Synopses & Reviews
All of the published poetry of James Baldwin, including six significant poems previously only available in a limited edition
During his lifetime, James Baldwin authored seven novels, as well as several plays and essay collections, many of which were published to widespread praise. Baldwin’s novels and essays brought him respect as a public intellectual and admiration as a writer. However, Baldwin’s earliest writing was in poetic form, and some argue that even Baldwin considered himself a poet first and foremost. One can see this inclination in the poetic rhythms of his prose. Nonetheless, his single book of poetry, Jimmy’s Blues, published only a few short years before his death in 1987, never attracted as much of the spotlight as his novels and nonfiction did and has been unavailable for many years.
This new collection celebrates Baldwin the poet. Including the nineteen poems from Jimmy’s Blues, the collection also features his poems from a limited-edition art book called Gypsy, of which only 325 copies were ever printed. Known for his relentless honesty and startlingly prophetic insights on issues of race, class, poverty, and sexual orientation, Baldwin is just as enlightening and bold in his poetry as in his famous novels and essays.
Synopsis
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was one of America’s foremost writers and is the author of many novels and essay collections, including Notes of a Native Son.
About the Author
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic, and one of America's foremost writers. His essays, such as "Notes of a Native Son" (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-twentieth-century America. A Harlem, New York, native, he primarily made his home in the south of France.
His novels include Giovanni's Room (1956), about a white American expatriate who must come to terms with his homosexuality, and Another Country (1962), about racial and gay sexual tensions among New York intellectuals. His inclusion of gay themes resulted in much savage criticism from the black community. Going to Meet the Man (1965) and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (1968) provided powerful descriptions of American racism. As an openly gay man, he became increasingly outspoken in condemning discrimination against lesbian and gay people.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction by Nikky Finney ix
Jimmy’s Blues
Staggerlee wonders 3
Song (for Skip) 20
Munich, Winter 1973 (for Y.S.) 26
The giver (for Berdis) 30
3.00 a.m. (for David) 31
The darkest hour 32
Imagination 32
Confession 33
Le sporting-club de Monte Carlo (for Lena Horne) 40
Some days (for Paula) 41
Conundrum (on my birthday) (for Rico) 44
Christmas carol 46
A lady like landscapes (for Simone Signoret) 52
Guilt, Desire and Love 53
Death is easy (for Jefe) 55
Mirrors (for David) 58
A Lover’s Question 60
Inventory/On Being 52 64
Amen 71
Other Poems
Gypsy 75
Song For The Shepherd Boy 85
For A. 87
For EARL 89
Untitled 91
BALLAD (for Yoran) 92