I have read several biographies of the black novelist/essayist James Baldwin (1924-1987) and seen many photos and documentaries about him. None, as far as I can remember, indicated which hand he favored when he set pen to paper.
Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Baldwin, it turns out that not only did he lean leftward in his socio-political views, he also wrote with his left hand. (I wonder if any of his teachers ever tried to dissuade him from left-handed writing, since most people are right-handed.)
In the book, The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley, Jr., and the Debate over Race in America by Nicholas Buccola (Princeton University Press, 2019), which is about the famous 1965 war of ideas between the two men at Cambridge University in Britain, there is a photo of Baldwin at his writing table. The photographer beautifully captured Baldwin as he sat, shirt collar open, necktie untied around his neck, deeply concentrating on what he was writing. Between the fingers of his right hand was the ever-present cigarette, in his left hand a pencil. Near at hand was a Dixie cup either of water or his favorite booze. It was probably the latter.
I acquired the book more than a week ago when it was among several hardcover books my local public library was offering for free. When I begin reading it, I am sure I will discover other details of Baldwin's life previously missing from other books.
After seeing that photo, I began wondering if the two James Baldwin biopics that are soon to be released noted his left-handedness. I will be paying close attention to their accuracy.
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