Baldwin, James. The fire next time

Kliatt, May, 2008 by Francine Levitov

BALDWIN, James. The fire next time. Read by Jesse L. Martin. 2 cds. 2.5 hrs. BBC Audiobooks America, Sound Library. 1962/2008. 978-0-7927-6. $29.95. Vinyl; content, author, reader notes. SA

Compelling in its blunt eloquence, guardedly optimistic even at its angriest and most disappointed, Baldwin's 1962 reflections on the state of the black man in America is one of the most important works to have arisen from the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. He moves from the particular, detailing segments of his own life as a youth in Harlem, to the general. He speaks of his early call to the church and his later disaffection with it. He remembers the irritation produced by his first meeting with Elijah Muhammad, whose mission he sees as understandable but divisive. He holds a mirror to the perceptions and misperceptions at the core of this country's racial tensions. Martin's impassioned reading sets the perfect tone for Baldwin's urgent plea that America, once and for all, should recognize and embrace the fact that it is a multiracial country whose citizens all need each other to form a better society. To do anything else is to perpetuate a sterile myth until the oppressed, unable to rise up in status to earn the American Dream, will rise up in arms to wrest it. Francine Levitov, Attny, New York, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This is also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.