As novelist, essayist, dramatist and social critic, James Baldwin's books and numerous other pieces attest not only to a sustained prolificacy but also to a consistent perspicacity. Alternately praised and derided by blacks and whites alike, Baldwin's works have never lacked an audience. The rationale for this public interest in his work obviously consists of multiple factors, among them being his prophetic tone, moral concern, existential analysis, perceptive relevance, intense language, and poignant sincerity.

From the age of twelve, when he published a short story on the Spanish Revolution in a church newspaper, and a short time later, when he received a letter of congratulations from New York Mayor La Guardia for one of his poems, Baldwin has nurtured a passionate devotion to writing: "I consider that I have many responsibilities but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done. I want...