No Name in the Street

Baldwin’s essayistic reflections are often marked by the personal: he uses anecdotes from his own life to uncover more universal truths . . . the clarity, fire and empathetic humanity of his voice is needed now more than ever -- Colin Grant * Guardian * There is still pleasure in his inimitable voice. That voice was heard aloud in the debates and interviews he gave which made Baldwin a great example of that extinct species, the public intellectual * The Times * Mesmerizing... as candid, insightful and moving as any in his previous essays... His message is finally as basic as it is undeniable: If we do not love one another, we will destroy one another * The New York Times * It contains truth that cannot be denied * The Atlantic * Praise for James Baldwin -- - * - * Baldwin wrote in arias of feeling and thought… [He] proved that if he wrote it down, it could have power beyond the moment -- Hilton Als He was one of our best essayists in the best American gadfly tradition -- Ralph Ellison What makes his essays so compelling is that he insists on being personal, on forcing the public and the political to submit to his voice and the test of his experience and his observation -- Colm Tóibín If Van Gogh was our 19th century artist-saint then James Baldwin is our 20th century one -- Michael Ondaatje Baldwin refused to hold anyone’s hand. He was both direct and beautiful all at once. He did not seem to write to convince you. He wrote beyond you -- Ta-Nehisi Coates