James Baldwin and the Black Atlantic w/ John Drabinksi (E222)

<p>This will come as a total surprise, but I really like James Baldwin. I know, it’s shocking. I always kept it subtle, like how I named this podcast after his book The Fire Next Time, and how I have been bringing him up every other episode for years, and how I have a shelf that is just for books by him and about him. </p><p>The reason I like James Baldwin is that I’ve found something for me in his work, something that I can not just relate to but also use to understand the wider world, including my own world. This is a curious thing in the context of Baldwin because he was, ultimately, an American writer. An African-American writer, to be exact of course, but his Americanness is something which he took to heart. Not in a weird nationalist way but rather in a sort of matter-of-factly kind of way. So how did I come to relate to him? That’s one of the questions we explored here, but to be honest it’s not even the main one. What I wanted to know, and what my guest <a href="https://aaas.umd.edu/facultyprofile/drabinski/john" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">John E. Drabinski</a> has explored in his book <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/so-unimaginable-a-price-baldwin-and-the-black-atlantic-john-e-drabinski/ac385c91d6793b87?ean=9780810149557&bkshp-astro=t" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><em>So Unimaginable a Price: Baldwin and the Black Atlantic</em></a><em>, </em>is why did Baldwin, a man clearly concerned with the fate of the world, rarely engage with the Black Atlantic and might even be described as an ‘anti-diaspora’ thinker, at least to some extent. This is a conversation about Baldwin, yes, but ultimately it is a conversation about shifting identities and perspectives in a rapidly changing world, one which seems to be changing even faster now than it did during Baldwin’s time.</p><p>John E. Drabinski is Professor in the Department of African American and Africana Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of English. Along with Ashley Newby and Brie Gorrell, he co-hosts <a href="https://pod.link/1745568685" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">The Black Studies Podcast</a>, which documents the history and future of the field of Black Studies from the perspective of students, professors, artists, and activists. He is both co-editor of <a href="https://jffp.pitt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy</a> and co-editor of the book series <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/elements/global-black-critical-thought" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Global Black Critical Thought</a> on Cambridge University Press.</p><p>Mentioned:</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/jbr/jbr-overview.xml" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">James Baldwin Review</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://blackculturalarchives.org/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Black Cultural Archives</a>, Brixton</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b082x0h6" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Being Black and British with David Olusoga</a></p></li></ul><p>This episode was first released for Patreon supporters on 14 August 2026 and made public on 24 August 2026.</p><p>------</p><p>If you’d like to support <em>The Fire These Times</em>, the best way to do it is through<a href="https://patreon.com/thefirethesetimes">⁠ ⁠</a><a href="https://Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes">⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠</a>. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on <a href="https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass/">⁠my classes⁠</a> and <a href="https://hauntologies.net">⁠newsletter⁠</a>, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come.</p><p><br></p><p>Registrations for the