Nicholas Boggs on Writing a James Baldwin Biography
The Book Review14 Nov 2025

Nicholas Boggs on Writing a James Baldwin Biography

Nicholas Boggs’s “Baldwin: A Love Story,” is many things at once. It’s a comprehensive biography of James Baldwin. It’s a nimble excavation of Baldwin’s work, filled with astute literary analysis of his books and prose. And, most pressingly, it’s an argument for a new critical framework to understand Baldwin through the lens of love. The biography is structured around Baldwin’s relationships with a series of men — relationships that, as Boggs outlines, shaped Baldwin’s life and writing in crucial ways. Boggs joins MJ Franklin on this week's episode to talk about his new book.

Other works mentioned in this discussion:

  • Zadie Smith’s essay “Conscience and Consciousness: A Craft Talk for the People and the Person,” from her new collection “Dead and Alive”
  • “James Baldwin: A Biography,” by David Leeming
  • “Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood,” by James Baldwin, illustrated by Yoran Cazac, edited by Nicholas Boggs and Jennifer DeVere Brody
  • “Goodbye Days,” by Jeff Zentner
  • “Virginia Woolf,” by Hermione Lee

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(585)

21st Century Books Special Edition: Isabel Wilkerson on 'The Warmth of Other Suns'

21st Century Books Special Edition: Isabel Wilkerson on 'The Warmth of Other Suns'

As part of its recent "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Isabel Wilkerson joi...

26 Aug 202439min

Book Club: 'My Brilliant Friend,' by Elena Ferrante

Book Club: 'My Brilliant Friend,' by Elena Ferrante

This July, The New York Times Book Review published a list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. The top choice was “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein.The book ...

23 Aug 202450min

21st Century Books Special Edition: Jennifer Egan on 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'

21st Century Books Special Edition: Jennifer Egan on 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'

As part of its recent 100 Best Books of the 21st Century project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Jennifer Egan joins ho...

19 Aug 202441min

Liz Moore on Her Summer Camp Mystery "The God of the Woods"

Liz Moore on Her Summer Camp Mystery "The God of the Woods"

A summer camp in the Adirondacks. A rich girl gone missing, 14 years after her older brother also disappeared. A prominent local family harboring dark secrets. Liz Moore’s new novel, “The God in the W...

16 Aug 202439min

What We're Reading This Summer

What We're Reading This Summer

It’s August, which means that Labor Day and back-to-school are just around the corner. The vacation that seemed so leisurely a month ago suddenly feels a little more frantic. But there’s still time to...

9 Aug 202432min

21st Century Books Special Edition: George Saunders on 'Lincoln in the Bardo'

21st Century Books Special Edition: George Saunders on 'Lincoln in the Bardo'

As part of its recent "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, George Saunders — wh...

5 Aug 202441min

Sarah Jessica Parker on Her Life in Publishing

Sarah Jessica Parker on Her Life in Publishing

Sarah Jessica Parker has been a familiar presence on TV, movie screens and Broadway stages for five decades. But since 2016 she has also been a force in the book world, initially at the helm of the fi...

2 Aug 202435min

21st Century Books Special Edition: Min Jin Lee on 'Pachinko'

21st Century Books Special Edition: Min Jin Lee on 'Pachinko'

As part of its recent "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" project, The New York Times Book Review is interviewing some of the authors whose books appeared on the list. This week, Min Jin Lee joins ho...

29 Jul 202434min

Populært innen Fritid

rss-spartsklubben
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
mil-etter-mil-en-podcast-om-bil
interiorradet
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
nerdelandslaget
jegerpodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
0-100-med-broom-mats-og-remi
rss-avskiltet
rss-jegerpodden
level-backup
rss-gatebilpodden
klokkepodden
fjellsportpodden
rss-jeg-fikser-vin
hagespiren-podcast
strikkepodden
rss-var-forste-kaffe
rss-hestenes-klan