num_pages: 120
description: All of the published poetry of James Baldwin including six significant poems previously only available in a limited edition During his lifetime (19241987) James Baldwin authored seven novels as well as several plays and essay collections which were published to wide-spread praise. These books among them Notes of a Native Son  The Fire Next Time  Giovannis Room  and Go Tell It on the Mountain  brought him well-deserved acclaim as a public intellectual and admiration as a writer. However Baldwins earliest writing was in poetic form and Baldwin considered himself a poet throughout his lifetime. Nonetheless his single book of poetry Jimmys Blues  never achieved the popularity of his novels and nonfiction and is the one and only book to fall out of print.This new collection presents James Baldwin the poet including all nineteen poems from Jimmys Blues  as well as all the poems from a limited-edition volume called Gypsy  of which only 325 copies were ever printed and which was in production at the time of his death. Known for his relentless honesty and startlingly prophetic insights on issues of race gender class and poverty Baldwin is just as enlightening and bold in his poetry as in his famous novels and essays. The poems range from the extended dramatic narratives of Staggerlee wonders and Gypsy to the lyrical beauty of Some days which has been set to music and interpreted by such acclaimed artists as Audra McDonald. Nikky Finneys introductory essay reveals the importance relevance and rich rewards of these little-known works. Baldwins many devotees will find much to celebrate in these pages.
language: English
title: Jimmy's Blues and Other Poems
publisher: Beacon Press