Notes of a Native Son
The book these letters built — read it first, then watch it being edited here.
Read our take
Native Sons
James Baldwin and Sol Stein were classmates at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Fifty years later Stein opened the file drawer that held their letters.
- 2004
- 256
About James Baldwin
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeA record of the friendship between James Baldwin and his editor Sol Stein, published by One World in 2004. The core is their correspondence of 1955 to 1958, the years in which Stein pushed Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son into print, with line edits, arguments about politics and race, and the business of being young writers with careers to make. Around the letters sit Stein's memoir of the friendship, photographs and inscriptions, and two collaborations published here for the first time: the short story Dark Runner and Equal in Paris, a play the two adapted from Baldwin's essay.
The story, in more detail
Baldwin and Stein met as students at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where both worked on the school's literary magazine. Their classmates included Richard Avedon, with whom Baldwin would later make Nothing Personal. Baldwin became a novelist in Paris; Stein became an editor and publisher in New York.
In the mid-1950s Stein pressed his old classmate to collect his magazine essays into a book. The result was Notes of a Native Son, published in 1955, the collection that established Baldwin as an essayist. The letters collected here begin with that book's publication and run to 1958 — line edits, publishing strategy, and long deliberations on politics, culture, and race across the Atlantic, with Baldwin writing mostly from France.
The volume also prints, for the first time, the two works the friends wrote together in the late 1950s: the short story Dark Runner and Equal in Paris, a stage adaptation of Baldwin's essay about his arrest in Paris over a stolen bedsheet.
Stein published the book in 2004, with his own commentary threading the documents together. Reviewers noted that it reads as an archive with a memoir wrapped around it — most valuable to readers who already know Notes of a Native Son and want to see it being made.
Themes and analysis
Before the letters, the school magazine
Stein remembers the Magpie writers hearing their stories read in a flat, unexpressive voice. The exercise separates a manuscript from the charm of its author: without an expressive performance, the language must create its own effects. His account makes the school magazine more than a meeting place for future celebrities. It becomes a small community in which the desire to publish meets the discomfort of criticism. The friendship begins within that shared apprenticeship, where taking another person's writing seriously can mean withholding easy praise.
The friendship crosses the Atlantic
The memoir does not give the friends a perfectly shared memory. Stein quotes Baldwin's recollection of resisting the proposal for Notes of a Native Son, then admits that he cannot remember that resistance. Rediscovered editorial notes and replies help him reconstruct the work he does remember. This juxtaposition lets the documents complicate, rather than merely illustrate, an affectionate retrospective. Long familiarity makes editorial trust possible, but it does not erase differences in perspective. The archive preserves a collaboration without requiring its participants to tell an identical story.
Why we recommend it
It shows the making of a classic
Notes of a Native Son is the book that made Baldwin an essayist. These are the letters in which it was argued into existence, line by line.
The friendship is the story
Two ambitious young men from the same Bronx high school, one Black and one white, working out politics, race, and the literary business in private letters written when both careers were still in doubt.
The collaborations are printed nowhere else
Dark Runner and the stage version of Equal in Paris exist only in this volume.
What this book explores
Timeline
1940s
Baldwin and Stein meet at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where both work on The Magpie, the school's literary magazine.
1955
Notes of a Native Son is published after Stein presses Baldwin to collect his essays. The correspondence collected in Native Sons begins.
1958
The correspondence printed in the book ends.
2004
Stein publishes Native Sons through One World, with the letters, his memoir of the friendship, and the two unpublished collaborations.
Book editions
- Hardcover
- One World
- 2004
- 9780345469359
- Paperback
- One World/Ballantine
- 2005
- 9780345469366
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
Nothing Personal
Baldwin's other collaboration with a DeWitt Clinton classmate, the photographer Richard Avedon.
Read our take
Giovanni's Room
The novel Baldwin was carrying through the same years the letters cover.
Read our takeNative Sons: frequently asked questions
What is Native Sons?
A 2004 volume assembled by the editor Sol Stein from his friendship with James Baldwin: their correspondence of 1955 to 1958, Stein's memoir of the relationship, photographs and inscriptions, and two previously unpublished collaborations — the short story Dark Runner and the play Equal in Paris.
How did James Baldwin and Sol Stein know each other?
They were classmates at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and worked together on The Magpie, the school's literary magazine. Stein became an editor and publisher; Baldwin became Baldwin.
What was Sol Stein's role in Notes of a Native Son?
Stein persuaded Baldwin to collect his scattered magazine essays into a book and edited the result. The correspondence in Native Sons begins with the collection's 1955 publication and includes his line edits.
What are Dark Runner and Equal in Paris?
The two works Baldwin and Stein wrote together in the late 1950s, published for the first time in this volume. Dark Runner is a short story; Equal in Paris is a stage adaptation of Baldwin's essay about his 1949 Paris arrest over a stolen bedsheet.
Do I need to read Notes of a Native Son first?
It helps. The letters assume the essays, and the pleasure of the book is watching a landmark being assembled. Reviewers at the time judged it a volume for readers who already care about Baldwin rather than a place to start.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Native Sons, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1James Baldwin papers, 1936–1992 (Sc MG 936), finding aid
ArchiveSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public LibraryUsed forUsed to place Native Sons within James Baldwin's published work and verify its bibliographic context.
2Chicago Public Library — James Baldwin Biography
WebsiteUsed forUsed for independent biographical, archival, or historical context surrounding James Baldwin's career and the period in which Native Sons appeared.
3Baldwin in France
WebsiteNational Museum of African American History and CultureUsed forUsed to cross-check authorship, chronology, and the work's place in James Baldwin's wider catalogue.
4Baldwin, James Arthur
WebsiteThe Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford UniversityUsed forUsed to verify James Baldwin and Sol Stein's bibliography and place Native Sons within the broader chronology of James Baldwin and Sol Stein's career.
5Native Sons — Chapter 1 excerpt
WebsitePenguin Random House Higher EducationUsed forStein's memoir excerpt; not the complete correspondence.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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