Summary
Having true international appeal, James Baldwin was as well known in Istanbul and Paris as he was in Harlem. His reputation was made on incendiary and eloquent essays written and published to mass acclaim in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as a trio of early novels dealing with racism, sexuality, violence, and religion. Among his lauded works are Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, and the controversial Giovanni's Room. James Baldwin, Updated Edition features an editor's note and introduction by Harold Bloom, who offers his own unique insights on the author and the critical essays included. A helpful chronology tracing the seminal events in Baldwin's life, and information on the renowned critics whose essays have been selected add further depth. Students will find that this completely updated study in the acclaimed Bloom's Modern Critical Views series is especially useful for essays and research papers.
Specifications
Chronology. Bibliography. Index.
About the Author(s)
Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University. Educated at Cornell and Yale universities, he is the author of 30 books, including Shelley's Mythmaking (1959), The Visionary Company (1961), Blake's Apocalypse (1963), Yeats (1970), A Map of Misreading (1975), Kabbalah and Criticism (1975), Agon: Toward a Theory of Revisionism (1982), The American Religion (1992), The Western Canon (1994), Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection (1996), and Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998), a 1998 National Book Award finalist. The Anxiety of Influence (1973) sets forth Professor Bloom's provocative theory of the literary relationships between the great writers and their predecessors. His most recent books include How to Read and Why (2000), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds (2002), Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (2003), Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (2004), and Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine (2005). In addition, he is the author of hundreds of articles, reviews, and editorial introductions. In 1999, Professor Bloom received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism. He has also received the International Prize of Catalonia, the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Mexico, and the Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennial Prize of Denmark.