Addressing James Baldwin
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Letter to Jimmy
by Alain Mabanckou
Soft Skull Press.  176 pages, $15.

THIS SHORT BOOK provides many insights into the life and work of James Baldwin (1924-1987). On the twentieth anniversary of his death, French-African writer Alain Mabanckou has written a biography in the form of a letter to Baldwin, addressing the novelist as a way of examining his life and writings as he considers Baldwin’s relevance today. Mabanckou finds much in Baldwin that still speaks to us concerning race, sexuality, and Western history.

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Charles Green is a writer based in Annapolis, Maryland.