An X user shared photos of James Baldwin, who spent time in İstanbul. Before I was born, he was hanging out in İstanbul.
Baldwin’s years in Istanbul
Baldwin first came to Istanbul in 1961, invited by his friend, the actor Engin Cezzar, whom he knew from New York theater circles.
From 1961 through roughly 1971 he lived in Istanbul intermittently, using the city as a refuge from racism and homophobia in the United States and the pressures of being a public figure in the civil rights movement.
He often described Turkey as having “saved [his] life,” and Istanbul as a place where he could breathe, think, and write with relative freedom.
Writing and artistic work in Turkey
During his Istanbul years he completed or worked on major texts including Another Country, Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone, Blues for Mister Charlie, Going to Meet the Man, The Fire Next Time, and No Name in the Street.
He also engaged directly with the local cultural scene: for example, he directed a Turkish production of John Herbert’s play Fortune and Men’s Eyes in Istanbul in 1969–70 and maintained close friendships with Turkish writers, actors, and intellectuals.
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