Kevin Young, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, discusses James Baldwin’s burgeoning career as a writer and critic as well as his tortured relationship with his own sexuality and desire for love through the lens of his controversial second novel Giovanni’s Room. Then Baldwin historian Ed Pavlić reveals some surprising mentors and influences on Baldwin, including Zora Neale Hurston, Henry James, Richard Wright, Beauford Delaney, and others.

This podcast is a production of Penguin Random House Media + Knopf Publishing. It is hosted by Cree Myles, produced by Stephanie Bowen and Shalea Harris, edited by Clayton Gumbert, and executive produced by Trevor Baldwin.

For more information and to get the deluxe centenary editions of James Baldwin’s works, check out JamesBaldwinBooks.com, JamesBaldwin.info, and All Ways Black

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