James Baldwin Now FROM THE PUBLISHER
One of the most prolific and influential African American writers, James Baldwin was for many a harbinger of hope, a man who traversed the genres of art--writing novels, essays, and poetry.
James Baldwin Now takes advantage of the latest interdisciplinary work to understand the complexity of Baldwin's vision and contributions without needing to name him as exclusively gay, expatriate, black, or activist. It was, in fact, Baldwin who said, "it is quite impossible to write a worthwhile novel about a Jew or a Gentile or a Homosexual, for people refuse ... to function in so neat and one-dimensional a fashion." McBride has gathered a unique group of new scholars to interrogate Baldwin's life, his presence, and his political thought and work. James Baldwin Now finally addresses the man who spoke, and continues to speak, so eloquently to crucial issues of the twentieth century.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
American English scholars not only explore new ways of thinking about the prolific and influential African-American writer, but also open up new ways in which his work helps clarify many contemporary societal problems. In 14 essays they examine him in the context of race, sexuality, the transatlantic, intertexuality, and the literary. Many but not all center their discussion around a particular literary work. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Jennifer DeVere Brody
This excellent volume conceives of Baldwin as a figure crucial to discussions of whiteness, sexuality, and globalization. The times are ripe for the valuable reconsideration of Baldwin that James Baldwin Now provides. — George Washington University
ACCREDITATION
Dwight A. McBride is a Mellon Research Fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago and Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. His book, Impossible Witnesses: Truth, Abolitionism, and Slave Testimony, is forthcoming from NYU Press.
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