James Baldwin: Artist on Fire, A Portrait [Hardcover]

W. J. Weatherby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This fascinating study aims with almost complete success at giving us a sense of the tortured, brave, and often confused writer. Written by a friend of 30 years' standing, this informal biography is especially valuable for connecting events in Baldwin's sad life with moments in his exciting essays and fiction. As we follow his eccentric history, from a horrendous childhood in Harlem up through his disturbing need eventually to leave America, we learn of Baldwin's love of jazz, intense interest in the civil rights movement, and literary friends and foes. There are a number of fascinating anecdotes as well as some shrewd evaluations of his major works. Hardly a college anthology fails to include some offering by Baldwin, and for this reason alone Artist on Fire should prove a popular addition to any library.
- Charles Shapiro, York Coll.,
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 412 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (March 28, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556111266
• ISBN-13: 978-1556111266
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,244,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars gossipy..., November 30, 2004

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John (London, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: James Baldwin: Artist on Fire: A Portrait (Hardcover)

Funny how many biographies you have to read of someone to get any reasonably rounded sense of his or her life. James Campbell's has the most detailed analysis of Baldwin's writing (though like many critics he disparages Baldwin's excellent later novels) but Campbell pulls back from Baldwin as a gay man; reading Talking At The Gates one would think he never had a sexual/romantic relationship after his unrequited crush on Lucien Happesburger. W J Wetherby's biography, the subject of this review, though clumsy on the psychology and weak on the literary analysis, is gossipy and vividly evokes Baldwin's tempestuous bohemian personal life, and is worth reading for that reason. It returns one to Baldwin's humanity in all its flaws, and does not, I think, diminish him in doing so. The other Baldwin biog I've read, by David Leeming, is rather po-faced and dull, but worth a look for the last section leading up to Baldwin's death, for which Leeming was, as Mr Baldwin might say, a witness. But really, you have to read all three to get a single decent 'life' out of them.