Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Fans are celebrating James Baldwin on his 99th posthumous birthday.
Were he still alive, today would be American writer James Baldwin’s birthday. Born on this day in 1924 New York City, Baldwin rose to fame as one of the most talented writers of a generation. His perspective as a gay Black man living through segregation, as well as his travels abroad, brought lucid insight into matters of sexuality, politics and race to his broad range of work across novels, poetry and non-fiction.
Nelson has immersed herself in the subject of Baldwin since attending “A Language to Dwell In,” a James Baldwin conference in Paris, France in 2016. There, she accompanied Michigan poets and creatives Jessica care Moore, Melba Joyce Boyd, and Magdalena J. Zaborowska, and audited lectures and performances while creating live art at the conference. Not having recalled reading Baldwin in high school, among other required reading, the artist sought to learn as much as she could on the way to, and during the conference. She devoured the great writer’s speeches and books and embarked upon a year-long study that resulted in a total of 91 drawings.
It was during his time in Paris that Baldwin’s first major works were published. His first novel ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’ was published in 1953 with his first essay collection ‘Notes on a Native Son’ following in 1955. In 1956, he published ‘Giovanni’s Room’. It’s probably the novel he’s most known for with its heartrending portrayal of a man torn by his sexuality while living in Paris.
After he returned to the US, he continued to publish. Next came my personal favourite of his novels, 1962’s ‘Another Country’, followed by his searing essay collection ‘The Fire Next Time’ in 1963. In his lifetime, he published six novels, including 1974’s ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ which was adapted by Moonlight ‘s Barry Jenkins in 2018.
