Toibin, Colm. “The Henry James of Harlem: James Baldwin’s 

struggles.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 14 Sept 2001. Web.

9 Dec 2013.

This articles examines the legacy of James Baldwin.  Toibin discusses the duality of Baldwin’s personality and writing.  He used “Jamesian techniques and cadences” to engage with controversial subjects in his prose.  Baldwin’s childhood in Harlem informed his early writing.  Later in his career, however, his homosexuality and his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement slowed the success of his literary career.  Toibin attributes this partly to his refusal to write a “parable of race relations.”  Baldwin used his popularity as a writer to contribute to the Civil Rights Movement with stories exposing white racism and through his journalism.  Toibin mentions the influence of Baldwin’s familial position as eldest sibling to his prose about loving sibling relationships.  He concludes that Baldwin’s writing expressed his interest in the “soul’s dark intimate places.”  Baldwin was willing to explore possible “hidden” truths about himself through his fictional characters.