Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) was James Baldwin’s first novel, which he claimed he “had to write” to come to terms with both his origins in the poverty-stricken Harlem of uptown tenements and store-front churches, and his fraught relationship with his repressive laborer/preacher stepfather. Among the novel’s working titles were “Crying Holly” and “In My Father’s House”, the latter of which reflected the literal and metaphorical confines of family, church, and neighborhood that frame the protagonist John Grimes’ coming-of-age story. In its early stages, Richard Wright received the manuscript positively and recommended Baldwin for a Saxton Fellowship at Harper’s in 1945. Th

This article in full comprises 1675 words but only the first 150 or so words are available to non-members.

All our articles have been written recently by experts in their field, more than 95% of them university professors. To read about membership, please click here.

Published 23 April 2004

Citation: Zaborowska, Magdalena J.. "Go Tell It On the Mountain". The Literary Encyclopedia. 23 April 2004.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4950, accessed 21 November 2009.]