The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation and Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind. The first essay discusses the central role of race in American history; the second deals with the relations between race and religion, focusing on Baldwin's experiences with the Christian church as a youth and the Nation of Islam's ideals and influence in Harlem. The two essays were first published separately in American magazines in late 1962, then combined and published in book form in 1963 by The Dial Press. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Composed, From (Year) Composed, From (Year) Composed, To (Year)The two essays were first published separately in magazines in late 1962; combined and published in book form in 1963. Classification
Original Language FAQs
Where does the title The Fire Next Time come from?
A couplet in the spiritual God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign, which looks ahead to judgement by fire.
The title comes from a couplet in an African-American spiritual called Got a Home in That Rock, or God Gave Noah the Rainbow Sign. The first line is based on Genesis 9:8 to 17, where God shows Noah a rainbow as the sign that he will not destroy the world by flooding again. The second line is based on 2 Peter 3:6 to 7, which says the world, once destroyed by water, is preserved for the fire of the day of judgement.
Connections
Authored By
Source The Fire Next Time (Wikipedia)
In Genre
Source The Fire Next Time (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Original Language
Also in Language Atlas: the original language of this subject.
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source The Fire Next Time (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. The Fire Next Time (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays...The two essays were first published separately in American magazines in late 1962...They were combined and published in book form in 1963.
Lead
The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind".
Lead paragraph
The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind". The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's 14-year-old nephew, discusses the central role of race in American history.
Authored By: James Baldwin, Lead section, authorship
The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin.
In Genre: Nonfiction Prose, Infobox, Genre field
Essays
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.