James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"

Tom Jenks's appreciation of Baldwin's story is almost as moving as the text, itself. It's brilliant, perfectly elucidating not only Baldwin's writing, but reminding us of the unspoken agreement between writer and reader that reading can transport us most when each person brings equal passion to the task. * Ann Beattie, Author of The New Yorker Stories *
For me, "Sonny's Blues" was love at first reading. I was callow and could not say why; I just knew "Sonny's Blues" was the kind of story I hoped to one day write. Age and education did not diminish my love; truth told, I avoided reading scholarly exegeses of the story, fearing it might turn love into mere appreciation. Tom Jenks gets that. His essay is not explication, it is affectionate illumination-a gentle guiding touch on the elbow, a soft voice suggesting and encouraging understanding. Jenks extends Baldwin's story as a precious gift, wrapped with care. All writers pray for a hand-delivery so faithful, insightful, articulate, and understanding. Jimmy Baldwin is somewhere, smiling. * David H. Bradley, Author of The Chaneysville Incident *
For as long as I've known him, Tom Jenks has been meditating on how fiction works and helping legions of us get better at writing it. Jenks brings a career's worth of wisdom and insight to his appreciation of James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" to thrilling and edifying effect. Two American greats meet in this rich volume, and we, their students, are lucky enough to partake. * Jennifer Egan, Author of A Visit from the Goon Squad *
In this unusual book, Tom Jenks offers a brilliant meditation on Sonny's Blues and, as well, a manual for writing. His engagement with the short story directs our attention to the drama that unfolds in a sentence, the diction and rhythm of Baldwin's language, the propulsion of the eight short movements that comprise the story, the scale and reach of its central question: Why must we suffer? These are the gifts of the writer's and the editor's eye, the confirmation that prodigious reading and exquisite regard can illuminate the breadth of a masterpiece. If writing is the acute observation and naming of the matter of existence, then reading as modeled by Jenks is an act of beholding. * Saidiya Hartman, Author of Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments *