Celebrating the centenary of the birth of the trailblazing African American author, Encounters with James Baldwin is a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections, interviews and poetry. This moving collection demonstrates the significant legacy of the writer and activist who spoke truth to power during the era of the fight for Black civil liberties in the US, and after.
In this literary anthology, over 30 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin's thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice.
Authors included: Victor
Adebowale; Toyin Agbetu; Rosanna Amaka; Michelle Yaa Asantewa; Lindsay Barrett;
Eugen Bacon; Gabriella Beckles-Ray; Alan Bell; Selina Brown; Michael Campbell;
Fred D'Aguiar; Thomas Glave; Sonia Grant; Zita Holbourne; Rashida
Ismaili-AbuBakr; Paterson Joseph; Peter Kalu; Roy McFarlane; Ronnie McGrath;
Michael McMillan; Tony Medina; Bill V Mullen; Nducu wa Ngugi; Lola Oh; Ewuare
X. Osayande; Nii Ayikwei Parkes; Anton Phillips; Ray Shell; SuAndi; Tade
Thompson; Patrick Vernon; Tony Warner.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Encounters with James Baldwin is
the spiritual evidence seen by some of the finest writers and thinkers and
doers of our times. It is their majestic love letter to J.B., a love letter
that is poetry, essay, social justice, awareness, and the beautiful struggle
for freedom for all that Jimmy Baldwin represented his entire life. Life, yes,
the words of this remarkable collection are breath blown back to our beloved
ancestor James Baldwin, and he to them, to us: air we breathe, air we need, for
these troubled times.
- Kevin Powell, GRAMMY-nominated poet; human & civil rights activist;
"From
reflective pieces, interviews, essays, and poetic interventions, Encounters
with James Baldwin confirms the enduring resonance of the life and work of
James Baldwin across the globe. This is an important text for readers eager to
consider the expansive legacy of arguably the most piercing and committed
author and critic of the last century."
- Rich
Blint, writer and critic
"What a joy
this book is, a fabulous collection of poems, interviews, think pieces and
cultural commentary, all marking and celebrating the life and work of James
Baldwin. One to dip in and out of, rather than read all the way through, you
need time to fully absorb what each writer has to say and process the new
perspectives on Baldwin. Wonderful. " ****
- Claire Estelle - Reviewer, netgalley
"Encounters
with James Baldwin
is a heartfelt celebration of the author's 100th birthday, a testament to his
enduring influence and legacy. This book features over thirty contributors who
reflect on Baldwin's life and work in fiction and non-fiction. Each section
reflects on how his thoughts and actions affected their lives and the social
justice movement. For fans of Baldwin, this book offers a deeper understanding
of his life and, more importantly, its profound impact on the world, inspiring
readers to reflect on their own contributions to social justice."
- --- Beth
Kelly, Reviewer, netgalley
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Aurora Metro Publications
Illustrationen
black and white photographs; black and white photographs
Maße
Höhe: 198 mm
Breite: 129 mm
Dicke: 14 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-913641-41-2 (9781913641412)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Stella Dadzie, writer and activist, is best known for her co-authorship of The Heart of the Race: Black Women's lives in Britain which won the 1985 Martin Luther King Award for Literature. She is a founder member of OWAAD (Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent), a national umbrella group that emerged in the late 1970s as part of the British Civil Rights movement, and was recently described as one of the "grandmothers" of Black Feminism in the UK. Her career as a teacher, writer, artist and education activist spans over 40 years. She previously worked with editor Cheryl Robson on 'Hairvolution: Her Hair, Her Story, Our History'.
Kadija George Sesay, co-editor, MBE, Hon. FRSL is a British literary activist, short story writer and poet of Sierra Leonean descent, and the publisher and managing editor of the magazine SABLE LitMag. Her work has earned her many awards and nominations, including the Cosmopolitan Woman of Achievement in 1994, Candace Woman of Achievement in 1996, The Voice Community Award in Literature in 1999 and the Millennium Woman of the Year in 2000. She is the General Secretary for African Writers Abroad (PEN International) and organises the Writers' HotSpot - trips for writers abroad, where she teaches creative writing and journalism courses.Sesay has edited or co-edited several books, including Burning Words, Flaming Images: Poems and Short Stories by Writers of African Descent (1996), IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (with Courttia Newland, 2000),[5][6] Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa (Flipped Eye Publishing, 2005), and (as Kadija George) Six Plays by Black and Asian Women Writers (Aurora Metro Books, 2005), Write Black, Write British: From Post Colonial to Black British Literature (Hansib Publications, 2005). In 2007, she created the first SABLE Literary Festival in The Gambia, where she now programmes the Mboka literary festival and bookfair, which she co-founded in 2016.
Sesay's first full collection of poems, entitled Irki, was published in 2013. Her poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in a range of publications, including the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby. In 2021, with Joan Anim-Addo and Deirdre Osborne she curated This is The Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books highlighting alternatives by people of African or Asian descent and indigenous peoples.
Autor*in
Herausgeber*in
Einführung von
Introduction by Stella Dadzie 9
Three Memories of Baldwin by Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr 18
Blackspace by Victor Adebowale 26
Talking about Baldwin with Victor Adebowale 28
The World is White No Longer by Toyin Agbetu 35
Uncle Jimmy's Calling by Rosanna Amaka 44
The Spirit of James Baldwin by Michelle Yaa Asantewa 46
Mea Culpa by Eugen Bacon 55
Meeting Jimmy Baldwin in Paris by Lindsay Barrett 57
Genius as Moral Courage by Gabriella Beckles-Raymond 62
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Phone Calls by Alan Bell 70
Never Make Peace with Mediocrity by Selina Brown 76
Searching for the Centennial Man by Michael Campbell 80
In a Photograph with James Baldwin by Fred D'Aguiar 82
Fires in Our Time by Thomas Glave 89
Can I get an Amen, Somebody? by Sonia Grant 93
What Kind of World is This? by Zita Holbourne 101
The Inspirational Blues by Paterson Joseph 102
Letter to My Daughter by Peter Kalu 111
James Baldwin Weeps with the Weight of Tiredness
by Roy McFarlane 119
What's Love Got to Do with It? by Ronnie McGrath 123
Revisiting James Baldwin by Michael McMillan 129
Six Degrees of James Baldwin by Tony Medina 137
Of James Baldwin and Futures Not Seen by Bill V. Mullen 146
The Fire is Now by Nducu wa Ngugi 152
If Sonny's Blues were a Song... by Lola Oh 158
Fahrenheit 1492 by Ewaure X. Osayande 160
Passing by Nii Ayikwei Parkes 169
The Amen Corner by Anton Phillips 177
A Higher Calling by Ray Shell 180
For Jimmy by SuAndi 186
Wherefore, Nuncle? by Tade Thompson 191
Letter to My Brother by Patrick Vernon 196
James Baldwin and Black British Civil Rights
by Tony Warner 201
About the Authors 208