What James Baldwin Can Teach Us About the World Today

On the 70th anniversary of the publication of Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin’s seminal novel about sexuality, race and myth in America, Booker Prize-winning writer Ben Okri joined us to reflect on the life, literature and enduring legacy of one of the world’s most loved writers.

Baldwin’s work reshaped the literary and political landscape. Many of our greatest writers today credit his influence on their work. As an author and activist, his writing fearlessly tackled race, sexuality, love, masculinity and belonging with radical intimacy.

Published in 1956, Giovanni’s Room was groundbreaking for its explicit homoeroticism. Its honesty and courage characterised Baldwin’s work as a whole. His poetry, essays, speeches, novels and plays, were pivotal to both the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement in mid-twentieth century America, and continue to speak urgently to the present moment.

In May 2026 Okri brought his own artistic vision to an exploration of Baldwin’s work live from the Kiln Theatre, the same venue as Anton Philips’ production of Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, the first black-produced and directed play to transfer to the West End of London.

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