This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance
Edited with text by Hilton Als, Rhea L. Combs. Foreword by Rhea L. Combs.
Portrayals of James Baldwin and others in his circle highlight the iconic writer’s activism
The American writer and activist James Baldwin (1924–87) considered himself a “witness” as he challenged perspectives on America and its history through his work. He was often recognized for speaking out against injustice when other like-minded artists, collaborators and organizers were overshadowed or silenced. By bringing together artworks that feature James Baldwin alongside portraits of other key figures who had an impact on his life, This Morning, This Evening, So Soon situates Baldwin among a pantheon of culture bearers who were instrumental in shaping his life and legacy, particularly in relationship to his advocacy for gay rights. The book accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, curated by the National Portrait Gallery's Director of Curatorial Affairs, Rhea L. Combs, in consultation with Pulitzer Prize–winning author Hilton Als. Well-known portraits by Beauford Delaney and Bernard Gotfryd are shown alongside paintings, photographs and films representing key figures in Baldwin’s circle. By viewing Baldwin in this context of community, readers will come to understand how Baldwin’s sexuality and faith, artistic curiosities and notions of masculinity—coupled with his involvement in the civil rights movement—helped shape his writing and long-lasting legacy. The book relies on portraiture to explore the interwoven lives of Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry (writer and activist), Barbara Jordan (lawyer, educator and politician), Bayard Rustin (leader in social movements), Lyle Ashton Harris (artist), Essex Hemphill (poet and activist), Marlon Riggs (filmmaker, poet and activist) and Nina Simone (singer-songwriter, pianist and activist), among others. Artists include: Richard Avedon, Glenn Ligon, Donald Moffett, Beauford Delaney, Bernard Gotfryd, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, Jack Whitten.
Selma to Montgomery—James Forman and James Baldwin, City of St. Jude staging area, Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965. Photograph by Daniel Budnik
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Hyperallergic
Maya Pontone
Paints a comprehensive portrait of the author through the creative friendships that helped shape him and his work, spotlighting individuals like lawyer and educator Barbara Jordan, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, activist Bayard Rustin, and the poet-filmmakers Essex Hemphill and Marlon Riggs, whose lives intertwined with his own.
in stock $39.95
Free Shipping
UPS GROUND IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. FOR CONSUMER ONLINE ORDERS
Featured photograph, by Bernard Gotfryd of Nina Simone with James Baldwin (1965), is from new release This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance, edited by Hilton Als and Rhea L. Combs and published to accompany the critically acclaimed exhibition currently on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. “The musician Nina Simone met James Baldwin through their mutual friend Lorraine Hansberry. Following the success of her groundbreaking play A Raisin in the Sun (1959), Hansberry had committed herself to educating others she felt could contribute to raising awareness about the cause of equal rights. By introducing Simone to Baldwin and the poet Langston Hughes, Hansberry ensured her close friend would be embraced by other queer writers who understood something about difference. … Baldwin and Simone shared a great bond: the desire to marry anger to lyricism while refusing to separate the personal from the political.” continue to blog
This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance
Published by DelMonico Books/National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Edited with text by Hilton Als, Rhea L. Combs. Foreword by Rhea L. Combs.
Portrayals of James Baldwin and others in his circle highlight the iconic writer’s activism
The American writer and activist James Baldwin (1924–87) considered himself a “witness” as he challenged perspectives on America and its history through his work. He was often recognized for speaking out against injustice when other like-minded artists, collaborators and organizers were overshadowed or silenced. By bringing together artworks that feature James Baldwin alongside portraits of other key figures who had an impact on his life, This Morning, This Evening, So Soon situates Baldwin among a pantheon of culture bearers who were instrumental in shaping his life and legacy, particularly in relationship to his advocacy for gay rights. The book accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, curated by the National Portrait Gallery's Director of Curatorial Affairs, Rhea L. Combs, in consultation with Pulitzer Prize–winning author Hilton Als. Well-known portraits by Beauford Delaney and Bernard Gotfryd are shown alongside paintings, photographs and films representing key figures in Baldwin’s circle. By viewing Baldwin in this context of community, readers will come to understand how Baldwin’s sexuality and faith, artistic curiosities and notions of masculinity—coupled with his involvement in the civil rights movement—helped shape his writing and long-lasting legacy.
The book relies on portraiture to explore the interwoven lives of Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry (writer and activist), Barbara Jordan (lawyer, educator and politician), Bayard Rustin (leader in social movements), Lyle Ashton Harris (artist), Essex Hemphill (poet and activist), Marlon Riggs (filmmaker, poet and activist) and Nina Simone (singer-songwriter, pianist and activist), among others.
Artists include: Richard Avedon, Glenn Ligon, Donald Moffett, Beauford Delaney, Bernard Gotfryd, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, Jack Whitten.
