Other editions of book James Baldwin: Escape from America, Exile in Provence

The life and influence of Jimmy in Saint-Paul de Vence. Composed of more than 70 interviews with some of the many people who encountered James Baldwin in the last 17 years of his life, this revealing retrospective provides an intimate look into one of America’s greatest literary figures. Baldwin escaped from the racism and hatred in America to find solace and self-exile in Saint-Paul de Vence. In his time there, Baldwin became a beloved neighbor and friend to the locals of the village and hosted many guests from around the world in his grand bastide. Legendary celebrities, such as Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Bill Wyman, and others, tell their personal reminisces and stories about Baldwin.

To escape racism in America, James Baldwin fled to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, in 1970, where he lived in self-imposed exile until his death in 1987. This book focuses on this seventeen-year period of his life and literature. Author Jules B. Farber presents “life with Jimmy” through more than seventy interviews of personal reminisces with well-known literary figures, musicians, artists, and celebrities, such as Sidney Poitier, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Quincy Jones, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Bill Wyman, Harry Belafonte, Jr., George Wein, and many others. Farber also reached out to locals in Saint-Paul-de-Vence who adopted Baldwin into their village. Baldwin’s oeuvre and lifestyle during this time was concentrated in this Provençal setting. These personal, and sometimes intimate, recollections provide an overview of the diversity of Baldwin’s writing, the details of his social interactions, the magnitude of his literary relevance, and a first-time examination of his integration as the first black man in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.