Re-Viewing James Baldwin

by Miller, D. Quentin; Leeming, David Adams

• ISBN13: 9781566397377
• ISBN10: 1566397375
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-17
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr

Summary

This new collection of essays presents a critical reappraisal of James Baldwin's work, looking beyond the commercial and critical success of some of Baldwin's early writings such as Go Tell it on the Mountain and Notes of a Native Son. Focusing on Baldwin's critically undervalued early works and the virtually neglected later ones, the contributors illuminate little-known aspects of this daring author's work and highlight his accomplishments as an experimental writer. Attentive to his innovations in style and form, Things Not Seen reveals an author who continually challenged cultural norms and tackled matters of social justice, sexuality, and racial identity. As volume editor D. Quentin Miller notes, "what has been lost is a complete portrait of [Baldwin's] tremendously rich intellectual journey that illustrates the direction of African-American thought and culture in the late twentieth century."This is an important book for anyone interested in Baldwin's work. It will engage readers interested in literature and African-American Studies. Author note: D. Quentin Miller is Assistant Professor of English at Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN.

Table of Contents

foreword	vii
David Adams Leeming
introduction	1	(11)
D. Quentin Miller
What Is in a Sound? The Metaphysics and Politics of Music in The Amen Corner	12	(21)
Saadi A. Simawe
Staying Out of the Temple: Baldwin, the African American Church, and The Amen Corner	33	(39)
Michael F. Lynch
``An Irrevocable Condition'': Constructions of Home and the Writing of Place in Giovanni's Room	72	(16)
Kathleen N. Drowne
Another Look at Another Country: Reconciling Baldwin's Racial and Sexual Politics	88	(17)
Susan Feldman
Black-Gay-Man Chaos in Another Country	105	(23)
Charles P. Toombs
``Masculinity'' and (Im)maturity: ``The Man Child'' and Other Stories in Baldwin's Gender Studies Enterprise	128	(26)
Yasmin Y. DeGout
``A Striking Addiction to Irreality'': Nothing Personal and the Legacy of the Photo-Text Genre	154	(36)
Joshua L. Miller
The Black Boy Looks at the Silver Screen: Baldwin as Moviegoer	190	(25)
Cassandra M. Ellis
Manhood, Musicality, and Male Bonding in Just Above My Head	215	(18)
Warren J. Carson
James Baldwin, Poet	233	(22)
D. Quentin Miller
about the contributors	255