James Baldwin: Escape from America, Exile in Provence

2016 | Biography

To escape racism in America, James Baldwin fled to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, in 1970, where he lived in self-imposed exile until his death in 1987. This objective retrospective pays homage to the value and significance of Baldwin in terms of Americas literary consciousness and his influence on young, black American writers. More importantly, this profile of Baldwins time in Saint-Paul de Vence reveals the man behind the myth. Author Jules B Farber presents life with Jimmy through more than seventy interviews of personal reminisces with well-known literary figures, musicians, artists, and celebrities, such as Sidney Poitier, Nicholas Delbanco, Colm Toibin, Maya Angelou, Quincy Jones, Henry Louis Gates, Jr, Bill Wyman, Harry Belafonte, Jr, George Wein, and many others. In addition to these remarkable figures, the author interviewed locals in Saint-Paul de Vence -- friends, neighbours, lovers, doctors, and business owners -- all of whom adopted Baldwin into their lives. These intimate recollections revel in the many aspects of Baldwin: his charismatic personality, his literary inspiration and subsequent recognition, his celebrity status, his many lovers, and even his shortcomings.

Baldwins oeuvre and lifestyle during this time was concentrated in this Provencal setting. These personal, and often intimate, recollections provide an overview of the diversity of Baldwins writing, the details of his social interactions, the magnitude of his literary relevance, and a first-time examination of his integration as the first black man in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Jules B. Farber (Author)

Jack Lang (Author)