Most readers were first introduced to James Baldwin with Go Tell It on the Mountain, his first novel, which was published in 1953. But before that, Baldwin contributed a series of essays on “black life and black thought” to a variety of magazines. Ten of these essays were collected in his first non-fiction book, Notes of a Native Son, in 1955.
The Classic Book Discussion Group will read and discuss Notes of a Native Son in February 2026.
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BOOK DESCRIPTION
Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.”
Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright’s work is pointed and unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise.
Notes is the book that established Baldwin’s voice as a social critic, and it remains one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin’s own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.
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Copies of Notes of a Native Son can be picked up from the Book Discussion Shelf on our first floor, and it’s also available to download through Libby/Overdrive as an ebook.
An in-person discussion of Notes of a Native Son will be held at the library on Thursday, February 26, at 6:00 PM. No registration is required to attend.
Published on January 28, 2026.
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