The Schomburg Center Acquires Renowned Literary Icon James Baldwin's Papers
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has acquired the papers archive of literary icon and social critic James Baldwin. Born in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, Baldwin's contemplations on American race relations in both prose and poetry made him one of the most respected and sought-after writers and public intellectuals of his time. Baldwin's writing and commentary remain highly relevant and resonate today, provoking a contemporary resurgence of interest in his life and work.
Items from the Baldwin Papers will be on limited public display at the Schomburg Center through August 5 as part of the exhibition The Evidence of Things Seen: Selections from the James Baldwin Papers.
Highlights in the display include: photographs of James Baldwin from the Schomburg's existing portrait collection; The Amen Corner playscript with inscriptions and The Amen Corner Playbill with signatures from the cast; his On Martin Luther King essay; "Letter to my Sister, Ms. Angela Davis;" handwritten notes on Just About My Head; and notes on his "spiritual father," Beauford Delaney.
The Baldwin Papers are a rich trove of manuscripts, typescripts, and audio tapes, the breadth and depth of which make it indispensable to understanding fully the significance of Baldwin's career as a writer and as an engaged public man of letters. This archive will enable researchers to trace the textual evolution of virtually all of Baldwin's writings across his whole career, from notes to his first novel Go Tell It On the Mountain to each of his other novels and essays.
Novels are found in many forms, including heavily reworked manuscript drafts or significant manuscript fragments, typescript drafts with his often copious manuscript annotations, and even dramatic adaptations of Giovanni's Room. Draft manuscripts and typescripts of his poetry and his important reviews are also present. In addition, the archive contains reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes, and other audio media awaiting discovery.
The James Baldwin archive was acquired through the generosity of the Ford Foundation, Katharine J. Rayner, James and Morag Anderson, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and New York Life. Support for processing has been provided by the Arcus Foundation.
This acquisition places the Schomburg Center as the premier institution for research into James Baldwin's intellectual, cultural, and social life.