ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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Misreading the activist
An exploration of Baldwin’s writing and travels that overlooks his political radicalism does no service to him or the movement says JENNY FARRELL
James Baldwin and actor Marlon Brando, Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. 08/28/1963
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
Walking in the dark
Douglas Field, Manchester University Press, £16.99
Douglas Field’s Walking in the dark is a personal exploration, intertwining his life with the writings of James Baldwin. At the heart of this work lies a meditation on memory, history, fathers and sons, with the shadow of Alzheimer’s disease looming large.
Field’s preoccupation with Alzheimer’s, particularly through the lens of his father’s suffering, serves as a central theme in the book. Baldwin’s reflections on memory and history are brought into conversation with Field’s struggles to understand his father’s illness. However, one might question where Baldwin truly fits into this exploration. The connections between Baldwin’s writings on memory — especially his view that history is largely a record from the victor’s perspective — and Field’s personal narrative are somewhat tenuous.
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