Episode · The Book Review · 2025-11-14
Books mentioned on Nicholas Boggs on Writing a James Baldwin Biography
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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A Stranger in the Village
Discussed“There was this idea, he wrote about it in Stranger in the Village, that the innocence constitutes the crime.”
Where to get it
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Dead and Alive
Discussed“So her new book is out, Dead and Alive, and there is an incredible essay in it called Craft and Conscience I believe.”
Where to get it
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Go Tell It on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin is a powerful debut novel that portrays a young boy coming of age within a strict religious family in Harlem.
Discussed“he was not able to finish his first novel Go Tell It on the Mountain until he moved to France and Lucien Happersberger”
Where to get it
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Another Country
Another Country by James Baldwin is a complex and unflinching 1962 novel that explores the turbulent intersections of race, sexuality, identity, and bohemian life in Greenwich Village and Paris.
Recommended“My favorite fiction and what I think is the best fiction, these aren't the same thing necessarily. I should underscore that. I think my favorite novel became Another Country”
Where to get it
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The fire next time
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin is a searing and brilliant collection of essays examining race, religion, and American identity through letters and personal reflection.
Discussed“That is where he finished Another Country. That is where he wrote the highly politicized The Fire Next Time.”
Where to get it
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If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin is a poignant 1974 novel that details the love story of a young Harlem couple facing systemic injustice after the man is wrongfully imprisoned for a violent crime.
Discussed“and at one point you you mention and highlight that there's a passage in If Beale Street Could Talk that is like verbatim something that he expressed in a letter”
Where to get it
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Little Man, Little Man
Discussed“She invited me to come see her in Tuscany in 2018 to see the original drafts from Little Man, but also any other documents you had.”
Where to get it
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No Name in the Street
Discussed“He writes about it in No Name in the Street. He writes about Lucien and how falling in love with Lucien freed him from the trap of color.”
Where to get it
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Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room is a 1956 novel by James Baldwin that explores the complex romantic and existential struggles of an American man living in Paris.
Discussed“The first James Baldwin book I read was Giovanni's Room. I stole my twin sister's copy of it in ninth grade and I never gave it back.”
Where to get it
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The price of the ticket
Discussed“So, three in particular, To Crush a Serpent, Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood, and the introduction to his Price of the Ticket because this is where an elder Baldwin is going back and looking at his life.”
Where to get it
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Notes of a Native Son
Notes of a Native Son is a collection of essays by James Baldwin that examines race, identity, and American society.
Recommended“If anyone is new to James Baldwin, where would you recommend they start? I recommend they start with Notes of a Native Son”
Where to get it
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Just Above My Head
Just Above My Head is a novel by James Baldwin that explores complex themes of faith, family, and identity through the life of a gospel singer.
Recommended“Is there a hidden gem, an under-appreciated Baldwin work that you wish had more shine? Some people like Robert Jones have talked about this and John Keene, but I do believe that his novel Just Above My Head is a forgotten gem in a way.”
Where to get it
