One Book, One Chicago Spring 2007
Further Reading
If you liked Go Tell It on the Mountain, you may also enjoy reading these books.
Quicklinks: Fiction | Nonfiction | Resources | Books by James Baldwin | Essays by James Baldwin | More about James Baldwin | Online Articles
Fiction
All Aunt Hagar’s Children
By Edward P. Jones
Amistad, 2006
Fourteen short stories explore the bitter legacy of racism, hardship and crime in the finely drawn lives of multiple generations of black Americans, written without artifice by the Pulitzer Award-winning author.
The Best of Simple
By Langston Hughes
Hill and Wang, 1990
Simple stories portray a lovable, funny Harlem everyman. Originally appearing in the Chicago Defender in 1942.
The Blacker the Berry
By Wallace Thurman
Scribner, 1996
Emma Lou searches for love and identity while facing prejudice from within and without the African American community. Originally published in 1929.
Cane: An Authoritative Text
By Jean Toomer
Norton, 1988
Toomer portrays what he saw as the futile struggle of African Americans in the South as compared to life in the soulless cities of the North. Originally published in 1923.
Go Down, Moses
By William Faulkner
Vintage Books, 1990
This collection of short stories abounds with themes from the Bible. It includes some of the author’s best Southern voices, black and white, with powerful portrayals of race relations. Originally published in 1942.
Home to Harlem
By Claude McKay
Northeastern University Press, 1987
This work highlights various aspects of African American culture and illustrates the hardships of African Americans in urban areas. Originally published in 1928.
Invisible Man
By Ralph Ellison
Modern Library, 1992
Shocking racial attitudes and injustices aimed at him persuade a young black man to believe that he is invisible, without individuality, in the eyes of others. Originally published in 1952 and winner of the National Book Award for fiction, 1953.
The Living Is Easy
By Dorothy West
Feminist Press, 1995
The central character, Cleo Judson, marries a wealthy older man and involves her three sisters in a series of calamitous events. Originally published in 1948.
Native Son
By Richard Wright
HarperPerennial, 1998
Frustrated by racial prejudice in 1930s Chicago, a black American male is propelled into catastrophic crime. Originally published in 1941.
Passing
By Nella Larsen
Penguin Books, 2003
This novel portrays Clare Kendry, a light-skinned woman who can never forget her heritage. Originally published in 1929.
Song of Solomon
By Toni Morrison
Knopf, 1995
Fantastic events add to this rich story in which the main character learns to take pride in his forebears, leading him to an understanding of his identity and to value his community. Based on an African American folktale whereby slaves could fly back to Africa at will. Originally published in 1977.
The Street
By Ann Petry
Houghton Mifflin, 1991
The poignant story of single mother Lutie Johnson struggling to raise her son in Harlem in the 1940s, facing impossible conditions of racial strife, poverty and violence. A Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship award-winner. Originally published in 1946.
Strivers Row
By Kevin Baker
Harper Collins, 2006
Parallel stories of the fictional minister Jonah Dove and the real Malcolm Little, the future Malcolm X, distinguish this novel set in Harlem, 1943. This is the final volume in Baker’s City of Fire trilogy about New York, preceded by Dreamland, 1999, and Paradise Alley, 2002.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006
Hurston gives us Janie, a woman who discovers her own unique identity by way of her relationships and cultural past. Originally published in 1937.
Nonfiction
African American Heritage Hymnal: 575 Hymns, Spirituals and Gospel Songs
G I A Publications, Inc., 2001
James Baldwin: A Biography
By David Adams Leeming
Knopf, 1994
Collected Essays
By James Baldwin
Library of America, 1998
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
By Barack Obama
Three Rivers Press, 2004. Originally published by Times Books, 1995
A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry
Vintage Books, 1994. Originally published in 1958.
A play.
America in the King Years
By Taylor Branch
Simon & Schuster, 1988, 1999 and 2006
When Harlem Was in Vogue
By David Levering Lewis
Penguin Books, 1997
Resources
- NoveList
- Contemporary Authors
- Guide to the Nobel Prizes
- eNotes
- African American Literature: A Guide to Reading Interests
Edited by Alma Dawson and Connie Van Fleet
Libraries Unlimited, 2004
Books by James Baldwin
The Amen Corner
Dell Publishing, 1990
Another Country
Dell Publishing, 1985
Blues for Mister Charlie
Dell Publishing, 1978
Conversations with James Baldwin
University Press of Mississippi, 1989
The Fire Next Time
Modern Library, 1995
Giovanni’s Room
Modern Library, 2001
Going to Meet the Man
Vintage Books, 1995
If Beale Street Could Talk
Dell Publishing, 1986
Just Above My Head
Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2000
Essays by James Baldwin
Collected Essays
Library of America, 1998
The Devil Finds Work: An Essay
Dell, 1990
“Notes of a Native Son”
Literary Cavalcade v. 52, n. 7 (April 2000)
More About James Baldwin
The Evidence of Things Not Said: James Baldwin and the Promise of American Democracy
By Katharine Lawrence Balfour
Cornell University Press, 2001
Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin: With a New Afterword
By James Campbell
University of California Press, 2002
James Baldwin
By Randall Kenan
Chelsea House, 1994
“James (Arthur) Baldwin.”
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale 2002, available through Biography in Context
James Baldwin: A Biography
By David Adams Leeming
Knopf, 1994
Stealing the Fire: The Art and Protest of James Baldwin
By Horace A. Porter
Wesleyan University Press, 1989
James Baldwin: The Legacy
Edited by Quincy Troupe
Simon & Schuster, 1989
Witness to the Journey: James Baldwin’s Later Fiction
By Lynn Orilla Scott
Michigan State University Press, 2002
James Baldwin: Artist on Fire
By William J. Weatherby
Dell Publishing, 1989
Online Articles
“James Baldwin”
Authors and Artists for Young Adults, v. 34 (2000)
An in-depth profile of Baldwin and his contributions to young adult literature.
More on James Baldwin: From the Archives of the New York Times
Includes a Real Audio interview with James Baldwin, book reviews, articles about James Baldwin and by James Baldwin. May require free registration.
“‘Come-to-Jesus Stuff’ in James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain and The Amen Corner”
By Barbara K. Olson
African American Review, v. 31, n. 2 (Summer 1997), p. 295-301
Examines religion in Baldwin’s works and the relationship between these two titles.
Online Audio and Video Recordings: UC Berkeley Lectures and Events
Includes several audiofiles of James Baldwin including a 1979 interview with Walter Blum of the San Francisco Chronicle and two lectures at the University of California, Berkeley.
“The Negro Seeks a Way Out: Novel of Family’s Search for Religion”
By Roi Ottley
Chicago Daily Tribune, July 12, 1953, p. B7
Book review that appeared when Go Tell It on the Mountain was published.
“Family and Community Secrets: Secrecy in the Works of James Baldwin”
By Janet Harrison Shannon
Western Journal of Black Studies, v. 22, n. 3 (Fall 1998), p. 174-181
An examination of the use of secrets in Baldwin’s books.
“James Baldwin: 1924-1987—A Tribute”
By Elsie B. Washington
Essence v. 18, n. 11 (March 1988), p. 51-56
A tribute that includes the text of Baldwin’s last interview with Quincy Troupe.