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Blues for Mister Charlie
In a small Southern town, a white man murders a black man, then throws his body in the weeds. With this act of violence--which is loosely based on the notorious 1955 killing of Emmett Till--James Baldwin launches an unsparing and at times agonizing probe of the wounds of race.
For where once a white storekeeper could have shot a boy like Richard Henry with impunity, times have changed. And centuries of brutality and fear, patronage and contempt, are about to erupt in a moment of truth as devastating as a shotgun blast.
In his award-winning play, Baldwin turns a murder and its aftermath into an inquest in which even the most well-intentioned whites are implicated--and in which even a killer receives his share of compassion.
For where once a white storekeeper could have shot a boy like Richard Henry with impunity, times have changed. And centuries of brutality and fear, patronage and contempt, are about to erupt in a moment of truth as devastating as a shotgun blast.
In his award-winning play, Baldwin turns a murder and its aftermath into an inquest in which even the most well-intentioned whites are implicated--and in which even a killer receives his share of compassion.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
About the author
James Baldwin
308 books13.7k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Works of American writer James Arthur Baldwin, outspoken critic of racism, include Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel, and Notes of a Native Son (1955), a collection of essays.
James Arthur Baldwin authored plays and poems in society.
He came as the eldest of nine children; his stepfather served as a minister. At 14 years of age in 1938, Baldwin preached at the small fireside Pentecostal church in Harlem. From religion in the early 1940s, he transferred his faith to literature with the still evident impassioned cadences of black churches. From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France but often returned to the United States of America to lecture or to teach.
In his Giovanni's Room, a white American expatriate must come to terms with his homosexuality. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in city of New York.
James Baldwin offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s.
He first partially autobiographically accounted his youth. His influential Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time informed a large white audience. Another Country talks about gay sexual tensions among intellectuals of New York. The black community savaged his gay themes. Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers stated the Baldwin displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." People produced Blues for Mister Charlie, play of Baldwin, in 1964.
Going to Meet the Man and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone provided powerful descriptions. He as an openly gay man increasingly in condemned discrimination against lesbian persons.
From stomach cancer, Baldwin died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. People buried his body at the Ferncliff cemetery in Hartsdale near city of New York.
Works of American writer James Arthur Baldwin, outspoken critic of racism, include Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel, and Notes of a Native Son (1955), a collection of essays.
James Arthur Baldwin authored plays and poems in society.
He came as the eldest of nine children; his stepfather served as a minister. At 14 years of age in 1938, Baldwin preached at the small fireside Pentecostal church in Harlem. From religion in the early 1940s, he transferred his faith to literature with the still evident impassioned cadences of black churches. From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France but often returned to the United States of America to lecture or to teach.
In his Giovanni's Room, a white American expatriate must come to terms with his homosexuality. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in city of New York.
James Baldwin offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s.
He first partially autobiographically accounted his youth. His influential Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time informed a large white audience. Another Country talks about gay sexual tensions among intellectuals of New York. The black community savaged his gay themes. Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers stated the Baldwin displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." People produced Blues for Mister Charlie, play of Baldwin, in 1964.
Going to Meet the Man and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone provided powerful descriptions. He as an openly gay man increasingly in condemned discrimination against lesbian persons.
From stomach cancer, Baldwin died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. People buried his body at the Ferncliff cemetery in Hartsdale near city of New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
September 8, 2022
Mister Charlie is a collective name for all white men. This is Baldwin’s attempt to understand how a white man would think he’s not evil even though he is a murderer twice over.
Parnell (white newspaper editor) begs Meridian (black preacher, father to one of the murder victims) “you must have mercy on us. We have no other hope.”
Meridian responds, “You have never shown us any mercy at all.”
The excuses whites make for their men summed up by Jo, wife to the accused: “you might as well get mad at that baby in there.” As if a man can’t be held responsible for his actions.
Parnell tells Jo of white kids driving over nights to “niggertown” and being “proud” of the hell they raised, harm they inflicted, crimes they committed.
Lyle is a confessed rapist and murderer and he is of course acquitted since he is white and the
Victim black. The court room is filled with lies, every single speaker is a liar, black, white, doesn’t matter.
Meridian at one point in his testimony says “the truth cannot be heard in this place.” The court later responds to another witness with a lie: “This is a court of law, and we will have the truth!”
The state suggests to Meridian he is responsible for his son’s death, “his tragic fate.” He responds “...you cannot consider my son’s death to have been tragic. For you, it would have been tragic if he had lived.”
Parnell tells Lyle he knows his wife lied for him (accusing the victim on the stand of assault). Lyle brushes off Parnell with “I’m ashamed of you! Get on over to niggertown!” He goes home to his wife and lives his life. No justice. No remorse. No redemption. “I ain’t sorry. I want you to know that I ain’t sorry!”
Baldwin’s instructions for staging were interesting and I would love to see it performed. We get scenes from both past and present to understand the backstories of the players.
A deeply moving, very hard play.
Parnell (white newspaper editor) begs Meridian (black preacher, father to one of the murder victims) “you must have mercy on us. We have no other hope.”
Meridian responds, “You have never shown us any mercy at all.”
The excuses whites make for their men summed up by Jo, wife to the accused: “you might as well get mad at that baby in there.” As if a man can’t be held responsible for his actions.
Parnell tells Jo of white kids driving over nights to “niggertown” and being “proud” of the hell they raised, harm they inflicted, crimes they committed.
Lyle is a confessed rapist and murderer and he is of course acquitted since he is white and the
Victim black. The court room is filled with lies, every single speaker is a liar, black, white, doesn’t matter.
Meridian at one point in his testimony says “the truth cannot be heard in this place.” The court later responds to another witness with a lie: “This is a court of law, and we will have the truth!”
The state suggests to Meridian he is responsible for his son’s death, “his tragic fate.” He responds “...you cannot consider my son’s death to have been tragic. For you, it would have been tragic if he had lived.”
Parnell tells Lyle he knows his wife lied for him (accusing the victim on the stand of assault). Lyle brushes off Parnell with “I’m ashamed of you! Get on over to niggertown!” He goes home to his wife and lives his life. No justice. No remorse. No redemption. “I ain’t sorry. I want you to know that I ain’t sorry!”
Baldwin’s instructions for staging were interesting and I would love to see it performed. We get scenes from both past and present to understand the backstories of the players.
A deeply moving, very hard play.
November 30, 2020
I am trying to work my way through Baldwin's entire canon.
This is solid writing. But I think my favorite writing is in his introduction to the work.
I understand what Baldwin is trying to do here. He wants to make a one-dimensional character three-dimensional. We get the story of the death of an African-American male in the South during the 1960's. Racism is rampant and you are privy to conversations, albeit imagined, between the white southerners that attempt to give credence to their myopic view of the world.
This is not an easy read. There are many parts that made me cringe, but I know that Baldwin wants the reader to flinch at the ugly reality of racism. As I read, I feel the inequities that Baldwin discusses still exist. I also think that the glimpse into Lyle's life as a white man in the South is an attempt to show a man that is a result of his surroundings. But, that seems too easy. The same can be said for the man that is murdered - Richard's life. There seems to be stereotypes, but, I have to wonder if they are stereotypes given the date of publication. Baldwin is writing what he sees. And remember that he left America for a few years because of the racism that existed. So, this is what he knows.
All in all, a solid piece of writing that I am glad I read.
This is solid writing. But I think my favorite writing is in his introduction to the work.
I understand what Baldwin is trying to do here. He wants to make a one-dimensional character three-dimensional. We get the story of the death of an African-American male in the South during the 1960's. Racism is rampant and you are privy to conversations, albeit imagined, between the white southerners that attempt to give credence to their myopic view of the world.
This is not an easy read. There are many parts that made me cringe, but I know that Baldwin wants the reader to flinch at the ugly reality of racism. As I read, I feel the inequities that Baldwin discusses still exist. I also think that the glimpse into Lyle's life as a white man in the South is an attempt to show a man that is a result of his surroundings. But, that seems too easy. The same can be said for the man that is murdered - Richard's life. There seems to be stereotypes, but, I have to wonder if they are stereotypes given the date of publication. Baldwin is writing what he sees. And remember that he left America for a few years because of the racism that existed. So, this is what he knows.
All in all, a solid piece of writing that I am glad I read.
August 14, 2020
Baldwin wrote this play in response to the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers. Baldwin had traveled with Evers to the backwoods of Mississippi as the latter investigated the death of a black man by a white storekeeper: a scary time, place, and circumstances for both men due to the color of their skin. Earlier Baldwin had resisted the idea of writing a play, but the personal impact of Evers' death compelled him to do so.
The play reads as if it'd be a solid enough play to see, perhaps a bit wordy but these are Baldwin’s words so they’re not a chore to read. I got a great sense of the stage-sets through the dialogue. In the last act, the words of the separate white and black “Greek choruses” come through as if spoken by communities of individuals: I could hear their cries.
I didn’t know of this work before finding it in a used bookstore among ‘classic’ school texts. It would make a great pairing with John Lewis's March trilogy: portrayals of what life was like at the dawning of the Civil Rights era; of what has changed since then; and of what has not.
The play reads as if it'd be a solid enough play to see, perhaps a bit wordy but these are Baldwin’s words so they’re not a chore to read. I got a great sense of the stage-sets through the dialogue. In the last act, the words of the separate white and black “Greek choruses” come through as if spoken by communities of individuals: I could hear their cries.
I didn’t know of this work before finding it in a used bookstore among ‘classic’ school texts. It would make a great pairing with John Lewis's March trilogy: portrayals of what life was like at the dawning of the Civil Rights era; of what has changed since then; and of what has not.
October 25, 2021
Blues for Mister Charlie (1964) is James Baldwin's second play. It is very distantly based on the case of Emmett Till – a 14-year-old African-American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after a white woman said she was offended by him in her family's grocery store. Despite confessing to the murder, the two white men were acquitted. And so Baldwin's play deals with the aftermath of the brutal murder of the young black man Richard by the white townsman Lyle.
The thing that annoyed me the most about the play is that Baldwin wanted to force empathy for the character Parnell – Meridian's white “friend” who promised to bring the truth to light (i.e. Help with the persecution of Lyle). The “friend” who let Meridian's family down at court by defending the murderer. After the trial, Parnell says to Lyle: “I really don't know if what I did to Meridian was as awful as what I did to you”, suggesting that Lyle is suffering more since he carries hatred in his heart. I understand where Baldwin was trying to go with that statement but I JUST HATE EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT IT.
Meridian just lost his son to a brutal race crime. He didn't get justice as the murderer was acquitted (and Lyle actually spit into his face by saying that he “doesn't regret anything”), and now Baldwin is telling me that Lyle's pain is worse. I can't deal with all of this turn-the-other-cheek-type of bullshit and the fact that black people are expected to be the bigger person and move on. Their suffering is taken for granted.
Parnell then has the audacity to say that he only hopes that “all of us will suffer past this agony and horror.” BESH WHAT? You were not the one who just lost a beloved family member. And then, OF COURSE, the black characters forgive Parnell because that's what black people do. [Can you feel my bitterness?]) And it's even hinted that we should have pity for Parnell now:
He never explicitly calls out the stereotypical perception that the white characters had of the black ones: “Darkies are always singing.” and “They got one interest. And it's just below the belly button.” are only a few examples. I do unterstand why Baldwin chose to just tell it how it is. However, he then should have gotten his black characters more screen time in order to show the falsity of those stereotypes and challenge them. Don't get me wrong, overall, he did a good job at making his black characters multidimensional and at showing their struggles and beliefs:
In general, the play was very realistic in its depiction of its characters. More often than not the white moderate pulls out the “class card” and says that it basically trumps the “race card”:
The main criticism of the play was that it was too polarized. It ended up alienating the audiences, at least the white audience, because they felt they were being preached to. This is just so damn frustrating to me because I thought that Baldwin was actually really nice and generous towards his white characters and tried to focus on Lyle's struggle (opposed to Richard's) and so it's mind-boggling to me that even this wasn't enough for white audiences back in the day.
Overall, I found it fascinating how Blues for Mister Charlie reflected its time in such a brilliant manner. I highly enjoyed the descriptions of Meridian's nonviolence training and that Balwin gave room to discuss whether this line of action was actually the smartest one. In regards to the whole Malcolm versus MLK spiel, I felt that Richard functioned as the personification of Malcolm. I felt Malcolm's anger in Richard and their backgrounds were also very similar. Richard left his hometown early and went to the North, made a lot of money by “slaving” (a word that both used for “working”), became a dope addict and fucked around with white women to get money. So basically Malcolm's early life in a nutshell.
I also appreciated that he called out the rampant sexism within black communities (“Everybody knows we strong on loving! Except when it comes to our women.”) and I was also very grateful that Baldwin took a stand on the whole King Kong-narrative that persists up until this day: As soon as a white woman says that she was hurt by the big bad black man, no one will doubt her. When Jo (Lyle's wife) lies at court and says that Richard tried to sexually assault her, it was clear what the final verdict would be: Richard = guilty, Lyle = set free.
Blues for Mister Charlie is a very thought-provoking play and I loved analyzing it. James Baldwin's work is always very rich and provides a great foundation for discussion(s). Even though I don't agree with everything he stood for and everything he propagated, I appreciate the man so much and would recommend his work to everyone!
The play then, for me, takes place in Plaguetown, U.S.A., now. The plague is race, the plague is our concept of Christianity: and this raging plague has the power to destroy every human relationship. (Baldwin about Mister Charlie)The play functions as a mirror to its time and is, at heart, a segregated play: The aisle functions as the division between Whitetown and Blacktown. The action among the blacks takes place on one side of the stage, the action among the whites on the opposite side of the stage. Only in the flashbacks and the trial at the end, do whites and blacks interact with one another (apart from the character Parnell who represents the white moderate and who seeks out the conversation with the black families).
PARNELL: Who's Mister Charlie?The title of the play refers to the pejorative expression used within the African-American community to refer to an imperious white man: Mister Charlie. The expression suggests that whites are generic or interchangeable. The bitterness toward the collective whiteness can be felt throughout the entire play:
MERIDIAN: You're Mister Charlie. All white men are Mister Charlie!
RICHARD: I'm going to treat every one of them as though they were responsible for all the crimes that ever happened in the history of the world – oh, yes! They're responsible for all the misery I've ever seen, and that's good enough for me.Since whites were Baldwin's target audience (since cultural spaces such as the theatre and broadway were dominated by whites), Baldwin faced a difficult task. In order to reach his audience, he needed to feed into their stereotypes and their perception of black people without, however, excusing that behaviour. Or else, his message would lapse. Baldwin had to walk a fine line, and whilst I appreciate what he was trying to do with the play, many of his literary choices rubbed me the wrong way.
The thing that annoyed me the most about the play is that Baldwin wanted to force empathy for the character Parnell – Meridian's white “friend” who promised to bring the truth to light (i.e. Help with the persecution of Lyle). The “friend” who let Meridian's family down at court by defending the murderer. After the trial, Parnell says to Lyle: “I really don't know if what I did to Meridian was as awful as what I did to you”, suggesting that Lyle is suffering more since he carries hatred in his heart. I understand where Baldwin was trying to go with that statement but I JUST HATE EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT IT.
Meridian just lost his son to a brutal race crime. He didn't get justice as the murderer was acquitted (and Lyle actually spit into his face by saying that he “doesn't regret anything”), and now Baldwin is telling me that Lyle's pain is worse. I can't deal with all of this turn-the-other-cheek-type of bullshit and the fact that black people are expected to be the bigger person and move on. Their suffering is taken for granted.
Parnell then has the audacity to say that he only hopes that “all of us will suffer past this agony and horror.” BESH WHAT? You were not the one who just lost a beloved family member. And then, OF COURSE, the black characters forgive Parnell because that's what black people do. [Can you feel my bitterness?]) And it's even hinted that we should have pity for Parnell now:
PARNELL: Can I join you on the march, Juanita? Can I walk with you?Again, I understand what Baldwin was trying to do and that he had to appeal to his white target audience but I don't appreciate shit like that.
JUANITA: Well, we can go in the same direction, Parnell. Come. Don't look like that. Let's go on on.
He never explicitly calls out the stereotypical perception that the white characters had of the black ones: “Darkies are always singing.” and “They got one interest. And it's just below the belly button.” are only a few examples. I do unterstand why Baldwin chose to just tell it how it is. However, he then should have gotten his black characters more screen time in order to show the falsity of those stereotypes and challenge them. Don't get me wrong, overall, he did a good job at making his black characters multidimensional and at showing their struggles and beliefs:
MERIDIAN: If you're a black man, with a black son, you have to forget all about white people and concentrate on trying to save your child.However, his focus on the whitetown and the fact that the white characters got the vast majority of the speech parts (and thus more visibility and exposure) lessened my enjoyment of the play.
MOTHER HENRY: No white man never called my husband Mister, neither, not as long as he lived. Ain't no white man never called me Mrs. Henry before today. I had to get a grandson killed for that.
MERIDIAN: I am a man. A man! I tried to help my son become a man. But manhood is a dangerous pursuit, here.
LILLIAN: They had their ways, we had ours, and everything went along the way God intended.However, Baldwin uses this play as a vehicle to address his issues with Christianity, a religion historically used to justify the enslavement of Africans. And I absolutely loved it. He argues that Christianity is a type of plague that “has the power to destroy every human relationship.” Through his character Lorenzo, he denounces it for its ability to be used to preach passivity while endorsing violence. Lorenzo articulates the lack of empathy that Christianity has for the Black community, calling it “the white God” who ignores others' suffering at the hands of the irrational. He accuses the reverend of praying to a god that only cares for those who are white and asserts that it is this god who is responsible for the destruction of Black lives. I found this message very powerful and I am very grateful that Baldwin was bold enough to include it in his play. Up to this day, the American society is a very religious one that doesn't handle critiques of Christianity too well.
In general, the play was very realistic in its depiction of its characters. More often than not the white moderate pulls out the “class card” and says that it basically trumps the “race card”:
PARNELL: Well, even that's not true. He doesn't think they're not human – after all, I know him, he's hot-tempered and he's far from being the brightest man in the world – but he's not mean, he's not cruel. He's a poor white man. The poor whites have been just as victimized in this part of the world as the blacks have ever been.Or the argument that someone can't be racist because they're your friend:
PARNELL: He's not a wicked man. I know he's not, I've known him almost all his life! The face he turns to you, Meridian, isn't the face he turns to me.These are arguments that were prevalent back in the day and are still used today. It's hella frustrating, but I highly appreciate that Baldwin just showed it how it was/is.
The main criticism of the play was that it was too polarized. It ended up alienating the audiences, at least the white audience, because they felt they were being preached to. This is just so damn frustrating to me because I thought that Baldwin was actually really nice and generous towards his white characters and tried to focus on Lyle's struggle (opposed to Richard's) and so it's mind-boggling to me that even this wasn't enough for white audiences back in the day.
Overall, I found it fascinating how Blues for Mister Charlie reflected its time in such a brilliant manner. I highly enjoyed the descriptions of Meridian's nonviolence training and that Balwin gave room to discuss whether this line of action was actually the smartest one. In regards to the whole Malcolm versus MLK spiel, I felt that Richard functioned as the personification of Malcolm. I felt Malcolm's anger in Richard and their backgrounds were also very similar. Richard left his hometown early and went to the North, made a lot of money by “slaving” (a word that both used for “working”), became a dope addict and fucked around with white women to get money. So basically Malcolm's early life in a nutshell.
RICHARD: I take their money and they love it. Anyway, they ain't got nothing else to do with it. Every one of them's got some piss-assed, faggoty white boy on a string somewhere. They go home and marry him, dig, when they can't make it with me no more – but when they want some loving, funky, down-home, bring-it-on-here-and-put-it-on-the-table-style –When Baldwin said of Richard: “He'd paid his dues. He was just trying to live. And he almost made it.”, I honestly got chills because it reminded me so much of his assessment of Malcolm, who died way before his time.
I also appreciated that he called out the rampant sexism within black communities (“Everybody knows we strong on loving! Except when it comes to our women.”) and I was also very grateful that Baldwin took a stand on the whole King Kong-narrative that persists up until this day: As soon as a white woman says that she was hurt by the big bad black man, no one will doubt her. When Jo (Lyle's wife) lies at court and says that Richard tried to sexually assault her, it was clear what the final verdict would be: Richard = guilty, Lyle = set free.
Blacktown: (after Parnell's betrayal) What do you think of our friend now? He didn't do it to us rough and hard. No, he was real gentle. I hardly felt a thing. Did you? You can't never go against the word of a white lady, man, not even if you're white. Can't be done.It is almost haunting how this also foreshadowed the end of the Emmett Till-case as the white lady who claimed that Emmett whistled at her at the story, admitted on her death bed that she lied about the whole situation. Yet again, black lives are being sacrificed to white lies. I hope she's rotting in hell.
Blues for Mister Charlie is a very thought-provoking play and I loved analyzing it. James Baldwin's work is always very rich and provides a great foundation for discussion(s). Even though I don't agree with everything he stood for and everything he propagated, I appreciate the man so much and would recommend his work to everyone!
January 13, 2018
This play has been on my mind – has been bugging – for several years, γράφει ο Baldwin για το συγκεκριμένο έργο το οποίο βασίζεται σε πραγματικό γεγονός, στη δολοφονία του μαύρου νεαρού Emmett Till το 1955, υπόθεση που σφηνώθηκε στο μυαλό του συγγραφέα και μεταμορφώθηκε σε θεατρικό έργο κατά την κρίσιμη περίοδο του κινήματος για τα πολιτικά δικαιώματα. Κύριος στόχος του Baldwin με αυτό το τολμηρό κείμενο ήταν πρόδηλα να παρουσιάσει ένα, όσο το δυνατόν, αμερόληπτο πορτραίτο του δολοφόνου, ενός ανθρώπου που γνώριζε ότι η πράξη του ήταν κατακριτέα κι όμως προκειμένου να προστατέψει τον εαυτό του κλείνει τα μάτια κι επαναλαμβάνει, παθολογικά σχεδόν, τα εγκλήματά του. But if it is true, and I believe it is, that all men are brothers, then we have the duty to try to understand this wretched man, υποστηρίζει ο Baldwin, προσθέτοντας πως δεν παύει ο άνθρωπος που διαπράττει κάποιο έγκλημα να είναι προϊόν της κοινωνίας. Σύμφωνα με τον Baldwin,
Και σκηνικά, όμως, το θεατρικό παρουσιάζει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον, καθώς στη σκηνή συγκροτείται ένας πραγματικός φυλετικός διαχωρισμός, με τον διάδρομο στο κέντρο να λειτουργεί ως μοχλός διαίρεσης των λευκών και των μαύρων, με τις δυο κοινότητες να βρίσκονται η μια απέναντι απ’ την άλλη και με τη μόνη αλληλεπίδραση να συντελείται στις αναδρομές και στην τελική δίκη. Εξαίρεση εδώ αποτελεί ο Parnell, ο λευκός χαρακτήρας που όντας μετριοπαθής συζητά ελεύθερα και με τις δυο οικογένειες.
Από το έργο του Baldwin δε θα μπορούσε να λείπει η διάσταση της θρησκευτικής σύγχυσης, με έναν από τους χαρακτήρες να κατακρίνει τον ιερέα-πατέρα του νεκρού πως ο Θεός δείχνει συμπόνια μόνο στους λευκούς και πως Εκείνος είναι ο πραγματικός υπαίτιος για την καταστροφή των μαύρων ανθρώπων (It’s that damn white God that’s been lynching us and burning us and castrating us and raping our women and robbing us of everything that makes a man a man[…]). Στον πρόλογό του, εκτός τούτου, γράφει ο Baldwin,
It is we who have locked him in the prison of his color. It is we who have persuaded him that Negroes are worthless human beings, and that it is his sacred duty, as a white man, to protect the honor and purity of his tribe.Όπως είναι φυσικό το έργο κατέληξε να διχάσει το κοινό με τις ιδέες του, όχι μόνο εξαιτίας της ιδιόμορφης αντιμετώπισης του εγκληματία αλλά και λόγω της τόσο φανερής απεύθυνσης σε λευκό ακροατήριο, εντούτοις, η λύση για τον τίτλο του έργου δίνεται από τον πατέρα του νεκρού Richard, "All white men are Mister Charlie"· ως Mister Charlie δηλαδή χαρακτηρίζεται ο λευκός άνθρωπος εν γένει, αποτελώντας μια καρικατούρα. Εξάλλου, όπως υποστηρίζει ο Baldwin στο κείμενο A Word from Writer Directly to Reader, του 1959:
Nor is it easy for me, when I try to examine the world in which I live, to distinguish the right side from the wrong side.[…]Nothing, I submit, is more difficult than deciphering what the citizens of this time and place actually feel and think.
Και σκηνικά, όμως, το θεατρικό παρουσιάζει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον, καθώς στη σκηνή συγκροτείται ένας πραγματικός φυλετικός διαχωρισμός, με τον διάδρομο στο κέντρο να λειτουργεί ως μοχλός διαίρεσης των λευκών και των μαύρων, με τις δυο κοινότητες να βρίσκονται η μια απέναντι απ’ την άλλη και με τη μόνη αλληλεπίδραση να συντελείται στις αναδρομές και στην τελική δίκη. Εξαίρεση εδώ αποτελεί ο Parnell, ο λευκός χαρακτήρας που όντας μετριοπαθής συζητά ελεύθερα και με τις δυο οικογένειες.
MOTHER HENRY: Richard, you can’t start walking around believing that all the suffering in the world is caused by white folks!
RICHARD: I can’t? Don’t tell me I can’t. I’m going to treat everyone of them as though they were responsible for all the crimes that ever happened in the history of the world – oh yes! They’re responsible for all the misery I’ve ever seen, and that’s good enough for me.
Από το έργο του Baldwin δε θα μπορούσε να λείπει η διάσταση της θρησκευτικής σύγχυσης, με έναν από τους χαρακτήρες να κατακρίνει τον ιερέα-πατέρα του νεκρού πως ο Θεός δείχνει συμπόνια μόνο στους λευκούς και πως Εκείνος είναι ο πραγματικός υπαίτιος για την καταστροφή των μαύρων ανθρώπων (It’s that damn white God that’s been lynching us and burning us and castrating us and raping our women and robbing us of everything that makes a man a man[…]). Στον πρόλογό του, εκτός τούτου, γράφει ο Baldwin,
The play then, for me, takes place in Plaguetown, U.S.A., now. The plague is race, the plague is our concept of Christianity: and this raging plague has the power to destroy every human.Ταυτόχρονα, είναι τουλάχιστον ριζοσπαστική η σύνδεση που θέτει ο συγγραφέας της θρησκευτικής πίστης και της αξιοπρέπειας, με την έννοια ότι ο μαύρος άνθρωπος επιλέγει να πιστέψει στο Θεό ακριβώς για να θεωρείται άνθρωπος, αν όχι στα μάτια των υπόλοιπων λευκών ανθρώπων, τότε σε εκείνα του Θεού.
July 8, 2015
A play inspired by the story of Emmett Till, I knew this would be a rough read but underestimated by just how much. For majority of the play, Baldwin had me convinced that the story wouldn’t play out the way Till’s story did but in the end, it shook me completely to realize just how indifferent the world really is.
In his introduction, Baldwin tells us:
The play opens with the death of Richard Henry, a Southern-born, African-American man, the son of Reverend Henry, who had just returned from the North with a colorful past of his own. At first, the list of characters is overwhelming but Baldwin does an excellent job of setting the characters apart fairly early on. Each character is easily established with individual personalities and despite the numerous characters, it is incredibly easy to keep track of everyone without getting lost.
Parnell and Meridian were probably my favorite characters of this play. Parnell, a white journalist, is trying to be fair and just but is torn between the white and black town. He wants to believe that Lyle has not killed the black minister's son and yet, he has a history. He clearly fights more for equality then he does for justice, even though he seems to say he wants justice as it is rightly served. Justice requires reparations, equality requires letting go of centuries worth of oppression—a hard thing to ask of from any race. You cannot have equality without serving justice where it is due first. One cannot expect a black man/woman to forget the treatment of their ancestors until whites have acknowledge the centuries worth of torture, rape, murder, suppression, and absolute and utter humiliation their ancestors have caused.
Meridian, a black Christian minister, is another character that is torn between his faith and the reality. By the end of the play, he sees the light which has blinded him for long. My favorite passages comes from his character:
Brilliant and the most potent description of African-American Christianity I have ever read. Christianity has always attempted to be the “savior” of people but it has brought more misery to the black population of America than anything else. It is also clear to establish that these are words from Baldwin’s own mouth.
Over fifty years later and not a damn thing has changed (look up Tamir Rice or Michael Brown or numerous other cases if you somehow live in a hole and have no idea what I’m talking about).
I am still not sure of the connections between Juanita and Parnell, Juanita and Meridian, Juanita and Richard, and Juanita and Pete. It seems like Baldwin wanted to do something important with Juanita’s character but he might have been confused as to what. But still, overall, this was an intense and thoroughly satisfying play.
In his introduction, Baldwin tells us:
The plague is race, the plague is our concept of Christianity: and this raging plague has the power to destroy every human relationship.
The play opens with the death of Richard Henry, a Southern-born, African-American man, the son of Reverend Henry, who had just returned from the North with a colorful past of his own. At first, the list of characters is overwhelming but Baldwin does an excellent job of setting the characters apart fairly early on. Each character is easily established with individual personalities and despite the numerous characters, it is incredibly easy to keep track of everyone without getting lost.
Parnell and Meridian were probably my favorite characters of this play. Parnell, a white journalist, is trying to be fair and just but is torn between the white and black town. He wants to believe that Lyle has not killed the black minister's son and yet, he has a history. He clearly fights more for equality then he does for justice, even though he seems to say he wants justice as it is rightly served. Justice requires reparations, equality requires letting go of centuries worth of oppression—a hard thing to ask of from any race. You cannot have equality without serving justice where it is due first. One cannot expect a black man/woman to forget the treatment of their ancestors until whites have acknowledge the centuries worth of torture, rape, murder, suppression, and absolute and utter humiliation their ancestors have caused.
Meridian, a black Christian minister, is another character that is torn between his faith and the reality. By the end of the play, he sees the light which has blinded him for long. My favorite passages comes from his character:
I’m a Christian. I’ve been a Christian all my life, like my Mama and Daddy before me and like their Mama and Daddy before them. Of course, if you go back far enough, you get to a point before Christ, if you see what I mean, B.C.— and at that point, I’ve been thinking, black people weren’t raised to turn the other cheek, and in the hope of heaven. No, then they didn’t have to take low. Before Christ. They walked around just as good as anybody else, and when they died, they didn’t go to heaven, they went to join their ancestors. My son’s dead, but he’s not gone to join his ancestors. He was a sinner, so he must have gone to hell— if we’re going to believe what the Bible says. Is that such an improvement, such a mighty advance over B.C.? I’ve been thinking, I’ve had to think— would I have been such a Christian if I hadn’t been born black? Maybe I had to become a Christian in order to have any dignity at all. Since I wasn’t a man in men’s eyes, then I could be a man in the eyes of God. But that didn’t protect my wife. She’s dead, too soon, we don’t really know how. That didn’t protect my son— he’s dead, we know how too well. That hasn’t changed this town— this town, where you couldn’t find a white Christian at high noon on Sunday! The eyes of God— maybe those eyes are blind— I never let myself think of that before.
Brilliant and the most potent description of African-American Christianity I have ever read. Christianity has always attempted to be the “savior” of people but it has brought more misery to the black population of America than anything else. It is also clear to establish that these are words from Baldwin’s own mouth.
Over fifty years later and not a damn thing has changed (look up Tamir Rice or Michael Brown or numerous other cases if you somehow live in a hole and have no idea what I’m talking about).
I am still not sure of the connections between Juanita and Parnell, Juanita and Meridian, Juanita and Richard, and Juanita and Pete. It seems like Baldwin wanted to do something important with Juanita’s character but he might have been confused as to what. But still, overall, this was an intense and thoroughly satisfying play.
January 20, 2020
The fact that it's been years and so many of the situations described in this book - especially so many of the attempts at intimidation and silencing of the black community still exist by white nationalists and white supremacists just breaks my soul. This really brought me back to the unite the right rally and these maniacs in the community who really think that they can impede progress. It makes me so mad. The fact that the courts are still so corrupt and immoral, just fucking flames me. This brought me back to Trayvon and Michael Brown. The fact that white people will really try to paint young black people as thugs and prostitutes when they're murdered for no reason is still something that no matter how much progress we engage in as a community, completely baffles me.
We're in a completely digital age, we're connected in ways that are unheard of, yet somehow white hate and corruption still manages to find a - quiet to them, loud to us - pervasiveness in the community that turns things ugly for many. And for what reason? Honestly, it makes me so mad that years go by and white people have yet to really grapple with the legacy of their racist contribution to the culture. Looking at how DJT has mobilized and incentivized racists/racism and how many domestic terrorists exist and how they're predominantly hate-filled, radicalized, white men; there's just something unsettling about reading this in 2020 and the fact that it feels valid and that it feels relatable.
There are many a Richard Henry - young men and women who are fed up with the status quo and just want to live as free as they want to live and as free as they choose to live without dying, without being made to be punished for speaking out and not just meekly falling into "our place". We all deserve to live our full lives. Even if we're cheeky as shit.
I thought it would be challenging to follow along with the play since I don't read a lot of plays, but it was very easy. James Baldwin has this way of evoking so many emotions in you - it's almost like you have to read his work standing up because he just gets inside of you and pushes you all the way out your body head first.
We're in a completely digital age, we're connected in ways that are unheard of, yet somehow white hate and corruption still manages to find a - quiet to them, loud to us - pervasiveness in the community that turns things ugly for many. And for what reason? Honestly, it makes me so mad that years go by and white people have yet to really grapple with the legacy of their racist contribution to the culture. Looking at how DJT has mobilized and incentivized racists/racism and how many domestic terrorists exist and how they're predominantly hate-filled, radicalized, white men; there's just something unsettling about reading this in 2020 and the fact that it feels valid and that it feels relatable.
There are many a Richard Henry - young men and women who are fed up with the status quo and just want to live as free as they want to live and as free as they choose to live without dying, without being made to be punished for speaking out and not just meekly falling into "our place". We all deserve to live our full lives. Even if we're cheeky as shit.
I thought it would be challenging to follow along with the play since I don't read a lot of plays, but it was very easy. James Baldwin has this way of evoking so many emotions in you - it's almost like you have to read his work standing up because he just gets inside of you and pushes you all the way out your body head first.
June 26, 2012
Not my favorite book of Baldwins', but I appreciate his short, but powerful play, "Blues for Mister Charlie." The dialoge in the book is at times rigid, cliche, and predictable. Unlike many of his novels, Baldwin seems to struggle with the confines of the artform, the play's lack of "space" or "room" to fully develop his characters. This is most harmful, in my opinion, with the character Richard, who comes off as a stock character with elements borrowed from Baldwin's Rufus of Another Country, Richard of Go Tell it On the Mountain, and Sonny of Sonny's Blues. I think Baldwin does a grave disservice to Richard, and his, at times, legitimate rage has towards whites. During many scenes throughout the play, Richard is portrayed as being a tragic figure, not only eaten up by his former drug addiction, but also eaten up by his own rage and hatred of white people. I don't like how Richard comes off as being an "angry black man" whose anger is unthought, unwarranted, and misdirected. I think that Baldwin attempted to created sub-plots that only seemed to muddle the story, rather than add nuance to the play's storyline, i.e., Juanita's love interests in Parnell and also, Meridian's love for Juanita. Also, I wish Baldwin could have found a way to develop Jo's character more. She seemed like one of the more interesting within the play, especially in her lack of knowledge of her husband's past philandering, and his first time murdering a black man. I do find value in Baldwin's attempting to get into the mind of a white supremacist and murderer.
Overall, like I said before, this is not my favorite Baldwin piece, but I can appreciate his effort in shining light on the vile lynching and intimidation of black people, and the complete absence of justice for them.
Overall, like I said before, this is not my favorite Baldwin piece, but I can appreciate his effort in shining light on the vile lynching and intimidation of black people, and the complete absence of justice for them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2023
Likely because he wasn’t a playwright, at least at this point, this reads pretty much like a novella w attributed dialogue. Lose the attributed dialogue and you’d have a postmodern novel. Scant stage direction, oodles of text. So, win-win.
Certainly don’t take it from me, though. It’s a snapshot of America just as whole loads of shit were about to hit the Big Fan. And, much as what I feel as my personal constitution is either directly from black Americans or a derivative thereof, there’s not anything I can do about that fact that
I remain,
Uncle Charlie
Certainly don’t take it from me, though. It’s a snapshot of America just as whole loads of shit were about to hit the Big Fan. And, much as what I feel as my personal constitution is either directly from black Americans or a derivative thereof, there’s not anything I can do about that fact that
I remain,
Uncle Charlie
May 15, 2009
Malik Cooper
English Period 3
Banned Books Essay
Books that are banned from schools are books that are looked at by parents that complain about things that some of them have probably did. They are just too afraid to sit down with the child and talk to them about the different things in the world. So the child goes and gets books to read and learn on their own. If all the books get banned and we have parents afraid to sit down and talk about sex, drugs, and violence how will we learn? You can experience sex, drugs, and violence but all three can kill you. Lessons can be learned from the banned books but parents don’t want their children exposed to the content of these supposedly banned books. All the content in the banned books can be learned from. Maybe instead of banning the books maybe a reasonable age limit could be put on the books. I personally think the after the fifth grade you should be able to read any book you want no matter what the content of the book. If the world can’t be banned then books shouldn’t be banned.
Most of the banned books taught us something that a lot of parents are afraid to talk about with their children about. A lot of the banned books have to deal with situations or experiences people go through everyday. With most of these banned books children can learn from the experiences like the book Go Ask Alice. That book could teach many young people about what can happen to your life if those same choices as Alice are made, but Alice mistakes could have all been avoided and reading this book can teach any how they could early before they are faced with these situations. Another book banned that should have not been was “And still I Rise”. A book not based on sexual or violent content but it was in favor of women’s rights and black people wrote it.
A lot of books banned had sex, violence, drugs, and too much religion in the book. Sometimes people thought the book questioned the existence of God or they didn’t want a community to gain confidence because of that book. Content in all banned books must be accepted because whatever is in these books is nothing new to the world, so everything that happens in those books happens in the world we live in today. These books shouldn’t be banned because it teaches young people that the world is hard place and it isn’t paradise. Go Ask Alice was a true story with true events that happened to that girl that’s her fault and her decision but it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s. People make choices that will decide their future so the people who want books banned have to suck it up and live with the fact they can’t keep their little baby unexposed from this crazy world. If books with sex, drugs, and violence are banned then why don’t people fight to ban the world? No one seems to care about what happens to the world and the people of the world but they take a lot of time just to have these books banned.
Instead of banning the books maybe a reasonable age limit should be put on the books in school if that’s more comfortable for parents. Elementary school won’t really matter because they don’t really understand, those little kids think they do but they don’t. Middle school is when I think any young male or female should be able to read whatever they want to read because they are growing and they need to know what goes on in the world and now is the time. After that schools should be able to put whatever they want in schools because 9th grade it’s time to grow up.
Books shouldn’t be banned. It would make no sense to ban books when it all goes on in our world. The parents that complain the most are the ones that probably made some of those mistakes in their past. Books shouldn’t be banned they just should have a solution to all of their complaints so they won’t have anything to complain. The school district of Philadelphia needs to allow all high schools to read any books the English teacher wants them to read
English Period 3
Banned Books Essay
Books that are banned from schools are books that are looked at by parents that complain about things that some of them have probably did. They are just too afraid to sit down with the child and talk to them about the different things in the world. So the child goes and gets books to read and learn on their own. If all the books get banned and we have parents afraid to sit down and talk about sex, drugs, and violence how will we learn? You can experience sex, drugs, and violence but all three can kill you. Lessons can be learned from the banned books but parents don’t want their children exposed to the content of these supposedly banned books. All the content in the banned books can be learned from. Maybe instead of banning the books maybe a reasonable age limit could be put on the books. I personally think the after the fifth grade you should be able to read any book you want no matter what the content of the book. If the world can’t be banned then books shouldn’t be banned.
Most of the banned books taught us something that a lot of parents are afraid to talk about with their children about. A lot of the banned books have to deal with situations or experiences people go through everyday. With most of these banned books children can learn from the experiences like the book Go Ask Alice. That book could teach many young people about what can happen to your life if those same choices as Alice are made, but Alice mistakes could have all been avoided and reading this book can teach any how they could early before they are faced with these situations. Another book banned that should have not been was “And still I Rise”. A book not based on sexual or violent content but it was in favor of women’s rights and black people wrote it.
A lot of books banned had sex, violence, drugs, and too much religion in the book. Sometimes people thought the book questioned the existence of God or they didn’t want a community to gain confidence because of that book. Content in all banned books must be accepted because whatever is in these books is nothing new to the world, so everything that happens in those books happens in the world we live in today. These books shouldn’t be banned because it teaches young people that the world is hard place and it isn’t paradise. Go Ask Alice was a true story with true events that happened to that girl that’s her fault and her decision but it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s. People make choices that will decide their future so the people who want books banned have to suck it up and live with the fact they can’t keep their little baby unexposed from this crazy world. If books with sex, drugs, and violence are banned then why don’t people fight to ban the world? No one seems to care about what happens to the world and the people of the world but they take a lot of time just to have these books banned.
Instead of banning the books maybe a reasonable age limit should be put on the books in school if that’s more comfortable for parents. Elementary school won’t really matter because they don’t really understand, those little kids think they do but they don’t. Middle school is when I think any young male or female should be able to read whatever they want to read because they are growing and they need to know what goes on in the world and now is the time. After that schools should be able to put whatever they want in schools because 9th grade it’s time to grow up.
Books shouldn’t be banned. It would make no sense to ban books when it all goes on in our world. The parents that complain the most are the ones that probably made some of those mistakes in their past. Books shouldn’t be banned they just should have a solution to all of their complaints so they won’t have anything to complain. The school district of Philadelphia needs to allow all high schools to read any books the English teacher wants them to read
May 24, 2020
Found an old copy on my dad's bookshelf and decided to give it a read since I'd really liked If Beale Street Could Talk. Baldwin is a lovely writer and his work remains tragically relevant. Blues for Mister Charlie isn't very subtle but it is nuanced and deftly written. Baldwin is sort of gentle and compassionate with all of his characters which prevents the story from feeling too heavy-handed. It's good stuff, and highly recommended. I do tend to feel like his female characters could use just a little bit more dimension--they sometimes come across a little overly obliging and eternally quietly tolerant--but I'm glad I finally got around to Baldwin and I'm looking forward to reading more of his stuff in the future.
July 30, 2020
Very, very raw. Radical, for the 60s. And I could imagine this scandalizing Broadway marms today. Baldwin never lacks artistic nerve to go into deeply uncomfortable places within our racial divisions.
Not subtle, but powerful. Characters are a bit wooden, but there’s enough relational nuance and intrigue to keep them from becoming fully cardboard cut-outs. Not my favorite work of Baldwin’s, but nothing he writes is not worth reading, in my experience.
A lot of relevant commentary here on power/privilege, and one of Baldwin’s central themes: the power and possibilities of transcendent love.
Not subtle, but powerful. Characters are a bit wooden, but there’s enough relational nuance and intrigue to keep them from becoming fully cardboard cut-outs. Not my favorite work of Baldwin’s, but nothing he writes is not worth reading, in my experience.
A lot of relevant commentary here on power/privilege, and one of Baldwin’s central themes: the power and possibilities of transcendent love.
April 14, 2024
'Will life always be like this?'
#DeZinVanHetBoek #TheEssenceOfTheBook
James Baldwin sharply lays bare the hypocrisy of white people who at one moment state they are not racist, but immediately thereafter claim their (nonsensical) superiority to the Black race.
Though written as a fictional play sixty years ago, this could easily be a realistic account today. Considering the matter at hand, that thought is sickening. In spite of that - or precisely because of that - Baldwins Blues for Mister Charlie is a very important read.
#DeZinVanHetBoek #TheEssenceOfTheBook
James Baldwin sharply lays bare the hypocrisy of white people who at one moment state they are not racist, but immediately thereafter claim their (nonsensical) superiority to the Black race.
Though written as a fictional play sixty years ago, this could easily be a realistic account today. Considering the matter at hand, that thought is sickening. In spite of that - or precisely because of that - Baldwins Blues for Mister Charlie is a very important read.
June 7, 2024
Stage drama kind of suits James Baldwin. His novels are often quite theatrical. This play is based loosely on the story of Emmett till. It’s a bruising analysis of racial tensions and issues. Stylistically I don’t think the court scene works as well as the rest, but on the whole it’s excellent.
August 28, 2020
making my long awaited return to goodreads. suffering Quarantine Madness which is currently manifesting in me reading the books from my english comps that never happened.........lol. good play imo.
March 24, 2024
Tolles Buch. Ist ein Drama und ich würde viel Geld geben die Theateraufführung dazu zu sehen.
James Baldwin ist einfach zu krass. Die Sprache ist fr Musik in meinen Ohren. Ich weiß net warum aber irgendwie klingt das Buch einfach gut. Der Stil ist ne 11/10.
Außerdem sind immer mal wieder so Nebensätze dabei die einfach zu viel Sinn machen und nach denen ich mein Leben überdenken muss. Der Typ war so fortschrittlich. Der hatte diese Gedanken halt 1964 schon. Und heute struggeln wir immer noch mit Rassismus.
Wirklich ein krass gutes Buch hab’s an einem Tag gelesen und kann es jedem empfehlen.
James Baldwin ist einfach zu krass. Die Sprache ist fr Musik in meinen Ohren. Ich weiß net warum aber irgendwie klingt das Buch einfach gut. Der Stil ist ne 11/10.
Außerdem sind immer mal wieder so Nebensätze dabei die einfach zu viel Sinn machen und nach denen ich mein Leben überdenken muss. Der Typ war so fortschrittlich. Der hatte diese Gedanken halt 1964 schon. Und heute struggeln wir immer noch mit Rassismus.
Wirklich ein krass gutes Buch hab’s an einem Tag gelesen und kann es jedem empfehlen.
June 8, 2011
A punch in the chest: a raw look at race and justice in the 1960s - inspired by the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, "Blues for Mister Charlie" is the story of a white man who is acquitted of a black man's murder, and the issues it causes every one around him to confront. Though I love "Uncle Jimmy's" essays and fiction much better, this is still a must read of his canon. Can't wait to see this piece performed.
December 11, 2023
Blues for Mister Charlie, written after the murder of Medgar Evers, is a much darker and more violent piece than Baldwin's first play, The Amen Corner. It concerns a white man on trial for the death of a Black man in a Southern town, and it’s an attempt to probe the psychology of a murderer who doesn’t think he’s a murderer. It’s a look at evil that believes itself to be righteous, which is the most common evil there is.
January 22, 2020
I read this at the same time I revisited To Kill a Mockingbird, and Baldwin's play is an effective antidote to Harper Lee's novel. Baldwin explores both white and black perspectives, he works with ambiguity and hypocrisy, he creates characters that feel flawed and real, he explores sexuality and hate, he's speaking about an issue that's still relevant today. He's angry, but so is everyone else and there's a sense that this anger only perpetuates itself. The ending is damning for its lack of crescendo, but the play is valuable because of that.
June 4, 2022
Must have been infuriating to watch when it was written, because just reading it in 2022 is still a tragic and unsettling experience. This is fiction based on a reality so recent, yet somehow more and more absent in contemporary discourse. Baldwin always writes with a clarity that makes you wonder why most other writers give only foggy notions of what they really feel. There is no turning away from the sickness that still runs in our blood, all of us. To heal it we must engage with it and understand it.
March 31, 2020
who is better at distilling the petrifying calamity that is facing white supremacy and colonial legacies head on, literally digesting them? at explaining that to do so is to literally meet madness bc such atrocities are absolutely maddening? do you know what i'm saying? anyway, james baldwin is truly a master at telling stories that wriggle in so deep into these facts it's hard 2 miss, hard 2 even look away and catch ur breath.
January 19, 2018
i am not yet sure what makes a play great, or a revelation. i haven't read enough. but what i do know and can lean on with all the weight of my heart, is when a work pulls me up, and out, and all about. which is what this play did. i finished it in tears, as i knew i was. baldwin, you are my saving grace.
January 25, 2020
3.5 stars. Baldwin's first play reads like a Platonic dialogue. The staging ideas are intriguing; I'd love to see this the emotional range that's possible when this is performed. In his notes, Baldwin describes how this project initially gave him pause, as it would involve going deep into the mind and soul of a character like Lyle. But he did it, and I really respect that.
Read
July 12, 2020It was an interesting experience to read a play like this. Something I’ve never done before. The first two acts were great but I think the final act would have been more effective to see on stage. It’s pretty interesting to think about how different actors would deliver these lines.
August 2, 2020
An indictment on racism that is relevant still, has never stopped being relevant in this country. Race is the most ignorant, harmful, destructive invention created by the white man.
April 27, 2021
i just can’t figure out how to kill a mockingbird is required reading but this isn’t
July 5, 2021
Fucking amazing and so important. Here commences my James Baldwin obsession
March 23, 2023
i think baldwin is a better novelist than he is a playwright but still very good
November 14, 2023
LOVED the non-linear, dreamlike structure.
April 12, 2024
if read this as the play for highschool and discovered baldwin from it i would of loved reading so much sooner
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