James Baldwin (Bee Johnson: Behance.net)
Fadoju Olumide
James Baldwin is an excellent writer and a social observer, born on August 2, 1924 in New York City’s Harlem. The erudite that he became in his life, started in the years of his youth. He enjoyed reading and tried writing. The trying circumstances in which he was raised drew him to literature as a means of escape.
At a particular point in his life, Baldwin’s father fell ill and young James got a job to support his brothers and sisters. His book Go Tell It on The Mountain, reflects his childhood and the difficulties that accompanied it
As his life began to unfold he met another writer—Richard Wright—when he moved to Greenwich Village, working odd jobs to support himself. Richard was able to get James to the Eugene F. Saxton fellowship. The foundation provided Baldwin with support, until he had enough and decided to leave for France.
It is believed that this move and complete change of environment may have given more room to his creativity, as the social milieu of the United States seemed pretty stiff for him. After the move, he wrote Go Tell It on The Mountains, Giovanni’s Room and other great works. Apart from the books he wrote, he also wrote many essays, which contribute significantly—according to critics—to American literature. These essays brought the society under searchlight, revealing the segregation and separation that existed along the lines of racism and sexuality. In fact, his essays undoubtedly project the negative consequences of these segregations. On the other hand, he wrote about the hopes and dreams of the African Americans and how they survived in a very harsh environment. Some of these works include: Notes of Native Son, Nobody Knows My Name, The Fire Next Time, No Name in the Street and The Evidence of Things Not Seen.
Some of the plays he wrote were produced on Broadway. His Amen Corner and Blues for Mister Charlie were successes on the Broadway stage.
Before Baldwin died, he was working on two plays, The Welcome Table and a biography of Martin Luther King, who was his associate in the fight against racism. He was a renowned and quite articulate writer, who never kept quiet to the pains of the people, especially his people, who were the oppressed minority. Baldwin died December 1, 1987 in France.