How to Have a Conversation with Author James Baldwin in 2012 or Any Year - National African-American Art | Examiner.com



When a writer’s name and book titles end up repeatedly on lists of celebrated “best authors” or “best books” it is usually a strong indication they are not only worth reading but occasionally: re-reading. So it is with the Harlem, New York-born author James Baldwin (Aug 2, 1924 - Dec 1, 1987). Were he still alive on this 88th anniversary of his birth, Baldwin could smile with satisfaction at the knowledge that his masterful works continue to illuminate the shadowy depths of human existence and to help empower the lives of socially embattled individuals.

In June, the Library of Congress included the author’s classic The Fire Next Time on its initial list of “Books That Shaped America.” Chroniclers of the great author’s powerful impact on contemporary culture and history, however, started making sure in the last century that readers in this century would retain access to his legacy. In 1999, the Modern Library placed his Notes of a Native Son among the top half of “the 100 best nonfiction works of the century.” In 2011, editors at Time Magazine placed that same title on its list of “All-time Best 100 Nonfiction Books.”

Considering such nonstop endorsements of the author’s genius, it is only natural those with literary inclinations might wonder what it would be like to sit down and have a conversation with Baldwin. You can in fact satisfy that curiosity with Conversations with James Baldwin, a book of dialogues and interviews edited by Fred R. Standley and Louis H. Pratt. The selections span the full range of Baldwin’s career, 1961 to 1987, from just when his literary reputation was secured with the publication of Nobody Knows My Name until several weeks prior to his death.   

A Phenomenal Author's Timeless Voice



For the full article by author-poet Aberjhani please click the link:
How to Have a Conversation with Author James Baldwin in 2012 or Any Year - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

Image
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
Read more

THE EXTRAORDINARY TALENT OF BEAUFORD DELANEY

Image
    This 1941 portrait of celebrated author James Baldwin, entitled “Dark Rapture,” is one of numerous masterworks created by the equally celebrated Harlem Renaissance artist Beauford Delaney (1902-1979). Delaney (whose brother Joseph, 1904-1991, was also an accomplished artist) enjoyed a remarkable career that spanned some five decades. That he was a visual artist whose creative aesthetics profoundly influenced the work of a major literary artist like James Baldwin is one indicator of how powerfully charged the creative energy of the Harlem Renaissance truly was. Aberjhani Co-author of ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE And the author of I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY
Read more

Facing the Challenge of the Unfathomable: #BringBackOurGirls

Image
                     Nigeria and Mother's Day illustration by John Cole for The Times-Tribune . When confronted by something too painful, incredulous, or monstrous to believe, a person will sometimes say, “I  couldn't  even wrap my head around that!” Such was probably one of the main reasons the international community took so long to respond in any meaningful way to the abduction of the almost 300 Chibok school girls in Nigeria. The emotional impact was, and is, not completely unlike that of seeing for the first time a film clip of the aircraft exploding against the Twin Towers on 9/11. It was an image unprecedented in one’s mental model of what reality is supposed to be and therefore an image one was not able to immediately process.   Who could believe that an army of armed adult men would attack and abduct nearly 300 school girls in the middle of the night? Moreover, in retrospect, why were the girls left in such a vulnerable position in the first place?  F
Read more