If Beale Street Could Talk

James Baldwin

Dial Press, 1974 - Fiction - 197 pages

From one of our greatest writers, James Baldwin's IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK is a profoundly moving novel about love in the face of injustice that is as socially resonant today as it was when it was first published more than thirty years ago. First time i.

Contents

• Section 1: 3
• Section 2: 177

About the author

James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York. Baldwin's father was a pastor who subjected his children to poverty, abuse, and religious fanaticism. As a result, many of Baldwin's recurring themes, such as alienation and rejection, are attributable to his upbringing. Living the life of a starving artist, Baldwin went through numerous jobs, including dishwasher, office boy, factory worker, and waiter. In 1948, he moved to France, where much work originated. Baldwin published Go Tell It on the Mountain in 1953. A largely autobiographical work, it tells of the religious awakening of a fourteen-year-old. In addition to his childhood experiences, his experiences as a black man and a homosexual provided inspiration for such works as Giovanni's Room, Nobody Knows My Name, and Another Country. Baldwin holds a distinguished place in American history as one of the foremost writers of both black and gay literature. He was an active participant in the Civil Rights movement. Baldwin succumbed to cancer on December 1, 1987.

Bibliographic information

• Title: If Beale Street Could Talk; A Signet book
• Author: James Baldwin
• Publisher: Dial Press, 1974
• ISBN: 0803741693, 9780803741690
• Length: 197 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / African American & Black / General; Fiction / City Life; Fiction / General; Fiction / Literary