James Baldwin

1924-1987 Novelist Birthplace: New York, NY

James Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. He was the eldest of nine children from an impoverished family. In 1938, at the age of 14, Baldwin became a preacher at a revival church – something he wrote about extensively later in life in his books and plays. He moved to Paris in 1948, where he wrote Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), The Amen Corner (1954), and Giovanni's Room (1956). He returned to the United States after eight years and became active in the civil rights movement. His books, plays, and essay collections, such as Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), were received to critical acclaim, and today Baldwin's works are still studied and appreciated for their honesty, eloquence, and insight. Baldwin returned to France to live out the remainder of his life. He died in Saint-Paul, France, in 1987.

Selected Works by James Baldwin
Novels
Go Tell It On The Mountain (1953)
Giovanni's Room (1956)
Another Country (1962)
Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone (1968)
If Beale Street Could Talk (1974)
Just Above My Head (1979)

Essays
Notes Of A Native Son (1955)
Nobody Knows My Name (1961)
The Fire Next Time (1963)
The Price Of The Ticket: Collected Non-Fiction, 1948-1985 (1985)

Poetry
Jimmy's Blues (1983)
Gypsy and Other Poems (1989)

Plays
The Amen Corner (1955)
Blues For Mister Charlie (1964)

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