Claim OwnershipFinding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years. (Podcast Hosted by Aldo B. Martin & Dr. Frank Leon Roberts)
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© 2024 Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years. (Podcast Hosted by Aldo B. Martin & Dr. Frank Leon Roberts)
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Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years, 1940-1942 takes listeners on a fascinating journey to James Baldwin's early days as a teenage prodigy at New York City's famed DeWitt Clinton High School. Co-hosted by New York City-based podcast creator Aldo B. Martin and Harlem-based English Professor Frank Leon Roberts, Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years combines in-depth analysis, casual conversation and riveting audio performances of rare and never-before-recorded work written by teenage Baldwin. Insightful, conversational, and accessible—Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years will appeal to anyone with a love for James Baldwin, New York City, stories, conversation, podcasts, or the power of literature.
21 Episodes
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In the final episode, Professor Roberts and Aldo discuss their thoughts and discoveries in holding space for this subject matter. The duo also attempt to explain why James Baldwin was, is, and will always be important. Episode References The Welcome Table Herman "Bill" Porter Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The James Baldwin Papers Ferncliff Cemetery Association Further Reading: Books by James Baldwin The Furious Passage of James Baldwin by Fern M. Eckman James ...
This episode discusses an interview that teenage Baldwin conducted in the Magpie. Also discussed, is James Baldwin's student/teacher relationship with Harlem Renaissance poet, Countee Cullen. Elena from 3B joins Aldo as a special guest host for this episode (don't worry - Professor. Roberts will be back next week!). Elena and Aldo discuss how the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement are directly linked to Clinton High School and James Baldwin. "Re...
In this poem, titled "Judgment Day" young James Baldwin again experiments with the usage of African American Vernacular English. Professor Roberts argues that this poem is the most defiant of Baldwin's Magpie work. This episode then takes a look at one of James Baldwin's high school teachers, Abe Meeropol (Abel Meerpolsky). Aldo and Professor Roberts examine Abe Meeropol's contributions to the Magpie, to young Baldwin, and to the world. "Judgment Day" is read by Tina E. "Th...
In his latter years at DeWitt Clinton High School, James Baldwin wrote a poem titled “Loose Stone Rolling.” Professor Roberts argues that young Baldwin was proclaiming his life’s purpose with this poem. Aldo argues that such a proclamation was made years prior, during Baldwin's middle school days. The conversation then shifts as the duo introduce and discuss yet another one of Baldwin’s peer collaborators at the Magpie: world renowned photographer, Richard Avedon "Loose Sto...
Also Professor Roberts and Aldo discuss "Sonnet," they borrow some of their thoughts from Professor Roberts' students. The duo continue with the theme of "peer collaboration" and introduce another one of James Baldwin's Magpie counterparts: Emile Capouya. In discussing his partnership with them, Professor Roberts and Aldo argue that Baldwin's Magpie peers added value to his life. "Sonnet" is read by Elena from 3B "Untitled" is read by Emmanuel Episode Referen...
One of the more noteworthy elements about "The Magpie," is the element of peer collaboration. While James Baldwin, the "Magpie" editor and writer, is the subject of this podcast, young Baldwin was also a part of a network of gifted and young writers, who all wrote for "The Magpie." This episode introduces us to one of Baldwin's peers/collaborators/friends: Sol Stein Incident in London is read by Tina E. Three Houses is read by Myron Abernathy Episode References: Blitz in London ...
"Aunt Tina," the fourth short story that James Baldwin wrote for "The Magpie," may have been the inspiration for some of the fictional characters that James Baldwin would go on create in his later years. In addition, Dr. Roberts argues that "Aunt Tina" may have been inspired by people that young Baldwin either knew, or knew about. . Episode References Bette Davis Mother Rosa Horn The Douglass Pilot Further Reading: Books by James Baldwin The Furious Passage of Jame...
Mississippi Legend is one of the short stories that James Baldwin wrote in "The Magpie." Aldo suggests that the manner in which this short story was written, introduced the boys of Clinton High School to the world of African American Vernacular English. Dr. Roberts suggests that Baldwin writing in African American Vernacular English, was not a widely accepted practice at that time, thus making his doing so all the more noteworthy. Mississippi Legend is performed by...
This episode is a live recording of the special event “Podcasting as Public Scholarship: Finding James Baldwin with Aldo B. Martin and Frank Leon Roberts,” recorded at Amherst College in September 2023. Interviewed by Dr. Christopher Grobe, the Director for the Center for Humanistic Inquiry at Amherst, this episode sheds light on Martin and Roberts’s motivations for creating the podcast Finding James Baldwin; their thoughts on the value of podcasting as a form of “public scholarship,” a...
In this episode, Aldo and Dr. Roberts discuss the poem "The Dream." Aldo suggests that the poem may not be about a person. The duo discuss the impact that Clinton High School may have had on Baldwin and the impact that it may have had on "The Magpie." Dr. Roberts brings up the notion of "spaciality and literary production" as it pertains to the creation of the contents of "The Magpie." The Furious Passage of James Baldwin by Fern M. Eckman The Castle on the Parkway: T...
As they discuss James Baldwin's poem, "Youth," Aldo and Dr. Roberts bring up the importance of music in the literary world of James Baldwin. Dr. Roberts argues that one of Baldwin's literary themes is taking care of and providing counsel to young people. Dr. Roberts discusses how some elements of "The Fire Next Time" has some of the same elements as "Youth." Aldo suggests that some of Baldwin's latter poems depict a departure from the stance held in "Youth."&nbs...
Baldwin wrote several entries in the Spring 1941 issue of the Magpie, including a poem titled "Closing Doors." Aldo suggests that the poem is about lost opportunity. Dr. Roberts discusses how James Baldwin's early poems allow us to view and examine Baldwin in a light that adds to his global recognition as a novelist and essayist. "Closing Doors" is performed by Elena from 3B Episode References: Richard Avedon Iambic Pentameter Poetry Is Not A Luxury by Audre Lorde Hilton ...
In the Spring 1941 edition of "The Magpie," James Baldwin published a play titled "These Two." Dr. Roberts and Aldo discuss how some of the elements, themes, and literary strategies used in this piece are some of the same components that Baldwin would use in his future works. These Two is Narrated by Tina E and Performed by: Elena from 3B as David Tina E. as Tom Episode References: Native Son by Richard Wright The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald Long Day's Journey into Night...
In this week's episode, Professor Roberts and Aldo discuss the short story "The Woman At The Well." Written in 1941, it is a short story about an example of racism that leads to a violent outcome. Long before he became known as a Civil Rights Activist of the 1960s, James Baldwin wrote about racial injustice as an adolescent. This is our final episode for now. We will return with more stories and episodes in the near future. References made in this episo...
In this episode we jump to the year 1942 and delve into a poem titled "Black Girl Shouting." Professor Roberts discusses how this poem contains four elements that would become Baldwin touchstone themes in his future work. Aldo discusses how the themes of religion and suffering are infused in this poem. As they discuss the poem, Aldo and Professor Roberts come to realize that they each have their own perceptions and interpretations of the poem's themes. Episode Ref...
In this episode Aldo and Professor Roberts examine the poem To Her. In speaking about this poem, the duo could not help but to revert back to a previous work, Paradise, and see similarities in their origins Professor Roberts eludes to the three critical stages of Baldwin’s literary career, and how the poem, To Her, has a link to one of those stages. Professor Roberts also argues that this poem may speak to the notion of a young boy who was trying to perform a certain type of...
In this episode we examine the poem "Paradise," published in the winter of 1941. Professor Roberts sees the poem "Paradise" as laden with the influences of Countee Cullen, who is a poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Baldwin’s former middle school teacher, a Clinton graduate, and was once an editor for The Magpie. Professor Roberts also argues that "Paradise" can be considered as having elements of romanticism and explains to us why. Aldo discusses the usage of the word p...
Before he became an English professor, Dr. Roberts was a fan of James Baldwin. Before he became a podcast creator, Aldo B. Martin was a fan of James Baldwin. In this episode, the two of them take the audience on a brief trip down memory lane and recount the stories of how they first discovered James Baldwin. Further Reading: Books by James Baldwin The Furious Passage of James Baldwin by Fern M. Eckman James Baldwin: A Biography by David Leeming Talking At The Gates: ...
Peace on Earth is the first story that fifteen year old James Baldwin writes in the Magpie. It’s a story about four friends entrenched in a fox hole, in the middle of an unnamed war. Professor Roberts points out how the themes of inter-ethnic friendships and collaborations stand out to him in this story. He also suggests that the story is about Americans abroad; a theme that would follow Baldwin into adulthood. All the while, he and Aldo discuss how the themes of religion, f...
James Baldwin is regarded as one of the most important American writers and activists of the 20th century. DeWitt Clinton High School was one of the first schools established in the history of a five borough New York City. It was as this institution that Baldwin was a student, and it was at this institution that Baldwin practices his literary abilities as a writer for "The Magpie." In this first episode, Dr. Frank Leon Roberts and Aldo B. Martin discuss why Baldwin matters; why ...
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