“All art,” [Baldwin] wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.”
Colm Tóibín
This August, in celebration of James Baldwin’s centenary, Brandeis University Press is proud to be publishing On James Baldwin, by Colm Tóibín. Tóibín first encountered Baldwin’s work in his first year of university as he was struggling to shed the influence of a strict Catholic education that nearly saw him join a seminary. Tóibín, coming to terms with his own homosexuality, recognized himself in both Baldwin’s portrayal of queer characters, as well as in the power Baldwin drew from his own religious experience, not as a Catholic, but as a teenage pentecostal preacher.
Tóibín’s ability to see himself in Baldwin’s writings is not only a testament to the humanity of Baldwin’s work, but also reflects on Tóibín’s sensitivity to the emotions and motivations that swell beneath the written word. His ability to balance emotion with stillness and restraint are trademarks of his style, earning him many accolades, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Costa Award, and three Booker Prize shortlist nods.
Colm Tóibín’s On James Baldwin is an elegant and moving tribute to an author who has profoundly influenced readers across the world. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do, and come away with enhanced appreciation and admiration for both writers.
These astute essays are doubly rewarding, shedding light on Baldwin’s profound visions of freedom while offering insight into how Tóibín reads and thinks about fiction. The result is a testament to the talents of both writers.
