A review by chamomiledaydreams
Jimmy's Blues and Other Poems by James Baldwin

4.0

I studied James Baldwin in college a little bit, although I was only exposed to his short stories and other small examples of his writing. I never knew that he was a poet, and I wish that I had gotten the chance to study his poems in class, too! This collection is amazing, although I don't have the proper words to explain why. I would probably just end up repeating, "It's so good" without elaborating further. There's something about his word choice, combined with the themes and the musicality of his style that is succinct and impactful. Even his longer poems breezed by me in the blink of an eye. Suffice it to say, I will definitely make a point to read more James Baldwin in the future! (The introduction in this collection was also great. It provided just enough context for the work and hyped up the poems perfectly.)