Tag Archives: James Baldwin

James Alan McPherson: Junior and John Doe

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Richard Guzman

James Alan McPherson wrote “Junior and John Doe” for Gerald Early’s 1993 essay collection Lure and Loathing: Essays on Race, Identity, and the Ambivalence of Assimilation.  It’s a great essay in a great and important collection.  Twenty writers—on a spectrum … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Writers, Social Change, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ralph Ellison: Survival Blues

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Richard Guzman

During my long career, I’ve been lucky to meet many writers. Somewhere in the mid-70’s, for example, I met Peter Matthiessen shortly after I’d read his great non-fiction book The Snow Leopard and used it in one of my classes.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Writers Picture Themselves – Part 1

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Richard Guzman

It all began some time in the early 60’s at New York’s famous club The Village Vanguard.  Burt Britton was tending bar, subbing for a friend, and one customer kept asking for more. It was Norman Mailer.  Britton tried to … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment