Original Description:
I am primarily interested in exploring the work of James Baldwin. I am not quite sure which aspect of his work I would like to focus on. If I focus on his fiction, I am interested in applying queer theory. In his essays, I am intrigued by the applicability of his discussions of masculinity and race to modern discussions of the same topics. Because I am unsure, I want to begin by broadening my focus as much as possible.
First, I wanted to center myself on some far-reaching keywords. I used a list from NYU’s “Keywords for African American Studies” and settled on “diaspora” “race” and “gender”. In my experience so far, these keywords all serve as central themes in Baldwin’s work.
Next, I consulted with Professor Nadia Alahmed from the Africana Studies department. In Spring of 2020, I took Professor Alahmed’s course “James Baldwin Studies Renaissance: Reflections of a Radical”. In her studies of Baldwin, she focuses heavily on Baldwin as a political figure. She is especially interested in his stance on specific topics such as Israel. It makes sense, then, that she grounds herself in his essays, interviews, and debates. She recommended that I revisit the entirety of “The Fire Next Time”. She also suggested that I read a secondary source by Douglas Field titled “James Baldwin’s Life on the Left”. This source is a biographical analysis of Baldwin’s development as a scholar and increasing radicalism as a political figure.
The other two sources that I included on my reading list are pieces that I have come across in my own research. “James Baldwin’s Vision of Otherness and Community” by Emmanuel Nelson looks at Baldwin’s fiction and non-fiction to decipher his statements on identity. “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” is an essay by Langston Hughes. This essay calls on the negotiation of identity necessary for the Black artist. Hughes, here, asserts that the Black artist cannot, and so should not attempt to, escape being Black. Sources such as these would help me better understand Baldwin’s work surrounding race and identity, for himself as a Black artist and for the characters he creates.
The journal that I have selected to survey is The James Baldwin Review (JBR). This year the journal published its seventh volume and includes various essays on both his fiction and nonfiction.
Update:
While my approach has, in some ways, broadened since my original reading list, my intention remains elementally the same. I still am focusing on the work of James Baldwin. With my initial reading list, I focused only on secondary sources- essays that both build on Baldwin’s work and critique it. In the past few weeks, I’ve been instead focusing on grasping as much of Baldwin’s primary work as I can to see what I notice. I’ve revisited sections of his major essays, and have begun to explore his fiction; primarily, Giovanni’s Room. Those essays and novels have been added to this updated list. While “Nobody Knows My Name” consists of many potent pieces, upon re-reading I am most interested in “Nobody Knows My Name: A Letter From the South”, in which Baldwin explores the implications of race, sexuality, and identity when a Black man raised in the North visits the South. From “No Name in the Street”, I am focusing closely on “To Be Baptized”. In this piece, Baldwin includes a reflection on an old friend, another Black man, who was wrongfully imprisoned. This piece is a raw and devastating discussion on what it means to be a Black man in the United States. “Notes of a Native Son” marks many of Baldwin’s early essays, and will perhaps serve as a baseline to mark his development as a scholar, writer, and political figure. “The Fire Next Time” is a call for the end of the “racial nightmare” in the United States and for the recognition of the intricacies of Black beauty. Regarding the novels, I am most interested in Baldwin’s explorations of love and desire. I intend to meet with Professor Seiler soon per Professor Kersh’s recommendation.
Primary Sources:
Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. Dial Press, 1974.
Baldwin, James. Giovanni’s Room. Vintage Books, 1956.
Baldwin, James. “Nobody Knows My Name.” James Baldwin: Collected Essays, edited by Toni Morrison, The Library of America, 1998, pp. 237-269.
Baldwin, James. “No Name in the Street.” James Baldwin: Collected Essays, edited by Toni Morrison, The Library of America, 1998, p. 349.
Baldwin, James. “Notes of a Native Son.” James Baldwin: Collected Essays, edited by Toni Morrison, The Library of America, 1998, pp. 5-117
Baldwin, James. “The Fire Next Time.” James Baldwin: Collected Essays, edited by Toni Morrison, The Library of America, 1998, pp. 291-296.
Secondary Sources:
Field, Douglas. “James Baldwin’s Life on The Left: A Portrait of The Artist as a Young New York Intellectual.” ELH, vol. 78, no. 4, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, pp. 833–62, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41337556.
Hughes, Langston. “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” The Langston Hughes Review, vol. 4, no. 1, Langston Hughes Society, Penn State University Press, 1985, pp. 1–4, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26432664.
Nelson, Emmanuel S. “James Baldwin’s Vision of Otherness and Community.” MELUS, vol. 10, no. 2, Oxford University Press, Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS), 1983, pp. 27–31, https://doi.org/10.2307/467307.
1 academic journal:
James Baldwin Review (JBR):
https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/journals/jbr/jbr-overview.xml
1-3 far reaching keywords
- diaspora
- race
- gender/sexuality