About the Author

James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor.

Reviews

"A play with fires of fury in its belly, tears of anguish in its eyes, a roar of protest in its throat." —The New York Times

"Explosive, eloquent, honest.... To read it is devastating." —San Francisco Chronicle