内容简介
"Mountain,"Baldwinsaid,"isthebookIhadtowriteifIwasevergoingtowriteanythingelse."GoTellItOnTheMountain,firstpublishedin1953,isBaldwin'sfirstmajorwork,anovelthathasestablisheditselfasanAmericanclassic.Withlyricalprecision,psychologicaldirectness,resonatingsymbolicpower,andaragethatisatonceunrelentingandcompassionate,Baldwinchroniclesafourteen-year-oldboy'sdiscoveryofthetermsofhisidentityasthestepsonoftheministerofastorefrontPentecostalchurchinHarlemoneSaturdayinMarchof1935.Baldwin'srenderingofhisprotagonist'sspiritual,sexual,andmoralstruggleofself-inventionopenednewpossibilitiesintheAmericanlanguageandinthewayAmericansunderstandthemselves.
作者简介
JamesBaldwinwasbornonAugust2,1924,andeducatedinNewYork.Hisfirstnovel,GoTellItontheMountain,appearedin1953toexcellentreviewsandimmediatelywasrecognizedasestablishingaprofoundandpermanentnewvoiceinAmericanletters."MountainisthebookIhadtowriteifIwasevergoingtowriteanythingelse,"heremarked.Baldwin'splayTheAmenCornerwasfirstperformedatHowardUniversityin1955(itwasstagedcommerciallyinthe1960s),andhisacclaimedcollectionofessaysNotesofaNativeSon,waspublishedthesameyear.Asecondcollectionofessays,NobodyKnowsMyName,waspublishedin1961betweenhisnovelsGiovanni'sRoom(1956)andAnotherCountry(1961).TheappearanceofTheFireNextTimein1963,justasthecivilrightsmovementwasexplodingacrosstheAmericanSouth,galvanizedthenationandcontinuestoreverberateasperhapsthemostpropheticanddefiningstatementeverwrittenofthecontinuingcostsofAmericans'refusaltofacetheirownhistory.Itbecameanationalbestseller,andBaldwinwasfeaturedonthecoverofTimemagazine.CriticIrvingHowesaidthatTheFireNextTimeachieved"heightsofpassionateexhortationunmatchedinmodernAmericanwriting."In1964BluesforMisterCharlie,hisplaybasedonthemurderofayoungblackmaninMississippi,wasproducedbytheActorsStudioinNewYork.Thatsameyear,BaldwinwasmadeamemberoftheNationalInstituteofArtsandLettersandcollaboratedwiththephotographerRichardAvedononNothingPersonal,aseriesofportraitsofAmericaintendedasaeulogyfortheslainMedgerEvers.Acollectionofshortstories,GoingtoMeettheMan,waspublishedin1965,andin1968,TellMeHowLongtheTrain'sBeenGone,hislastnovelofthe1960sappeared.Inthe1970shewrotetwomorecollectionsofessaysandculturalcriticism:NoNameintheStreet(1972)andTheDevilFindsWork(1976).Heproducedtwonovels:thebestsellingIfBealeStreetCouldTalk(1974)andJustAboveMyHead(1979)andalsoachildren'sbookLittleMan,LittleMan:AStoryofChildhood(1976).HecollaboratedwithMargaretMeadonARaponRace(1971)andwiththepoet-activistNikkiGiovannionADialogue(1973).HealsoadaptedAlexHaley'sTheAutobiographyofMalcolmXintoOneDayWhenIWasLost.Intheremainingyearsofhislife,Baldwinproducedavolumeofpoetry,Jimmy'sBlues(1983),andafinalcollectionofessays,ThePriceoftheTicket.Baldwin'slastwork,TheEvidenceofThingsNotSeen(1985),waspromptedbyaseriesofchildmurdersinAtlanta.BaldwinwasmadeaCommanderoftheFrenchLegionofHonorinJune1986.AmongtheotherawardshereceivedareaEugeneF.SaxonMemorialTrustAward,aRosenwaldfellowship,aGuggenheimfellowship,aPartisanReviewfellowship,andaFordFoundationgrant.JamesBaldwindiedathishomeinSaint-Paul-de-VenceinFranceonDecember1,1987.,,
