James Baldwin Alexa Canela

Background  James Arthur Baldwin  Born August 2, 1924 in New York, New York  Died December 1, 1987 in Saint-Paul, France  American essayist, novelist, and playwright  Important voice in late 1950s and early 1960s

Background cont…  Eldest of nine children  Grew up in poverty in the black ghetto of Harlem in New York City  Preacher in small revivalist church from age  1942 – graduated high school  1948 – left for Paris  1957 – returns to U.S.

More Info…  One of most important writers in 20 th century American Lit  Leading literary spokesperson of the civil rights movement  Most of his work was influenced by involvement in Civil Rights Movement  “National James Baldwin Literary Society” was founded in 1987

Early Highlights  1942: First book review published – in The Nation on Maxim Gorki  1942: Won a Eugene Saxton Memorial Trust Fellowship  1948: First short story published in Commentary – “Previous Condition”  1948: Won a Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship  1949: First essay published in Partisan Review – “Everybody’s Protist Novel”

Go Tell it on the Mountain  1952 – finished writing first novel  1953 – published by Knopf  Showed racism and injustice done to African American community

Giovanni’s Room  Second novel published in 1956  Showed how courageous Baldwin was  Allowed Baldwin to face double oppresion

Time Magazine  "There is not another writer—white or black— who expresses with such poignancy and abrasiveness the dark realities of the racial ferment in North and South," Time said in the feature.

The Fire Next Time  1963 – published call to action, “The Fire Next Time”  Shocked nation and gave voice to Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement  Baldwin participated in during 1960s movement  Major literary interpret of struggles of black Americans  1957 – returns from France to take part in movement  1963 – The March on Washington  1965 – debates at Cambridge University  – lived through assassination's of his friends

1965 Debate vs. William F. Buckley 

 Baldwin with Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, and Harry Belafonte at Civil Rights March 1963.

Awards and Honors  1945 : Eugene F. Saxton Memorial Trust Award  1948 : Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship  1954 : Guggenheim Fellowship  1956 : Partisan Review Fellowship. National Institute of Arts and Letters Award  1958 : Ford Foundation Fellowship  1962 : National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award

Awards and Honors  1963 : George Polk Award  1964 : The Foreign Drama Critics Award. Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree, University of British Columbia  1976 : Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree, Morehouse College  1986 : La Légion D’Honneur, France’s highest honor, awarded by President François Mitterand.

Sources  #awesm=~oBRNhwUo3FwxBd #awesm=~oBRNhwUo3FwxBd  /James-Baldwin /James-Baldwin  life-and-works life-and-works  aldwin.html aldwin.html