Although he is best known for his novels and essay collections, which have remained in print, James Baldwin’s single book of poetry, Jimmy’s Blues, is the only book to fall out of print. This collection, published by Beacon Press in 2014, includes all nineteen poems from his original book of poetry and all the poems from his little-known, limited-edition volume, Gypsy. With an introductory essay by Nikky Finney, this book celebrates Baldwin as a poet with his lyrical insights on race, gender, class, and identity that remain as poignant as the day they were written. “Baldwin wrote poetry throughout his life. He wrote with an engaged, layered, facile hand,” writes Finney. “His language: informal, inviting; his ideas from the four corners of the earth, beginning, always with love.”
