Tag Archives: James Baldwin

Tiger on the Prowl Again

By Robin Bates | Published: April 13, 2013

After years of quietude, Tiger Wood is once again as hungry as a–well, you know what. James Baldwin describes it.

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Horror Steps onto the Court

By Robin Bates | Published: April 6, 2013

The horror of witnessing Kevin Ware’s horrific basketball injury reminds me of a moment of comparable horror in Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues.”

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The White Liberal in Civil Rights Lit

By Robin Bates | Published: February 25, 2013

White Liberals suffer a downward spiral in 1960’s Civil Rights Literature, from heroic Atticus Finch to “Radical Chic” Leonard Bernstein.

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Aristotle Wrong about Tragic Heroes

By Robin Bates | Published: February 6, 2013

Revealing his prejudices, Aristotle tries to limit those whose suffering can be labeled tragic.

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Why Obama Hatred? Ask Ellison, Baldwin

By Robin Bates | Published: April 5, 2012

What causes Obama-derangement? Ellison’s “Invisible Man” and Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain” offer explanations.

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Inside These Wrappings, a Brighter Life

By Robin Bates | Published: December 26, 2010

Spiritual Sunday Yesterday we had a white Christmas in Sewanee, Tennessee, where I am visiting my parents.  The world was brown when we went to bed and white when we awoke.  The symbolism of Christmas snow lies in the promise of wiping everything clean and starting anew.  Grace appears to enter our fallen world. That’s […]

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Nuanced Race Talk Savaged by a Cleaver

By Robin Bates | Published: August 17, 2009

Given the uptick in racist language and increased enrollment in white supremacist groups since Barack Obama’s election, I’m going to devote one or two more posts to racism in America and then give the subject a rest for a bit.  Today I want to return to my shift from southern race relations to northern when […]

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Clarence Thomas and Native Son

By Robin Bates | Published: June 9, 2009

The focus in this week’s posts is on Supreme Court justices and literature. I notice that, in his New York Times column today, moderate conservative David Brooks endorses Sonia Sotomayor for just that restrained balance that we discussed yesterday as we explored her early love for Nancy Drew novels. Today I’m going to talk about […]

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