James Baldwin Review (JBR) is proud to announce the publication of its ninth volume. JBR is an annual journal that brings together peerâreviewed critical essays and creative non-fiction on the life, writings, and legacy of James Baldwin. Extending discussion of Baldwinâs writing and its impacts beyond academia is one of the core aims of JBR. Towards this end, the journal is published online, available for free, in an open access partnership between Washington University in St. Louis, Manchester University Press, and the University of Manchester Library. Print copies are also available for purchase.
JBR contains a mix of formal and informal tones, of experienced writers and new voices. The 2023 feature essay, by Davis W. Houck, focuses our attention on 1963, as pivotal a year for Baldwin, perhaps, as it was for the United States. A pair of critical essays explores Baldwinâs understudied poetry, and these essays are accompanied by an award-winning graduate student essay, journalistic and autobiographical reflections, an interview with the novelist Cecil Brown, and a bibliographic essay on Baldwin biographies. The cover art for JBR Vol. 9, simply titled âJames Baldwin,â comes to us from acrylic artist Ben Hippin.
Volume 9 (2023) of JBR is available gratis through our open access site: https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/jbr/9/1/jbr.9.issue-1.xml
– Justin A. Joyce
