James Baldwin (1924-1987) emerged in the 1960s as a compelling writer and one of black America's most articulate spokesmen.
Primarily a novelist, Baldwin also published essays, plays and short stories. Critics agree that he was at his best as an essayist, and featured this month are the two essays that comprise Baldwin's book The Fire Next Time (1963). "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" is reprinted in its entirety, along with excerpts from a second essay, "Down at the Cross: Letter From a Region in My Mind."
Commentaries on Baldwin's point of view and literary achievement follow these excerpts from The Fire Next Time. Bernard Bell, professor at the University of Massachusetts and author of The Afro-American Novel and Its Tradition; J.A. Parker, president of the Lincoln Institute; and Blyden Jackson, author of The Waiting Years, are contributors. Charles White (1918-1979) is the featured artist.
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