JAMES BALDWIN

James Arthur Baldwin
Born: August 2, 1924, Harlem, New York City
Died: December 1, 1987, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Baldwin's novels, short stories, and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures. Themes of masculinity, sexuality, race, and class intertwine to create intricate narratives that run parallel with some of the major political movements toward social change in mid-twentieth-century America, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Gay Liberation Movement.