By Kristyn Brendlen

August marked the 100th birthday of James Baldwin, one of the most important authors in American history. The Brooklyn Public Library, like many cultural institutions, wanted to mark his centennial somehow.

By Elif Batuman

Everyone knows that the author of Giovanni’s Room spent years of his life in Paris. But you could be a dedicated reader of James Baldwin and sFll not realize that his main residence, between 1961 and 1971, was in Istanbul.

Istanbul as an invisible city in Baldwin’s work: is this what gives Sedat Pakay’s photographs, his 1970 film, From Another Place, its magical, dreamlike quality?

By Doreen St. Félix
We commonly associate the writer with the land of his birth—America—and with the land of his expatriation, France. But a fascinating new exhibit focusses on Baldwin’s years in Turkey, the country that, in his words, saved his life.