Few writers have shaped the landscape of 20th-century literature like James Baldwin and Gertrude Stein.
Groundbreaking new biographies offer up fresh insights and perspectives on these literary legends. In Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs draws on extensive archival research to show how Baldwin’s intimate relationships shaped his life and work. Francesca Wade’s Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife uses newly released archival materials to unearth the origins of Stein’s innovative writing style and examine how her storied relationship with Alice B. Toklas shaped the mythology of Stein.
In this lively conversation moderated by biographer and New Yorker staff writer Judith Thurman, Boggs and Wade will speak about their discoveries in the archive, the innovative approaches they took to shed new light on their subjects, and the writing of these iconic figures.
