James Baldwin's fiction, essays, criticism, and dramatic writing offer searing critiques of religion, culture, and discrimination that are still timely, but in his writings, and in the witness of his life, Baldwin holds out the possibility of hope and espouses the primacy of love despite the difficulties of a present moment. In the life and work of Baldwin, equity, justice, and reconciliation--while difficult to attain--remain dreams worth pursuing.
This requires us to face our past, he reminds us, our actual history, so that we can move forward together, and this is a universal call from a very particular human writer. In Baldwin's call to look at our lives and bear witness to the truth, we encounter our own calls to live more fully, love more honestly, have faith in things truly worth pursuing. Like St. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 4.20.7) of old, Baldwin argues that the glory of God is the human being fully alive. Following Baldwin as a spiritual guide offers us the chance to live into the things to which we're called--to become genuinely human.
During the reading for and writing of this book, Garrett followed in Baldwin's physical footsteps--walking with him from his early years in Harlem to his painful journeys to the American South, from the cafes of St.-Germain in Paris to the mountains of Switzerland, where he did some of his most important thinking and writing. Garrett consulted critical and cultural studies, as well as archival materials from the recently-inaugurated Baldwin Collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and the Harry Ransom Humanities Center in Austin, and the Beinecke Library at Yale. Out of this close study of Baldwin's words and his legacy, Garrett invites new readers and longtime lovers of Baldwin into a thoughtful exploration of his continued relevance.
Industry Reviews
"In this concise volume, Greg Garrett has given us an immense gift: a beautifully written and accessible window into the wisdom of James Baldwin. Garrett powerfully presents Baldwin as a compassionate witness, an unyielding prophet, and even a saint in the deepest meaning of that word. Garrett lets Baldwin's incandescent writing shine through, illuminating a path forward and allowing us to see that we can do and be better than we are."-Robert P. Jones, president and founder of PRRI, author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future
"James Baldwin has often been seen as one of the progenitors for the development of Black theology given his relationship to both MLK and Malcolm X in the 1960s. In this remarkable book, Greg Garrett has brought James Baldwin from the supporting cast to an upfront starring role as an immense religious thinker in his own right committed to social justice and humanitarian living. This book is a literal 'must read'. " -Anthony G. Reddie is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture in Regent's Park College, the University of Oxford.
"Greg Garrett is correct, "it takes an artist, a saint and a prophet" to articulate the challenge that is presented to us regarding race and racial healing. But it also takes courage to hear the voice of the artist, saint and prophet and Garrett brings that courage to his work in The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America's Great Prophet Can Teach Us About Life, Love and Identity. The courage to hear Baldwin and to speak about what is heard is depicted throughout this work and will help to heal all who are willing to hear." - Catherine Meeks, Ph.D, Author, The Night is Long, But Light Comes in the Morning Meditations on Racial Healing
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