James Baldwin and the Short Story

This book examines the range of issues that echo in James Baldwin’s short stories. It articulates and defends the claim that the stories in the collection Going to Meet the Man are driven by the autobiographical memory of the author. To support this line of thought and the related proposition that the stories feed into themes relevant to self-knowledge, vicarious suffering, love, and forgiveness, their effectiveness as transformative and ＂＂revelatory texts＂＂ is highlighted. By drawing on contemporary studies and challenging the view that short stories are no more than miniature pieces merely echoing ＂＂major＂＂ works of their authors, this book demonstrates that the short story genre can be profoundly forceful and effective in the articulation of complex human issues. This study shows also that the humanistic import of the Baldwin stories is amplified by their ability to accumulate moral tension as they elicit the participation of the reader in an imaginative quest for a better world. ＂＂This fresh and original appraisal of the short stories of James Baldwin from a religious perspective is theologically astute and theoretically deeply grounded. Drawing on thinkers such as Girard and Levinas, as well as the Bible and Christian theology, Ushedo unpacks the intensity of Baldwin’s prose in a series of close readings of his most powerful stories.＂＂ --David Jasper, Professor of Literature and Theology, University of Glasgow, Distinguished Overseas Professor, Renmin University of China ＂＂James Baldwin and the Short Story: Ethics, Aesthetics, Psychogeography is a very impressive and compelling study of Baldwin as a philosopher and religious thinker. An authoritative and thoroughly well-researched book that tackles social and political issues with intellectual rigor, finesse, and sensitivity, it is written in a clear style and will serve as an outstanding resource for interdisciplinary research in literature, theology, and American Social History.＂＂ --Vincent Icheku, London South Bank University, Southwark Campus, Senior Lecturer in the School of Health And Social Care, Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), Fellow, Royal Society of Public Health (FRSPH), Editor, British Journal of Research ＂＂Transcending the usual sociopolitical confines of Baldwin scholarship, Ushedo’s study of Baldwin’s short stories examines the neglected religious aspects that characterize these and all his works. Ushedo deftly incorporates a variety of theoretical frames along with theological research to provide new readings of these important stories in which the secular is redeemed by the sacred.＂＂ --Michael F. Lynch, Kent State University ＂＂Just as James Baldwin’s own life encapsulated a struggle with the manifold aspects of the human condition, Ushedo shows brilliantly that his short stories point beyond Baldwin’s political agenda. His thoughtful analysis--which draws on literary theory, philosophy, psychology, and theology--is bound to inspire those who reflect on the good life, as well as on why it may be so difficult to reach it.＂＂ --Jan Deckers, Senior Lecturer in Bioethics, Newcastle University, UK After earning his teaching license from the University College in London, Benedict Ushedo has, since 2002, been teaching philosophy, ethics, and religion in schools in the greater London area. He was previously a school master in Nigeria. He developed his specialty in literature, theology, and the arts during his post-graduate studies at the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven in Belgium, and PhD research at the University of Glasgow.