In this WFMT archive hour from 1961, the American novelist, playwright, and civil rights activist James Baldwin (1924-1987) tells Studs about his recent collection of essays, Nobody Knows My Name. They also discuss the state of race relations in the United States during the mid 20th Century, the inspiration of blues singer Bessie Smith on Baldwin’s writing, and his impressions on meeting the Swedish movie director Ingmar Bergman. James Baldwin was born on an August day a century ago, in Harlem, New York. His legacy burns brightly to this day.
“I want to be an honest man, and I want to be a good writer. And I don’t know if one ever gets to be what one wants to be. I think you just have to play it by ear and pray for rain.”
James Baldwin
