Remembering James Baldwin on His Birthday

James Baldwin was born in Harlem on August 2, 1924. Baldwin wrote many novels but he was also a poet and a playwright. He is most well known and remembered as an essayist and social critic. to听James Baldwin reading from his works.

James Baldwin was heavily influenced by his Harlem middle school French teacher, famed poet听Countee Cullen. Cullen was a leader of the , a flourishing of artistic expression that emerged from the community of Harlem in New York City in the 1920s.听Countee Cullen devoted himself to the education of children in the last period of his life and concentrated on teaching and writing children鈥檚 books.

While James Baldwin鈥檚 literary focus is largely for and about adults, in 1976 he wrote Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood. Re-released by Duke University Press in 2018, it is a fictional work based on the childhood adventures of Baldwin鈥檚 nephew Tejan (鈥淭J鈥�) and niece Aisha in Harlem, New York in the 1970s. The book includes bold illustrations by French artist Yoran Cazac and unique subject matter.听A panel including Aisha Karefa-Smart, Nicholas Boggs and Jason Reynolds explored this only children鈥檚 book ever written by James Baldwin. See the panel discussion and read more about the text in . There is also a for this unique text by Baldwin.

Interested in learning more about James Baldwin? Check out this post.

Curious about the 楼凤天堂 and Library of Congress connection? Through a grant announced recently by 楼凤天堂 Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick, 楼凤天堂 is engaged in ongoing work with the Library of Congress, and 鈥渨ill connect the ELA community with the Library of Congress to expand the use of primary sources in teaching.鈥� Stay tuned for more throughout the year!