If words paint pictures, listen to the landscapes that James Baldwin could paint with only a few brushstrokes of his words:
“It seems to me that the artist’s struggle for his integrity must be considered as a kind of metaphor for the struggle, which is universal and daily, of all human beings on the face of this globe to get to become human beings.”
Those words are part of a talk that Baldwin, the African-American writer and activist, gave in New York City in 1962 - more than sixty years ago.
Later this week, the James Baldwin Festival of Words will be held here in Chattanooga - and we’re sharing a series of conversations here on “Scenic Roots.”
The festival begins with “Sip Paint & Spit: Open Mic Poetry Meets Paint” on Friday starting at 6 PM at Chattanooga Theatre Centre.
Marsha Mills of the Rhyme N’ Chatt Interactive Poetry Organization is the director of the Baldwin Festival, produced by the Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts and Ideas.
Fine and visual artist Nathan Stepney will be providing the art instruction at “Sip Paint & Spit.”
For more about the James Baldwin Festival of Words, visit blackartsandideasfest.com.
More about Rhyme N Chatt at rhymenchatt.com.
Find Nathan Stepney online at nathanielstepney.art.
Tune in for more of our series of conversations on the festival this week here on “Scenic Roots.”
