James Baldwin

[Brave Archer]

Why is he not often discussed when people speak of great writers? I think he is one of the best writers of the last century, definately the most eloquent.

But, I wonder why he is overlooked? Some people don't even know who he is, which is a shame because his writing and his life are both equally fascinating.

Can I get some opinions from people on how they feel about him as a man, but most importantly his writing.

Thanks

[kelby_lake]

I liked Giovanni's Room -for a time, it was one of my favourite books.

[Brave Archer]

Giovanni's Room is great. One of his best.

I can't understand why his works are not appreciated.

[Il Penseroso]

I've only read his short story "Sonny's Blues," which I liked tremendously.

[Brave Archer]

Sonny's Blues is one of his best shorts.

[Jozanny]

Why is he not often discussed when people speak of great writers? I think he is one of the best writers of the last century, definately the most eloquent.

But, I wonder why he is overlooked? Some people don't even know who he is, which is a shame because his writing and his life are both equally fascinating.

Can I get some opinions from people on how they feel about him as a man, but most importantly his writing.

Thanks

I may have heard of Baldwin before I came to LN, but I knew nothing about his homosexuality, or Giovanni's Room, though I can speculate he may be overlooked for two reasons. 1. White academics would have to worry about whose toes they tread on, because these days that is how it is. McWhorter was all over Saletan merely because Saletan challenged notions of racial gap data, so trying to give a black homosexual a place in modernist aesthetics, is, I daresay, tricky.
2. Black culture does not embrace homosexuality as normative, which may make it problematic to give Baldwin prominence in African American studies. That is my guess. As far as I know I've never read him. I have read Wright and Morrison and Ellison and Hughes. Some others, but I have made note of Baldwin for my next foray into identity literature--though I think Ellison takes the greatest novel trophy on this. Invisible Man is one of the greatest contemporary masterpieces around for the challenges it poses toward how we create identity, self-recognition, and opposition to that.

[kelby_lake]

How are Baldwin's plays?

[Babak Movahed]

Thank You!!!!! He is so over looked like his writing style is incredible. In my opinion he has got this romantic and poetic prose that just makes his works so moving. Giovanni's Room and Go Tell it on the Mountain are absolutely captivating and beautifully written. But ya I completely agree with you and I hate to say it but I think he is over looked because he was a bisexual, African American... damn racist homophobe literary critics!

[MANICHAEAN]

I read him in my twenties and found his language compelling, and such that it shocks, disturbs and shakes the reader out of complancy. His works: "Go Tell It On The Mountain" , "Another Country", & "Just Above My Head" were a joy to read. Throughout was the theme of the struggle of individuality against intolerence. The homosexual aspect was no big deal as he appeared to swing both ways.
Of particular interest was in "Notes of A Native Son" written in France where he explores the complex issue of the difficulties faced when black Africans meet brown, (African Americans) on foreign soil.
It reminded me a bit of the absurdity once of encountering in Montego Bay, Jamaica, black Americans sporting topees! I'm sure they thought they were Africa.

[Manchegan]

Thanks for this thread! I read Sonny's Blues years ago and could not remember for the life of me who wrote it. That story was great!

[sixsmith]

I've just finished 'Giovanni's Room'. One of the most beautifully wrought and intensely painful novels i have read. If anyone wishes to discuss further, let me know.

[kelby_lake]

The Amen Corner was very good as well.

I did a review of Giovanni's Room ages ago and got no replies:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33720&highlight=giovanni%27s+room

[Modest Proposal]

I am not trying to stir up a fight but there is something slightly absurd about this conversation. I have read Baldwin 3 times in college and have heard him referenced and applauded COUNTLESS times. His novels, stories and essays are read (it seems) frequently in the California University system.

What I think is absurd is that EVERY time I have read him it has been in a class specifically geared at either "Queer Theory" or "African American" literature.

To everyone saying he is neglected because he is black and gay--what kind of literature programs are/were you involved in? From my exprience these qualities are cause for MORE attention in acadamia. If anything the constant attention he gets for his genetics and lifestyle (as opposed to focusing on his literary merits) is, to me, offensive.

A book lasts because people want to read it for some reason. Otherwise, it can be kept alive because academia deems it "worthy" of study. Baldwin has not fared extremely well in the popular public (what can you say, neither does Joyce). He is kept relevent almost exclusively by the academic community which the posters in this thread seem to think is racist and homophobic. It is strange that people are blaming the group MOST responsible for his relevence for his limited readership, but it is more strange that people are suggesting that the academic community is not obviously huge advocates of gay-rights and racial diversity. Have you read modern criticism?

[neilgee]

I have also heard Baldwin mentioned outside academic circles and his work is still prominent in non-academic bookshops and libraries.

I liked Giovanni's Room and particularly Go tell it on the Mountain which I thought was a harrowing read.

[sixsmith]

I am not trying to stir up a fight but there is something slightly absurd about this conversation. I have read Baldwin 3 times in college and have heard him referenced and applauded COUNTLESS times. His novels, stories and essays are read (it seems) frequently in the California University system.

What I think is absurd is that EVERY time I have read him it has been in a class specifically geared at either "Queer Theory" or "African American" literature.

To everyone saying he is neglected because he is black and gay--what kind of literature programs are/were you involved in? From my exprience these qualities are cause for MORE attention in acadamia. If anything the constant attention he gets for his genetics and lifestyle (as opposed to focusing on his literary merits) is, to me, offensive.

A book lasts because people want to read it for some reason. Otherwise, it can be kept alive because academia deems it "worthy" of study. Baldwin has not fared extremely well in the popular public (what can you say, neither does Joyce). He is kept relevent almost exclusively by the academic community which the posters in this thread seem to think is racist and homophobic. It is strange that people are blaming the group MOST responsible for his relevence for his limited readership, but it is more strange that people are suggesting that the academic community is not obviously huge advocates of gay-rights and racial diversity. Have you read modern criticism?

Yeah I tend to agree. In my experience, if you were looking for a combination to endear yourself to the academic community, black and bisexual would be getting close to a jackpot.

Cultural capital aside, 'Giovanni's Room' is a knockout. Baldwin's prose is sharp, but laced with real beauty, almost perfectly rendering the emotional vacillation of the protagonist. And Giovanni is such an honest, raw creation. Really enjoyed it.

[kelby_lake]

Baldwin is barely known in Britain. And I doubt they'd teach Giovanni's Room as it's about a white character- even though Giovanni's Room is brilliant.