|
|
|
African-American History
James Baldwin
Born in Harlem Hospital on August 2,1924, Baldwin died on November
30, 1987 of stomach cancer in Venice, France.
He was a novelist, essayist, playwright, director, poet, filmmaker and
educator whose grandmother had been a slave. As a young man, between 1938-42,
he served as a youth minister at Fireside Pentecostal Assembly in New York
City. In 1948 Baldwin wrote and published his first short story "Previous
Condition" and in 1954, he earned a Guggenheim Fellowship.
A literary fellowship in 1948 allowed him to go to Europe and France
where he began writing Go Tell it on the Mountain, which was autobiographical.
In 1946 Baldwin declared his homosexuality to acquaintances, and in 1949
moved to Paris.
In 1952 he finished Go Tell it on the Mountain, after eight years of
writing. It was finally published by Knopf in 1953. He returned to the
US in 1957 and became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The Fire Next
Time (1963), Baldwin's biggest novel, predicted the 1960's racial unrest
and made the bestsellers list. Despite its success, Baldwin was uncomfortable
with the acclaim.
Mr. Fletcher welcomes your comments
and feedback.
Simply click on the name of the Painted Voice you'd like
to view:
|
