From The Archive: Five Pieces by James Baldwin

From The Archive: Five Pieces by James Baldwin

From The Archive: Five Pieces by James Baldwin

The publication of The Cross of Redemption is an occasion to revisit some of the many fine essays and reviews written for The Nation by Baldwin, who was a member of the magazine’s editorial board.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

The publication of The Cross of Redemption, a collection of James Baldwin’s uncollected prose, presents a necessary side of Baldwin—casual, less rigorous, more preachy—one that a collection of more polished pieces like Notes of a Native Son cannot. It is also an occasion to revisit some of the many fine essays and reviews written for The Nation by Baldwin, who was a member of the magazine’s editorial board.

"Maxim Gorki as Artist," from April 12, 1947
"The Crusade of Indignation," from July 7, 1956
"A Report from Occupied Territory," from July 11, 1966
"Open Letter to the Born Again," from September 29, 1979
"Notes on the House of Bondage," from November 1, 1980

You can also read Elias Altman’s review of The Cross of Redemption, Watered Whiskey.

Disobey authoritarians, support The Nation

Over the past year you’ve read Nation writers like Elie Mystal, Kaveh Akbar, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Bryce Covert, Dave Zirin, Jeet Heer, Michael T. Klare, Katha Pollitt, Amy Littlefield, Gregg Gonsalves, and Sasha Abramsky take on the Trump family’s corruption, set the record straight about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s catastrophic Make America Healthy Again movement, survey the fallout and human cost of the DOGE wrecking ball, anticipate the Supreme Court’s dangerous antidemocratic rulings, and amplify successful tactics of resistance on the streets and in Congress.

We publish these stories because when members of our communities are being abducted, household debt is climbing, and AI data centers are causing water and electricity shortages, we have a duty as journalists to do all we can to inform the public.

In 2026, our aim is to do more than ever before—but we need your support to make that happen. 

Through December 31, a generous donor will match all donations up to $75,000. That means that your contribution will be doubled, dollar for dollar. If we hit the full match, we’ll be starting 2026 with $150,000 to invest in the stories that impact real people’s lives—the kinds of stories that billionaire-owned, corporate-backed outlets aren’t covering. 

With your support, our team will publish major stories that the president and his allies won’t want you to read. We’ll cover the emerging military-tech industrial complex and matters of war, peace, and surveillance, as well as the affordability crisis, hunger, housing, healthcare, the environment, attacks on reproductive rights, and much more. At the same time, we’ll imagine alternatives to Trumpian rule and uplift efforts to create a better world, here and now. 

While your gift has twice the impact, I’m asking you to support The Nation with a donation today. You’ll empower the journalists, editors, and fact-checkers best equipped to hold this authoritarian administration to account. 

I hope you won’t miss this moment—donate to The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel 

Editor and publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x