James Baldwin

July 7, 2021

The History of Literature #298 – Amyra León!

Jacke talks to Amyra León, author of the new book Concrete Kids, about her background, her artistic projects, and how influences like James Baldwin, Frida Kahlo, and Frederick Douglass helped make her the person she is today. Concrete Kids is part of The Pocket Change Collective (Penguin Random House), a new pocket-sized nonfiction series centered around timely issues and Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

amyra león, concrete kids, Frederick Douglass, Frida Kahlo, James Baldwin, music, pocket change collective, Tagsactivism
September 20, 2020

The History of Literature #231 – James Baldwin | Going to Meet the Man

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a fearless artist, an uncompromising critic, a brilliant essayist, and an American who lived within his time and yet was decades ahead of it. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at Going To Meet the Man,” Baldwin’s provocative story of the power dynamics at play within a white Southern man Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

James Baldwin, jim crow, lynching, Short Stories, southern racist, twentieth century, William Faulkner
September 18, 2020

The History of Literature #229 – Baldwin v Faulkner

In the 1950s, William Faulkner (1897-1962) was one of most celebrated novelists in America, highly praised for this formal innovation, his prodigious storytelling gifts, and his sweeping, multigenerational portrait of Southern society. James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a writer on the rise, youthful and energetic, fearless and incisive, known for essays and commentary as brilliant as Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

civil rights, desegregation, James Baldwin, William Faulkner
February 3, 2017

History of Literature #78 – Jane Eyre, The Good Soldier, Giovanni’s Room (with Margot Livesey)

Writing about the Scottish-born novelist Margot Livesey, the author Alice Sebold remarked, “Every novel of Margot Livesey’s is, for her readers, a joyous discovery. Her work radiates with compassion and intelligence and always, deliciously, mystery.” How has Margot Livesey managed to create this suspense in novel after novel, including in contemporary classics such as The Flight Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature, novelists, Podcast, Writing

Charlotte Bronte, flight of gemma hardy, Ford Madox Ford, house on fortune street, James Baldwin, Jane Eyre, margot livesey, Scotland, the good soldier
November 4, 2016

History of Literature #66: James Baldwin, Wallace Stegner, GB Tran, Lois Duncan (with author Shawna Yang Ryan

What can we do to unlock the past? How do family secrets affect us? Author Shawna Yang Ryan has spent a lot of time thinking about these issues – and in this episode, she joins Jacke for a discussion of some of her favorite books, including the novel that led her to rethink her understanding of the Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature, novelists, Podcast, Writing

angle of repose, another country, california, edward yang, gb tran, green island, hawaii, James Baldwin, locked in time, lois duncan, natalie babbitt, shawna yang ryan, taiwan, tuck everlasting, vietnamerica, wallace stegner, water ghosts, yi yi
December 2, 2015

Writers Laughing: A Jacke Wilson Gallery

Peace on earth, good will to all…and a photo gallery of great writers caught in the act of laughing. Happy holidays! Join us on the History of Literature podcast or at the Jacke Wilson blog for more literary delights. Get the History of Literature podcast: iTunes | Android | RSS | More Subscribe Options Try the latest History Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature, novelists, Writing

Alice Munro, anita desai, Flannery O’Connor, Gabriel García Márquez, garrett hongo, georges simenon, Henry Miller, j.r.r. tolkien, James Baldwin, Jean-Paul Sartre, john irving, joseph brodsky, kiran desai, kurt vonnegut, lorrie moore, margaret atwood, mary beard, norman mailer, pablo neruda, phillip roth, Ray Bradbury, Samuel Beckett, sandra cisneros, scott fitzgerald, seamus heaney, sherman alexie, Simone de Beauvoir, Stephen King, truman capote, w.e.b. dubois, Writers laughing, Zelda Fitzgerald, zora neale hurston
August 7, 2014

Writers Laughing: James Baldwin

Here we go again! These are harder to find than you might think. So many poses, so many polite smiles, so many serious looks… and then now and then you find a gem like this one… …and everything’s worth it. Like an extra shot of espresso added to my cup of Thursday. Have a great Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Writing

Authors, candid photos, Fiction, inspiration, James Baldwin, moments, Writers, Writers laughing