James Baldwin in Context: (Literature in Context)

James Baldwin in Context provides a wide-ranging collection of approaches to the work of an essential black American author who is just as relevant now as he was during his turbulent heyday in the mid-twentieth century. The perspectives range from those who knew Baldwin personally, to scholars who have dedicated decades to studying him, to a new generation of scholars for whom Baldwin is nearly a historical figure. This collection complements the ever-growing body of scholarship on Baldwin by combining traditional inroads into his work, such as music and expatriation, with new approaches, such as intersectionality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Life and Afterlife: 1. Harlem during and after the Renaissance Herb Boyd; 2. American writers in Paris D. Quentin Miller; 3. Greenwich village and emerging bohemianism Douglas Field; 4. 1963: Baldwin's annus mirabilis Kevin Schultz; 5. East meets West: Baldwin in Istanbul in the 1960s Magdalena Zaborowska; 6. Baldwin as teacher David Leeming; 7. A long way from home: Baldwin in Provence Jenny James; 8. Decline of reputation in the 1980s Joseph Vogel; 9. The critical Renaissance: 1999-present Leah Mirakhor; 10. Biographies D. Quentin Miller; 11. The matter of black lives: Baldwin today Justin Joyce; Part II. Social and Cultural Contexts: 12. Intersectionality Mark Reid; 13. Baldwin and the early civil rights movement Lynn Orilla Scott; 14. Segregation and the South Keith Mitchell; 15. The assassinations: Medgar, Malcolm, Martin Zachary Manditch-Prottas; 16. Gospel Leslie Wingard; 17. 'The Whole Body of the Sound': the black musical basis of Baldwin's literary craft and social vision Ed Pavlić; 18. Baldwin and psychoanalysis Mikko Tuhkanen; Part III. Literary Contexts: 19. The protest essay tradition Brian Norman; 20. Baldwin and the black arts movement Melba Joyce Boyd; 21. Baldwin and the rhetoric of confession D. Quentin Miller; 22. The poetics of beautiful blackness: on Baldwin and négritude John Drabinski; 23. Mid-century theatre Frank Leon Roberts; 24. Sex and the twentieth century novel Pekka Kilpeläinen; 25. Responding to Richard Wright Alice Mikal Craven; 26. Baldwin's literary friendships Jenny James; 27. Reviewers, critics, and cranks William Dow; 28. Baldwin's collaborative dance Rashida Braggs; 29. Baldwin's literary progeny Justin Joyce.

About the Author :
D. Quentin Miller is the author of A Criminal Power: James Baldwin and the Law (2012) and Re-Viewing James Baldwin: Things Not Seen (2000). He has also written more than two dozen critical articles on Baldwin and hosted two international Baldwin conferences. He is the co-editor of The Bedford Introduction to Literature (12th Edition, forthcoming) and his recent scholarly books include The Routledge Introduction to African American Literature (2016), American Literature in Transition 1980–1990 (2017), and Understanding John Edgar Wideman (2018).