Bearing Witness to The International James Baldwin Conference in Paris
By Charles Reese
Photo : Carolyn A . Butts
“ No one can possibly know what is about to happen . It is happening each time , for the first time , for the only time .” — James Baldwin ( 1924 – 1987 )
Journalogue One : The James Baldwin International Conference at the American University of Paris ( AUP ), France
Celebrating 50 years of academic and cultural engagement , The AUP presented the International James Baldwin Conference “ A Language to Dwell In : James Baldwin , Paris , and International Visions ” from May 26-28 , 2016 . The conference was organized by the AUP along with co-directors , Alice Craven and William Dow , in association with the Department of Comparative Literature and English .
The conference represented a broad array of global interdisciplinary explorations of Baldwin ’ s life and work , with a special emphasis on Paris and his experiences throughout Europe and Africa . Each day of the conference featured exciting lectures , forums , and dialogues exploring the fiery spirit of this 20th century icon . It was an engaging , educational and entertaining intersection for students and global enthusiasts around Baldwin ’ s work . Literary and cultural critics , historians , scholars of gender and same gender loving theorists to activists , filmmakers , musicians , and other artists gathered in Paris to share in a transforming experience .
As an actor , author , educator and one of the selected presenters from the United States , I was very excited to bear witness to the legacy of James Baldwin , an American writer , civil rights activist , and expatriate in his beloved second home in France . AUP was the perfect venue to re-ignite and re-discover what Baldwin ’ s seminal work means for today ’ s tech savvy and diverse global audiences . Baldwin enthusiasts have been pushing for a long overdue film about this great writer .
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