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James Baldwin Biography (1924-)

Born August 2, 1924, in New York, NY; son of David (a minister) and Berdis (Jones) Baldwin. Addresses: HOME-- New York, NY; France. OFFICE--c/o Holt, Rinehart and Winston, CBS Inc., 521 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10175.

From James Baldwin's publicity biography, CTFT notes that he was a child preacher at the Fireside Pentecostal Assembly from the time he was fourteen untilhe turned seventeen. At seventeen, he embarked upon his literary career. Hegained international prominence as a leader and spokesman for the civil rights movement, although he prefers to call himself a witness to that movement. He has spoken passionately before audiences of thousands urging recognition ofthe rights of all. Still a frequent speaker at colleges and universities, Baldwin was Regent's Lecturer during a month-long visit at the University of California at Berkeley in 1979. He addressed the American Booksellers Convention in Los Angeles, in May of that same year. He spends his time between his homes in New York City and southern France.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

August 2, 1924

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE WORK
• Director, Fortune and Men's Eyes, Istanbul, Turkey, 1970.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM WORK
• Director, The Inheritance, 1973.
• Writings;NOVELS
• Go Tell It on the Mountain, Alfred Knopf, 1953, reissued in hardcover byDial Press, 1963.
• Giovanni's Room, Dial, 1956, reprinted by Transworld, 1977.
• Another Country, Dial, 1962.
• Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone, Dial, 1968.
• If Beale Street Could Talk, Dial, 1974.
• Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood (juvenile), M. Joseph, 1976,then Dial, 1977.
• Just Above My Head, Dial, 1979.
• Writings;ESSAYS
• Notes of a Native Son, Beacon Press, 1955.
• Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son, Dial, 1961.
• The Fire Next Time, Dial, 1963.
• Black Anti-Semitism and Jewish Racism (with others), R. W. Baron, 1969.
• Menschenwuerde und Gerechtigkeit (with Kenneth Kaunda; essays delivered at the fourth assembly of the World Council of Churches), edited and introduced by Carl Ordnung, Union-Verl, 1969.
• No Name in the Streets, Dial, 1972.
• The Devil Finds Work, 1976.
• Writings;OTHER WORKS
• Autobiographical Notes, Alfred Knopf, 1953.
• Nothing Personal (author of text; photography portraits by Richard Avedon), Atheneum, 1964.
• Going to Meet the Man (short stories), Dial, 1965.
• This Morning, This Evening, So Soon (short story), edited by Johannes Schuetze, Diesterweg, 1967.
• A Rap on Race (with Margaret Mead), Lippincott, 1971.
• A Dialogue (with Nikki Giovanni), Lippincott, 1973.
• Cesar: Compressions d'or (with Francoise Giroud), Hachette, 1973.
• Work anthologized in American Negro Short Stories, edited by John HenrikClarke, Hill and Wang, 1966. Contributor to numerous magazines in the UnitedStates and abroad, including Harper's, Nation, Esquire, Partisan Review, Mademoiselle, and New Yorker.
• Writings;PLAYS
• The Amen Corner, produced at Howard University, 1953, Los Angeles, 1964,at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NY, 1965, Europe and the Far East, 1965, Chicago, IL, 1979, and at the Black Theatre Festival, Lincoln Center, NY, 1979, published by Dial, 1968.
• Giovanni's Room (based on novel of same name), produced at Actors Studioworkshop, 1958.
• Blues for Mister Charlie, American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), 1964, published by Dial, 1964.
• A Deed from the King of Spain, first produced at American Center for Stanislavsky Theatre Art, NY, 1974.
• Writings;SCREENPLAYS
• One Day, When I Was Lost: A Scenario (based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X), 1973.