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James Baldwin

James Baldwin, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, was born on August 2, 1924, Harlem, New York. During his successful career as a novelist, playwright, and poet, Baldwin wrote frankly about race

Guilt, Desire and Love

by James Baldwin (1924–87)

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3  <person id="802" sex="1" role="author">
4    <name>
5      <firstname>James</firstname>
6      <lastname>Baldwin</lastname>
7    </name>
8    <life-events>
9      <date ty="birth" circa="false" suffix="ad">1924</date>
10      <date ty="death" circa="false" suffix="ad">1987</date>
11      <text-value>(1924–87)</text-value>
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16

 At the dark street corner 
 where Guilt and Desire 
 are attempting to stare 
 each other down 
 (presently, one of them 
 will light a cigarette 
 and glance in the direction 
 of the abandoned warehouse) 
 Love came slouching along, 

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Poets Book of Days

June 14

G. K. Chesterton died, 1936

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

What famously flamboyant poet wrote of his life as a closeted homosexual: "And the wild regrets, and the bloody sweats, / None knew so well as I: / For he who lives more lives than one / More deaths than one must die"?

Answer

Oscar Wilde

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