The ESNW Bookmarkers selected Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin for November. We will meet Nov 21, at 7:30pm, at Lorraine’s. Please let her know you will be there. James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York. His father was a pastor who subjected his children to poverty, abuse, and religious fanaticism. Many of Baldwin’s recurring themes, such as alienation and rejection, are attributable to his upbringing. In a powerful autobiographical novel, teenage John struggles with his personal religious conflict and with his rigid evangelist father in 1930s Harlem. His fight with his father is about his search for God and also about his search for identity. Living the life of a starving artist, Baldwin went through numerous jobs, including dishwasher, office boy, factory worker, and waiter. In 1948, he moved to France, where much work originated. Baldwin published Go Tell It on the Mountain in 1953. A largely autobiographical work, it tells of the religious awakening of a fourteen-year-old. In addition to his childhood experiences, his experiences as a black man and a homosexual provided inspiration for such works as Giovanni’s Room, Nobody Knows My Name, and Another Country. Baldwin holds a distinguished place in American history as one of the foremost writers of both black and gay literature. He was an active participant in the Civil Rights movement. Baldwin succumbed to cancer on December 1, 1987.