Talk:James Baldwin

Semi-protected edit request on 2 February 2024
This entire biography is a shameful whitewashing of Mr. Baldwin's legacy. "The Fire Next Time" and "No Name In the Street," among others, are not even mentioned in the main body of text. WTAF?

As I do not have access, I am asking that somebody with access as well as knowledge of and respect for Mr. Baldwin rewrite this entire biography. For reference, there are countless, publicly available sources with which one can correct this travesty. Thank you. 104.231.224.140 (talk) 04:35, 2 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Both of those pieces are mentioned in the main body of the article, in the 1960 and the 1970s and 1980s sections. Not sure what you're complaining about Cannolis (talk) 04:43, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

Merge proposal: James Baldwin in France to here
Article that is basically about James Baldwin's work in Paris. Merge seems like the right choice here. TLA (talk) 20:50, 11 February 2024 (UTC)


 * No, it’s not just about what Baldwin did in Paris. It covers his reasons for expatriating, his other travels, his time in Saint Paul de Vence, his itinerant career and how expatriation related to his writing and artistic method. Critics have recognized the importance of this aspect of his life on his work, as you can see in the references sections. The secondary sources you ask for on this topic are already referenced in the article — out of the 23 references, 15 are secondary sources dealing specifically with Baldwin’s expatriation.
 * I would have included this material on expatriation in the main article on James Baldwin, but that article is already very long and densely packed (but it does not deal in detail at length with the issue of expatriation in Baldwin’s oeuvre). I have added a ‘main article’ link in the ‘James Baldwin in France’ article linking to the article ’James Baldwin’.Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 06:59, 15 February 2024 (UTC)
 * I support the proposal to merge. These two subjects are necessarily intertwined, so bringing them together seems to be the logical thing to do. Go4thProsper (talk) 02:00, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Hello Go4thProsper, Don’t you think the Baldwin in France article (already quite long at over 1800 words) would overload the ‘Baldwin’ article, which is massive at over 11,000 words? Thus, the combined article would be around 12,500 words. That puts it nearly in the zone where WP guidance on Article Length ( see WP:LENGTH) states that such an article ‘almost certainly should be divided or trimmed’. The current ‘Baldwin’ article’s length is already in the zone, described in WP:LENGTH as ‘probably should be divided or trimmed’. That is the reason I wrote a separate article to begin with.Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 08:53, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I don't think merging them would be the best idea for the ease of the reader. Aspen008 (talk) 00:07, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Support The subarticle only got 436 views last month; I don't think this is particularly helpful as James_Baldwin is already quite substantive so not all 1800 words would have to be merged and it's duplicative. Reywas92Talk 18:06, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Wow! I See there’s quite a few Hoosiers participating in this discussion (you and Go4thProsper). Quite a coincidence! I myself am a transplanted Buckeye from right on the state line. It’s a huge editing job you are asking for. You imply that it’s a small amount of work. I’ve looked at it and I disagree. It’s huge. Also, the 436 views per month is quite a few — that’s 15 per day, not bad at all. Most of the articles I work on get fewer than that. I would also note that quite a lot of work has gone into this article from other contributors and it has been rated a B-class article. Do you really want to undo all that? Bad idea in my view. Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 19:20, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

Baldwin in Istanbul
How did you manage to avoid any mention of Baldwin's time in Istanbul. He lived most of the sixties in Istanbul. 109.37.154.105 (talk) 09:07, 17 February 2024 (UTC)


 * Thé article talks about his Istanbul stays at some length in the section ‘World traveler and “transatlantic commuter”’. My information is that he did several lengthy stays, but only lasting a few months each. For example the first stay, where he completed Another Country lasted only 2-3 months. I will check out your assertion that he was essentially resident in Istanbul for 10 years and make any necessary changes to the article. Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 11:11, 17 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Ok, 109.37.157.105.
 * I made some changes in response to your comment. Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 17:18, 17 February 2024 (UTC)

not so.
Idk what is meant by use of the term “expatriation” in this context. Even if Ownership of property in a foreign land equates to expat status these days - my vote is still no.

Curious times indeed to make such a proposal to a prolific, extraordinary, wonderful, radiant beacon of light, The James Baldwin…An indigenous person of colour birthed into an inglorious nation we call “America.”

The intentions underlying this proposal are truly questionable and suspect.

I suspect such noble and pious proposals are currently not being made for others similarly situated - nor have such proposals previously been applied consistently across other cohorts.

Another twisted attempt to rewrite histories and legacies to create crafty, projected narratives of a people of whom you are ignorant and/or have a vested interest in trying to erode and dominate. Touché.

This proposal adds no meaningful value - as quantified by your own internal data metics. Hyperbole. 4aMMijj0 (talk) 04:26, 7 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hello 4aMMijjo,
 * I agree with your analysis of Baldwin as a ‘radiant beam of light’. I think that my comment above might not have been clear — I made the changes concerning his stay in Istanbul to the related article ‘James Baldwin in France ‘ under the section on ‘World traveler and transatlantic commuter’. Dr Dobeaucoup (talk) 06:46, 7 June 2024 (UTC)