The Year of James Baldwin Now in Full Classic Literary Swing (part 1) - by Aberjhani


Author James Baldwin in St. Paul de Vence, France, 1976. (photo by Dmitri Kasterine)
“It has always been much easier (because it has always seemed much safer) to give a name to the evil without than to locate the terror within. And yet, the terror within is far truer and far more powerful than any of our labels: the labels change, the terror is constant.” –James Baldwin, from the essay Nothing Personal
Members of New York City’s cultural arts community made a rare kind of decision earlier this year and the results of that decision continue to generate exceptional events and responses. They–– as in Columbia University School of the Arts, Harlem Stage, and New York Live Arts–– elected to observe The Year of James Baldwin from April 2014 until June 2015 in honor of the late iconoclastic African-American author’s 90th birthday August 2, 2014.

Long before he died on December 1, 1987, millions came to recognize the indelible mark of Baldwin’s impact on, and the incredible depth of his singular voice within American literature. He is in many ways more alive now than ever before, a statement that holds especially true when considering the events that have already been held to launch the year dedicated to him.
“There were few political figures as deeply engaged and as capaciously soulful as
James Baldwin, nor we’d like to insist, any as urgently pertinent to our own
times,” noted curator Lawrence Weschler in the brochure for Live Ideas, James Baldwin This Time!
He added the following: 
To continue reading the full article by Aberjhani please click here:
The Year of James Baldwin now in full classic literary swing (part 1) - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

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