Chinua Achebe on James Baldwin

Achebe, Chinua. "James Baldwin." James Baldwin: The Legacy. Ed. Quincy Troupe. Simon &
     Schuster, 1989. 213-217. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter.
     Vol. 127. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

The piece is Chinua Achebe’s interpretation of James Baldwin as a person, not as a writer, which is very interesting. He gave personal anecdotes of his first meetings with Baldwin, which give a wider view of Baldwin's personality. It goes on to describe his struggles with injustice, struggles shared with Achebe himself, and the American public. It is not necessarily a completely accurate and historically sound writing on Baldwin, as Achebe seems more biased in favor of Baldwin. The way he describes Baldwin as constantly smiling, and as a man of near constant high spirits, gives the reader a picturesque view of Baldwin, though once again not an accurate one.