The Fire Next Time

“Sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle . . . all presented in searing, brilliant prose that James Baldwin gives us no matter what form he is working in.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Basically the finest essay I’ve ever read. It’s technically two essays but it feels like one. [James] Baldwin refused to hold anyone’s hand. He was both direct and beautiful all at once. He did not seem to write to convince you. He wrote beyond you.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award winner Between the World and Me

“It was as if I sat on my porch steps with a wise father, a kind, present uncle, who said this to me. Told me I was worthy of love. Told me I was worth something in the world. Told me I was a human being.”—Jesmyn Ward, editor of The Fire This Time and author of the National Book Award winner Sing, Unburied, Sing

“So eloquent in its passion and so scorching in its candor that it is bound to unsettle any reader.”—The Atlantic