The grandson of a slave, James Baldwin was born, into poverty in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. One of nine children, Baldwin discovered his passion for reading and writing at a young age inspired from constant trips to the library.
Later on it was in Europe that Baldwin wrote and published his first and most critically acclaimed piece of fiction: Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel about religion and the African American experience.
Baldwin also wrote Giovanni's Room (1956),which was autobiographical in nature, addressing his own struggles with homosexuality. His essay collections on race and oppression in America—Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1961) and The Fire Next Time (1963)—inspired a generation of citizens, writers, and critics.
Sonny’s Blues
Initially published in 1957, it was included in the 1965 collection entitled Going to Meet the Man.
Spread over a decade, the works cover a wide range of topics, including racism, sexuality, and the creative writing process.
Sonny's Blues is a story of suffering, family, community and redemption. Set in Harlem, a community Baldwin knew intimately, the tale follows two brothers. The elder has strived to mix with the white-dominated culture and, as a result, remains disconnected from his heritage and his family. He cannot be wholly with the former because of racial prejudices. And the latter, his own family and people are disillusioned with his ideals.
The younger, a heroin addict and jazz musician, struggles to transform his suffering and the suffering of his community into music.
At the story’s climax the elder brother listens to his brother’s music and recognizes not only his own pain, but, for the first time, his brother’s pain, as well as the pain of the African American people.
Adapted from Baldwin heritage blog
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