequacy of their self-perception. The title serves as a warning of potential calamity if "the Negro problem" is simply ignored, and comes from an old Negro spiritual.
* ''If Beale Street Could Talk,'' a novel about a 19 year old girl's attempt to free her fiancé from imprisonment on false charges before her baby can be born without a father. [[Film/IfBealeStreetCouldTalk Later made into a film by Barry Jenkins]].
* ''Evidence of Things Not Seen,'' Baldwin's study of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979–1981 Atlanta Child Murders]] where he offers commentary on the role race and the culture of the city of Atlanta played in the killings.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[{{Bookworm}} Baldwin in his natural habitat]]]]

* ''Evidence of Things Not Seen,'' Baldwin's study of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979–1981 Atlanta Child Murders]] where he offers commentary on the role race and the culture of the city of Atlanta played in the killings.

* ''Evidence of Things Not Seen,'' Baldwin's study of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_murders_of_1979%E2%80%9381 Atlanta Child Murders]] where he offers commentary on the role race and the culture of the city of Atlanta played in the killings.

* ''Literature/GoTellItOnTheMountain'', a semi-autobiographical novel where AuthorAvatar John Grimes attempts to cope with his upbringing in Harlem under his authoritarian preacher father.
* ''Literature/GiovannisRoom'', a renowned work of queer literature.

* ''Literature/GoTellItOnTheMountain,'' a semi-autobiographical novel where AuthorAvatar John Grimes attempts to cope with his upbringing in Harlem under his authoritarian preacher father.
* ''Literature/GiovannisRoom,'' a renowned work of queer literature.

* ''If Beale Street Could Talk,'' a novel about a 19 year old girl's attempt to free her fiancé from imprisonment on false charges before her baby can be born without a father.

Baldwin's work is often highly biographical. His first novel, ''Literature/GoTellItOnTheMountain'' is a thinly veiled BiographyAClef revolving around Baldwin's abusive childhood, disillusionment with religion, and struggles with his identity. Baldwin is perhaps most famous for his collection of semi-biographical essays called ''Notes of a Native Son''. The most well known essays in this collection were "Everybody's Protest Novel" and "Many Thousands Gone" in which he roundly criticized Richard Wright's novel ''Literature/NativeSon'', both for Wright's [[AuthorOnBoard heavy-handed radical themes]] and what he considered to be [[StopBeingStereotypical an excessively stereotpical protagonist.]] Both were so highly regarded that they actually damaged Wright's reputation, and as a result, injured their friendship beyond repair.

* ''Go Tell It on the Mountain,'' a semi-autobiographical novel where AuthorAvatar John Grimes attempts to cope with his upbringing in Harlem under his authoritarian preacher father.

Baldwin's work is often highly biographical. His first novel, ''Go Tell It on the Mountain'' is a thinly veiled BiographyAClef revolving around Baldwin's abusive childhood, disillusionment with religion, and struggles with his identity. Baldwin is perhaps most famous for his collection of semi-biographical essays called ''Notes of a Native Son''. The most well known essays in this collection were "Everybody's Protest Novel" and "Many Thousands Gone" in which he roundly criticized Richard Wright's novel ''Literature/NativeSon'', both for Wright's [[AuthorOnBoard heavy-handed radical themes]] and what he considered to be [[StopBeingStereotypical an excessively stereotpical protagonist.]] Both were so highly regarded that they actually damaged Wright's reputation, and as a result, injured their friendship beyond repair.

* ''I Am Not Your Negro'', the acclaimed 2016 [[{{Documentary}} documentary film]] about Baldwin, is based on his unfinished memoir ''Remember This House.''

'''James Arthur Baldwin''' (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American author, and a leading voice on the subject of race in America for many years. Baldwin was born in Harlem, where the only father he knew, his stepfather David Baldwin, was a Pentecostal preacher. A harsh, domineering man, he strongly encouraged James to follow in his footsteps, which he did by becoming a youth minister at the age of 14. Eventually, however, he burned out on religion and decided to develop a love of literature that he discovered at an early age. He spent most of his teenage years in libraries where he read voraciously and settled on becoming a writer.

Baldwin was deeply involved with the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, having experienced something of a political awakening in France. While initially skeptical of political activism, he became disillusioned with the hypocrisy of American liberalism and became attached to radical leftism and the Black Power movements. His later works reflect this, becoming more pessimistic and militant in their tone. He notably was personally invited to join the Nation of Islam by Elijah Muhammad, but turned him down. He also participated in Creator/MartinLutherKingJr's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, despite his dubious attitude toward Christianity, even helping him to organize the March on Washington.

* ''The Amen Corner,'' A play in three-acts describing the life of a Harlem preacher and her troubled family life.

* ''The Fire Next Time,'' A pair of essays intended to show white readers how they are viewed by their black counterparts, and offer a view on the inadequacy of their self-perception. The title serves as a warning of potential calamity if "the Negro problem" is simply ignored, and comes from an old Negro spiritual.

Baldwin's work is often highly biographical. His first novel, ''Go Tell It On The Mountain'' is a thinly veiled BiographyAClef revolving around Baldwin's abusive childhood, disillusionment with religion, and struggles with his identity. Baldwin is perhaps most famous for his collection of semi-biographical essays called ''Notes of a Native Son''. The most well known essays in this collection were "Everybody's Protest Novel" and "Many Thousands Gone" in which he roundly criticized Richard Wright's novel ''Literature/NativeSon'', both for Wright's [[AuthorOnBoard heavy-handed radical themes]] and what he considered to be [[StopBeingStereotypical an excessively stereotpical protagonist.]] Both were so highly regarded that they actually damaged Wright's reputation, and as a result, injured their friendship beyond repair.

* ''Go Tell It On the Mountain,'' a semi-autobiographical novel where AuthorAvatar John Grimes attempts to cope with his upbringing in Harlem under his authoritarian preacher father.

* ''Notes of a Native Son,'' a collection of essays on various subjects of Black life in America, Baldwin's own life, and art. The titular essay expounds on Baldwin's difficult relationship with his father, and his attempts to cope with the hatred he developed as a result.
* ''The Fire Next Time,'' A pair of essays intended to show white readers how they are viewed by their Black counterparts, and offer a view on the inadequacy of their self-perception. The title serves as a warning of potential calamity if "the Negro problem" is simply ignored, and comes from an old Negro spiritual.
* ''If Beale Street Could Talk,'' a novel about a 19 year old girl's attempt to free her fiancee from imprisonment on false charges before her baby can be born without a father.

'''James Arthur Baldwin''' (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was a highly influential American author and poet. Baldwin was born in Harlem, where the only father he knew, his stepfather David Baldwin, was a Pentecostal preacher. A harsh, domineering man, he strongly encouraged James to follow in his footsteps, which he did by becoming a youth minister at the age of 14. Eventually, however, he burned out on religion and decided to develop a love of literature that he discovered at an early age. He spent most of his teenage years in libraries where he read voraciously and settled on becoming a writer.

Baldwin was deeply involved with the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, having experienced something of a political awakening in France. while While initially skeptical of political activism, he became disillusioned with the hypocrisy of American liberalism and became attached to radical leftism and the Black Power movements. His later works reflect this, becoming more pessimistic and militant in their tone. He notably was personally invited to join the Nation of Islam by Elijah Muhammad, but turned him down. He also participated in Creator/MartinLutherKingJr's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, despite his dubious attitude toward Christianity, even helping him to organize the March on Washington.

Baldwin's work is often highly biographical. His first novel, ''Go Tell It On The Mountain'' is a thinly veiled BiographyAClef revolving around Baldwin's abusive childhood, disillusionment with religion, and struggles with his identity. Baldwin is perhaps most famous for his collection of semi-biographical essays called ''Notes of a Native Son''. The most well known essays in this collection were "Everbody's Protest Novel" and "Many Thousands Gone" in which he roundly criticized Richard Wright's novel ''Literature/NativeSon'', both for Wright's [[AuthorOnBoard heavy-handed radical themes]] and what he considered to be [[StopBeingStereotypical an excessively stereotpical protagonist.]] Both were so highly regarded that they actually damaged Wright's reputation, and as a result, injured their friendship beyond repair.

Baldwin was deeply involved with the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, having experienced something of a political awakening in France. while While initially skeptical of political activism, he became disillusioned with the hypocrisy of American liberalism and became attached to radical leftism and the Black Power movements. His later works reflect this, becoming more pessimistic and militant in their tone. He notably was personally invited to join the Nation of Islam by Elijah Muhammad, but turned him down. He also participated in Creator/MartinLutherKingJr|'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, despite his dubious attitude toward Christianity, even helping him to organize the March on Washington.

Baldwin was deeply involved with the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, having experienced something of a political awakening in France. while While initially skeptical of political activism, he became disillusioned with the hypocrisy of American liberalism and became attached to radical leftism and the Black Power movements. His later works reflect this, becoming more pessimistic and militant in their tone. He notably was personally invited to join the Nation of Islam by Elijah Muhammad, but turned him down. He also participated in Creator/MartinLutherKing|'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, despite his dubious attitude toward Christianity, even helping him to organize the March on Washington.

Baldwin's work is often highly biographical. His first novel, ''Literature/GoTellItOnTheMountain'' is a thinly veiled BiographyAClef revolving around Baldwin's abusive childhood, disillusionment with religion, and struggles with his identity. Baldwin is perhaps most famous for his collection of semi-biographical essays called ''Notes of a Native Son''. The most well known essays in this collection were "Everbody's Protest Novel" and "Many Thousands Gone" in which he roundly criticized Richard Wright's novel ''Literature/NativeSon'', both for Wright's [[AuthorOnBoard heavy-handed radical themes]] and what he considered to be [[StopBeingSoStereotypical an excessively stereotpical protagonist.]] Both were so highly regarded that they actually damaged Wright's reputation, and as a result, injured their friendship beyond repair.

->''" I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done.
I want to be an honest man and a good writer."''

->''"At the age of twelve, before I had had one full year of formal schooling, I had a conception of life that no experience would ever erase, a predilection for what was real that no argument could ever gainsay, a sense of the world that was mine and mine alone, a notion as to what life meant that no education could ever alter, a conviction that the meaning of living came only when one was struggling to wring a meaning out of meaningless suffering."''