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James Baldwin
James Baldwin Quotes
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''The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In The Price of the Ticket (1985). "The Creative Process," (1962).
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''We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our deeds have denied beliefs we thought were ours.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In The Price of the Ticket (1985). "The Crusade of Indignation," Nation (New York, July 7, 1956). -
''There is a "sanctity" involved with bringing a child into this world: it is better than bombing one out of it.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. First published (1976). "The Devil Finds Work," sct. 1, The Price of the Ticket (1985). -
''If the relationship of father to son could really be reduced to biology, the whole earth would blaze with the glory of fathers and sons.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. "The Devil Finds Work," sct. 1, The Price of the Ticket (first publ. 1976, 1985). -
''No one can possibly know what is about to happen: it is happening, each time, for the first time, for the only time.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. (First published 1976). "The Devil Finds Work," sect. 1, The Price Of The Ticket (1985). -
''The American ideal, after all, is that everyone should be as much alike as possible.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. in Notes of a Native Son, pt. 2 (1955). "The Harlem Ghetto," first published in Commentary (New York, Feb. 1948). -
''The paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In The Price Of The Ticket as "A Talk to Teachers" (1985). "The Negro Child—His Self-Image," Saturday Review (New York, December 21, 1963). -
''Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it is impossible to be warned.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In The Price of the Ticket (1985). "The New Lost Generation," Esquire (New York, July 1961). On the futility of running from a situation, with particular reference to his own "exile" in Paris. -
''Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In Nobody Knows My Name (1961). "The Precarious Vogue of Ingmar Bergman," first published in Esquire (New York, April 1960). -
''The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live here, and have lived here, are so ugly.''
James Baldwin (1924-1987), U.S. author. repr. In The Price of the Ticket (1985). "They Can't Turn Back," Mademoiselle (New York, Aug. 1960).
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Best Poem of James Baldwin
Amen
No, I don't feel death coming.
I feel death going:
having thrown up his hands,
for the moment.
I feel like I know him
better than I did.
Those arms held me,
for a while,
and, when we meet again,
there will be that secret knowledge
between us.
Amen
No, I don't feel death coming.
I feel death going:
having thrown up his hands,
for the moment.
I feel like I know him
better than I did.
Those arms held me,
for a while,
and, when we meet again,
there will be that secret knowledge
between us.
