Notes from America with Kai Wright

Writer Ekow Eshun on James Baldwin’s History


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Our guest on the final episode of “Notes on a Native Son” is British writer Ekow Eshun. He has been described as a cultural polymath. At a startlingly young age, 29, he became the first Black editor of Arena, a mainstream magazine in the UK. He continued to break new ground when he became the first Black director of a major cultural institution, London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace. These days, as chair of the Commissioning Group for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, he leads one of the world's most famous and sometimes controversial public art projects, always worth a visit if you're in London.

Eshun’s choice of Baldwin's work for our conversation is informed by a book he's recently written called “The Strangers,” about five prominent Black figures and their sense of isolation and exile. Host Razia Iqbal meets with Eshun at Princeton University where he was lecturing about art, curation, and happily for us, James Baldwin.

You can find the entire "Notes on a Native Son" series here.

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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