James Baldwin

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers. ↗

— James Baldwin

#art

Precisely at the point when you begin to develop a conscience you must find yourself at war with your society. ↗

— James Baldwin

#philosophical #inspirational

Because I was raised in a Christian culture I never considered myself to be a totally free human being. ↗

— James Baldwin

#condemnation #freedom #religion #freedom

I was guilty and irritated and full of love and pain. I wanted to kick him and I wanted to take him in my arms. ↗

— James Baldwin

#love

All that hatred down there," he said, "all that hatred and misery and love. It's a wonder it doesn't blow the avenue apart. ↗

— James Baldwin

#love #misery #love

This is the only real concern of the artist, to recreate out of the disorder of life that order which is art. ↗

— James Baldwin

#artist #art

Men - not just babies like you, but old men, too - they always need to have a woman tell them the truth. Les hommes, ils sont impossibles. ↗

— James Baldwin

#women-and-men #women-s-strength #men

Europe has what we do not have yet, a sense of the mysterious and inexorable limits of life, a sense, in a word, of tragedy. And we have what they sorely need: a sense of life's possibilities. ↗

— James Baldwin

#inexorable #life #limits #mysterious #need

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power without morality is no longer power. ↗

— James Baldwin

#longer #morality #power #relationship #subtle

We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our deeds have denied beliefs we thought were ours. ↗

— James Baldwin

#deeds #denied #even #experience #finding