# Go Tell It on the Mountain: Introduction by Edwidge Danticat - Hardcover

by **James Baldwin** (Author), **Edwidge Danticat** (Introduction by)

**From one of the great American writers of the twentieth century--a coming-of-age story about a fourteen-year-old boy questioning the terms of his identity, the racism he faces, and the double-edged role of religion in his life. - With an Introduction by Edwidge Danticat, award-winning author of _Everything Inside._**

"Vivid imagery ... lavish attention to details ... \[A\] feverish story." --_The New York Times_  
  
Originally published in 1953, _Go Tell It on the Mountain_\--based in part on James Baldwin's childhood in Harlem--was his first major work. With a potent combination of lyrical compassion and resonant rage, he portrays fourteen-year-old John Grimes, the stepson of a fire-breathing and abusive Pentecostal preacher in Harlem during the Depression. The action of this short novel spans a single day in John's life, and yet manages to encompass on an epic scale his family's troubled past and his own inchoate longings for the future, set against a shining vision of a city where he both does and does not belong. Baldwin's story illuminates the racism his characters face as well as the double-edged role religion plays in their lives, both oppressive and inspirational.

In prose that mingles gritty vernacular cadences with exalted biblical rhythms, Baldwin's rendering of his young protagonist's struggle to invent himself pioneered new possibilities in American language and literature.

### Author Biography

**JAMES BALDWIN** (1924-1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, _Go Tell It on the Mountain,_ appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections _Notes of a Native Son_ and _The Fire Next Time_ were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor.

**EDWIDGE DANTICAT** is the author of numerous books, including _Claire of the Sea Light,_ a _New York Times_ notable book; _Brother, I'm Dying,_ a National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; _Breath, Eyes, Memory,_ an Oprah Book Club selection; _Krik? Krak!,_ a National Book Award finalist; _The Farming of Bones,_ an American Book Award winner; and _The Dew Breaker,_ a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist and winner of the inaugural Story Prize. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she has been published in _The New Yorker, The New York Times,_ and elsewhere. She lives in Miami.

**Number of Pages:** 280

**Dimensions:** 1.1 x 8.1 x 5.2 IN

**Publication Date:** March 01, 2016

## Details

- **Price:** 26.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 26.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Go Tell It on the Mountain: Introduction by Edwidge Danticat - Hardcover

---

> Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/go-tell-it-on-the-mountain-introduction-by-edwidge-danticat-hardcover)
> Updated: 2026-07-23