James Baldwin, Teen Writer

by Stephen J. Gertz

A national treasure.

In the Spring of 1941, sixteen year-old James Baldwin made his debut as a published writer.

Raised in Harlem, his mother was married to a man with whom Baldwin had a tumultuous relationship; his home life was difficult. He was inculcated with a strong sense of religion; from age fourteen through sixteen he was a preacher in a small revivalist church. He attended New York’s prestigious DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and contributed to Magpie, the school’s student-published literary magazine. Magpie’s editor-in-chief was a kid who would become one of Baldwin’s life-long friends, Richard Avedon, pre-camera, and with literary ambitions of his own.

In these stories and poems we hear Baldwin celebrating Blackness yet struggling with his own, and religion, racism, his conscience, and his desperate desire to give voice to the emotions roiling within himself. It's a voice that already is clear and knows what it wants to say and how to say it.

Winter 1941, Vol XXV, No. 1

To the Winter 1941 issue of Magpie Baldwin contributed two poems, and a six-scene play illustrated by Harold Altman, who would go on to a distinguished career as an illustrator and graphic artist.

Winter 1941, Vol XXV, No. 1, p. 28.

These Two
By James Baldwin
Winter 1941, Vol. XXV, No. 1, p. 19.

A Play in Six Scenes

Etching by Harold Altman.

Scene 1.—A cold wet alley about serve A.M. Day is just breaking. We hear the swish and patter of heavy rain. Drunkard stumbles into alley. He is completely intoxicated.

DRUNKARD—Gosh . . . shure ish dark . . . (He stumbles over something and mutters inaudible curses.) Wha'sh devil . . . deshent man can't even git home peashful. (He stumbles again and falls.) Well I'll be . . . ish two men . . . heyT wake up. Hey! wake up . . . ish rainin' . . . (He attempts to lift one body which is lying atop the other. Suddenly he lets it drop, recoils yells.) Hey! They're dead—dead. (He stumbles to the mouth of the alley). Moider! Moider! Help, police! (We hear windows slammed up.) Moider! Moider!

(Now we hear voices from the windows.) "Hey! What's all the racket down there? . . . What's wrong? . . . Shut up down there!"

DRUNKARD—Ish two dead men down here! Moider! (And he is off again)...

In the same issue Avedon contributed two poems and three humor pieces.

From Not England by Richard Avedon, p. 34.

...These are the words I write. 


This is the twisted song I sing 


Till I am hoarse with it. 


These are the words that wring 


My every dream into a nightmare...

"There was a boy."


A friend of mine. 


There was a boy." 


Beaten on my brain, 


"There was a boy."

No, no, I can not mourn that England's churches 


Have been burnt away, 

Or England's charm, or England's years of grace.

I can not turn but what I see the face, 


With clear eyes and a blond head, 


Of an English boy I knew. 


The boy is dead.

Spring 1941, Vol XXV,  No. 2

In the Spring 1941 issue of Magpie Baldwin contributed two poems and three stories, “A Woman at the Well,” “Incident in London,” and “Mississippi Legend.”

Judgment Day
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Spring 1941, Vol. XXV, No. 2, p. 6.

Dey tells me dat on Judgment Day
In some udder clime,
I'se "wine hate to gib account

Ob mah earthly time.

Dey tells me dat, if I drink gin,
Lie, o' steal, o' fight,
I ain't gwine neber be allowed

To walk in Jesus' light.

Dem as tells me all dese things
Goes to church on Sunday,

From dey shoulders sproutin' wings,

Shootin' crap on Monday.

No, I neber managed yet

To git real good religion;

Don't know why I didn't—
'Twarn't fer lack o' teachin'.

Guess I'se jes' a sinner,

Bound to go to Hell—
Jes' de same I'se kinder glad—
Shootin' crap is swell!


From The Woman at the Well
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Spring 1941, Vol. XXV, No. 2, p. 26.

Illustration by Bernard Bier

"Oh Lawd I want..."

Jeems walked along the hot, dusty road, heart alive with song. His faded blue dungarees flapped in the still, oppressive air. Rivulets of water ran down the dusky cheeks gathering under his chin to form large, hesitant beads. The rough, wooly hair glistened in the sunlight; the eyes, large and eager, surveyed the world peacefully from beneath the shining, heavy brows. Under one forearm he carried a Bible.

"Two wings . . ."

Dog, but he was tired! It was a long journey, the way he was going. He had been travelling all day, and though he had often made the journey before, this time it seemed slower than usual.

"Dis rate I'll jes' git to de church Sunday mo'nin' in time to walk right in an' preach," he grumbled. 

"Won't hate time to wash or nothin'." This was immediately followed by the consoling thought: "It doan matter so long's dey git de Word; Eben Jesus was ragged sometime." Heaven and earth contained no greater honor than to do as Jesus might have done...

From Mississippi Legend
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Spring 1941, Vol. XXV, No. 2, p. 42.

It was Annie Simpson as tol' me this here story, an' I ain't a-sayin' as it's the truth or a lie. Annie Simpson's a real respectable woman, an' she ain't got no cause to lie to me. I been knowin' her all my life an' she's one o' the sweetest chillun I know.

Annie used to live down on a farm in Mississippi. 'Twant her farm, but she used to work it on a sharecroppin' basis—you know, that means she was workin' for somebody else an' givin' them half o' the crops at the end o' the year.

Annie says that everybody down there was real religious, but she says she never seen a woman as religious as Mattie Jones before. She says Mattie was so blame holy that she wouldn't even straighten her hair, or light her stove on Sunday. Said Sunday was a day of rest an' that folks oughtn't to do no work atall on that day. On Sundays Mattie went to church real early in the mornin' an' stayed there all day, singin' an' shoutin' an' praisin' God. Sometimes she stayed there till way early Monday mornin'. Annie says she was as pious as anybody, but she couldn't never stay there that long. She says she had to get some sleep some time. Anyway, Mattie was always the leader in somethin' like that...

Winter 1942, Vol XXVI, No. 1

And from Magpie winter 1942, a powerful poem of a lynching and lost love by the magazine's new editor, a seventeen year-old with a deep, old soul:

Black Girl Shouting
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Winter 1942, Vol. XXVI, No. 1, p. 32.

Stomp my feet 


An' clap my han's 


Angels comin' 
To dese fair lan's.

Cut my lover
Off dat tree! 


Angels comin' 


To set me free.

Glory, glory,
To de Lamb 


Blessed Jesus 


Where's my man?

Black girl, whirl
Your torn, red dress 


Black girl, hide 

Your bitterness.

Black girl, stretch
Your mouth so wide. 


None will guess 

The way he died

Turned your heart
To quivering mud 


While your lover's 


Soft, red blood

Stained the scowling
Outraged tree. 


Angels come 


To cut him free!

Baldwin was a haunted artist, struggling inside, desperate to break the fetters of his background, shed the negro skin he was born into and fashion a new black one, and burst the barricades of his conscience.

Sonnet
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Winter 1942, Vol.. XXVI, No. 1, p. 32.

Go away and let me rest in peace 


Thou restless, ruthless, ever-searching Mind. 


Why is it that you come, and never cease 


To tear apart each refuge that I find? 

I had thought that I could come and hide 


Far from the bitter battle fray 


But you have come and waked the country-side 


And put an end to my complacent day.

Tell me, may I never hope to see 


Some blessed refuge from the bruising rain? 


I thought that this was it, and I would be 


Forever sheltered from this roving Brain. 


But now I must depart—my peace is o'er 

For you have forced my barricaded door.

In the following, Baldwin has heard the calling, has seen his future, knows his path, and what he must do.

Loose Stone Rolling
By James Baldwin
The Magpie, Winter 1942, Vol. XXVI, No. 1, p. 47.

I am called and I must go 


Through this wild and blinding snow 


Ease this pain within my breast 

Plunging through the wilderness.

Not for me the sheltered cave 


Or the drab and solid rock 

I must up and be away

Far beyond the ordered flock.

Upon high school graduation, James Baldwin moved far beyond his ordered flock to Greenwich Village and began his career as a writer  in earnest. The fire next time was now, he told it on the mountain, and he burned oh so brightly.
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Cover images of Magpie, and of the poem Paradise courtesy of Between the Covers, which is currently offering these three scarce issues of Magpie for $2,250.

Accompanying illustrations by Altman and Bier courtesy of The Magpie Sings the Great Depression, which has a complete list of Magpie writers and illustrators, 1929-1942, and selections from Magpie's content here.

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Vintage Novelty Nutcase Dust Jackets

by Stephen J. Gertz

MAKANEZBUCK, Charlie. Learn Counterfeiting At Home.
The Print Press, 1959.

"Leister Game Company was first started by Reginald S. Leister in the basement of his home in 1933. He created Unique Golfer Novelties that are World Famous for over 75 years & some of the Funniest Novelty Gag Gifts Ever ! ! ! ! ! " (from their website).

Its current catalog includes Over the Hill Crotch Washers, Goofy Golf Balls, Hot Flash Fans, Polish Parking Only signs, Big Dave's Lucky Fishing Towels, Rubber Chickens, Grand Champion Bullshitter Award Ribbons, Condom Swizzle Sticks, Hillbilly Teeth, Visitor Planet Earth Parking Permits, Whoopee Cushions, Pet Farts, Bull Pens (desk set w/pen inserted into cowpie - "For the executive with a sense of humor"), Adults Only Risque Items, etc. The laffs never stop! The yuks won't quit!

In 1959, the company produced a series of novelty dust jackets. Reginald S. tells the tale:

(Image appropriately askew).

Should your checking account be populated by gnats and you need a little cash why not help yourself to five-to-ten, courtesy of the Department of Corrections?

BADCHECK, Pasha. Forgery Self-Taught.
Doubleor Nuthin, 1959.

Or, if a career as a highly skilled thief appeals to you, how 'bout this recent selection from Oprah's Book Club?

SWINDLER, Ronnie G. So You Want To Be A Safecracker.
Sing Sing Press, 1959.

The cost of health care has never been higher. If amateurs were allowed to practice medicine the magic of unfettered free market capitalism would drive doctors' fees down. Triple-bypass? Only $39.95 at Earl's Chop Shop.

SUTURE, Dr. Rudyard. Surgery...A Profitable Hobby.
Medical Press, 1959.
"All 20 Chapters of This Book, with an Extra Large Appendix,
Are Guaranteed to Keep You in Stitches"

Psychiatric treatment has become de rigueur for every red-blooded American concerned about having their head explode, ala David Cronenberg's SCANNERS, during political hunting season. Leister Game & Novelty Company was on the cutting edge of the trend:

BATTURE NOGGIN, Dr. U. Head Shrinking for the Beginner.
Missionary Press, 1959.

Below, Leister, pointedly yet with blunt pen, addresess the Civil Rights movement but the humor (such as it is) is very dark and one must read the rear panel text to "get" it: the author is an ignorant cracker, a seventh-grade drop-out in a Southern town where the role of village idiot rotates amongst its citizenry.

DUKES, P. "Biff". Lynching As a Community Project.
Simon and Rooster, 1959.

This dust jacket is a discomforting Strange Fruit hanging from the poplar book tree, and a reminder of an American sin that remains an indelible stain upon the flag. In 1959, only Lenny Bruce had the satiric chops to successfully riff on lynching, and he didn't think it was funny.

“I’ve been accused of bad taste, and I’ll go down to my grave accused of it and always by the same people, the ones who eat in restaurants that reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. I’m sorry I haven’t been funny. I am not a comedian. I am Lenny Bruce.”

Should your funny bone be completely disarticulated and your liver squirt bile by the above, recourse is provided by the below:

O'REILLY, Patrick J. How To Start a Riot.
Tripleday, 1959.

Feeling crafty?

SKINEMWELL, Dr. Ronald. 101 Things to Make With Human Skin.
Medical Hobby Press, 1959.

You may have noticed that authors Charlie Makanezebuck, Pasha Badcheck, Ronnie G. Swindler, Dr. Rudyard Suture, Dr. U. Batture Noggin, P. "Biff" Dukes, Patrick J. O'Reilly, and, presumably Dr. Ronald Skinemwell (no image for rear panel) bear a remarkable resemblance to one another. While I am not certain, I strongly suspect that the model is the ol' novelty gagster himself, Reginald S. Leister. The rubber chicken was otherwise engaged.

Don't miss this opportunity "to amaze and amuse your friends and party guests with a new and different form of subtle humor"!

Clearly, sophomores were - and are still - running the show at Leister. Exhibit A: Beer Boobs, breast-shaped beverage can toppers to drink through. Party on!

Complete sets of the Leister Game Company's Comic Book Jackets are scarce, and we don't  know  the total number of titles actually issued; in addition to the examples above, I've seen references to authors Archie Fastbuck, Ron Nofunds, Wendie Barroom. Fannie Paychek, Oscar Flugle, Edgar Penman, and Hubert Updike in connection with Leister DJs but not the covers themselves; they may have never been produced.

Individual DJs appear from time to time on EBay, etc. but rarely in fine condition. I saw the most complete set to come to market in a long time - and in beautiful condition - at the recent Santa Monica Book Fair, offered by Book Hunter's Holiday, Chris Bunje Lowenstein's online rare book shop, which, if you've yet to visit, I encourage you stop by and browse.

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Each dust jacket:

Toledo, Ohio: Leister Game Co., Inc., 1959. 8 1/2" x 21". Color printed dustjacket complete with illustrated front cover, "author" photo and "publicity endorsements" on the back cover. Designed by Roger Crawford. Photography by Emily A. Leister (née Worcester), Reginald's wife.

Images courtesy Book Hunter's Holiday with the exception of 101 Things to Make With Human Skin, which is provided by Joseph Valles - Books.
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Library's Keep MLK's Crucial Comic Book

The Comic Book That Changed A Nation.

"The comic book [is] the marijuana of the nursery, the bane of the bassinet, the horror of the home, the curse of the kids and a threat to the future."
John Mason Brown. (American literary critic, 1900-1969)

In December of 1957 a comic book was published that really did threaten the future--at least the future of American segregationists. Carefully preserved in the special collections of several academic libraries, such as The Smithsonian Institution, Morehouse College, and Stanford University, The Montgomery Story, a 14-page comic book is, credited with being one of the most influential teaching tools ever produced for the Civil Rights Movement.

The Comic Book's Depiction Of Press Attention For The Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the comic book bears the name of neither author nor illustrator. It tells the story of the successful 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Even more importantly for the future of the Civil Rights Movement, the little comic book that could outlines in a mere two pages the technique of passive resistance used by Gandhi to free India from British rule. The FOR is first and foremost a pacifist organization, and its national field secretary, Glenn E. Smiley, advised Dr. King on the use of Gandhian nonviolence. In a letter to a friend in 1956, Smiley wrote of his hopes for King: "If he can really be won to a faith in nonviolence there is no end to what he can do. Soon he will be able to direct the movement by the sheer force of being the symbol of resistance."

Gandhi's Tactic Of Passive Resistance Graphically Rendered.

By succinctly outlining a strategy for peaceful civil disobedience, the comic became a primer for the students who launched the sit-in movement. On February 1, 1960 four black students sat at the counter of a Woolworth's drugstore in Greensboro, NC, and waited to be served. The students knew that only whites were allowed to sit on the stools at the counter--blacks were to eat standing up. The four men remained, unserved, at the counter until the drugstore closed. The next day the four returned--along with 27 others--to continue the protest. The lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro, NC attracted nationwide media coverage at a time when civil rights activities had slipped from the headlines. A whole new series of peaceful protests, and a desperately needed publicity boost, were the direct result of college kids reading The Montgomery Story, and putting the words (and the pictures) into practice.

King Preaches Peace In The Face Of Hate.

The use of a comic book as a text for the fight against Jim Crow was inspired on many levels. Comics are cheap to produce; lightweight; small in size; easy to disguise, hide or smuggle; and highly disposable. Joe Wos, founder and director of Pittsburgh's ToonSeum, spoke of the dangers of possessing a copy of The Montgomery Story in the segregated South of the 1960's: "People were told to read it, memorize it, and destroy it because if they were caught with it, they could be killed." It is estimated that 250,000 copies of the comic were printed, but few copies have survived intact.

Klan Violence Comic Book Style.

The use of a simple, graphic format to teach young freedom fighters the techniques Dr. King used in Montgomery was a stroke of genius. Many of the foot soldiers in the army for civil rights were teenagers who had been educated at sub-standard, separate but unequal schools. Those unable to read well can still learn quickly from the pictures in a comic book, and reluctant readers can be lured in by an eye-caching illustration. The Montgomery Story was written to inspire these young victims of segregation to nonviolent action, and to warn them of the consequences. The comic is daringly honest in depicting the Ku Klux Klan's use of cross burnings and bombings to terrorize those seeking equal rights. And time and again the tremendous effort necessary to truly "love your enemies" in the face of hatred and violence is underscored in both words and pictures.

The Montgomery Story In Four Languages.

The Montgomery Story's depiction of the monumental sacrifices, and the great rewards, that await those who seek to end oppression by nonviolent means still resonates around the world. The comic book was reprinted in Spanish shortly after its publication in English, but as recently as 2008 it was translated into Arabic, Farsi, and Vietnamese. The world still heeds these words from Martin Luther King: "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." Sometimes, amazingly, that struggle for change begins with reading a comic book.

Posted by Nancy Mattoon