C.L.R. James: His Life and Work

Edited by Paul Buhle. Published by Alison & Busby 1986

“CLR James: His Life and Work, is the first full length study of his multi-faceted life and international influence. Edited by Paul Buhle, it provides an invaluable perspective on the rich diversity of James’s work, assessed in articles, memoirs, interviews and reviews by a wide range of well-respected contributors such as Walter Rodney, Manning Marable, Robert Hill, Sylvia Wynter, Darcus Howe, Wilson Harris, Vincent Harding, and many others. Completed by a bibliography of CLR James’s major writings, this book makes a significant achievement in encompassing the unique importance of CLR James.”

CLR James: His Life and Work was originally published as a special edition of the journal Urgent Tasks (Number 12, 1981), this was then republished as a book in 1986. It marks one of the final works about CLR James published in his lifetime. Its contributors number some of James’ closest comrades, such as Martin Glaberman, Walter Rodney, Grace Lee Boggs, Constance Webb and Robert A. Hill.

Quote:

“What an extraordinary man he is! It is not a question of whether one agrees with everything he has said or done: but everything has had the mark of originality, of his own flexible, sensitive and deeply cultured intelligence.” EP Thompson

Contents:

EDITOR’S FOREWORD
NOTES ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF C.L.R. JAMES, by Anna Grimshaw
POLITICAL STYLES OF C.L.R. JAMES, by Paul Buhle

Varieties of Influence
AFRICAN REVOLUTION, by Walter Rodney
TRAINING OF AN INTELLECTUAL, THE MAKING OF A MARXIST, by Richard Small
IN ENGLAND 1932 – 1938, by Robert A. Hill
MARXISM IN THE USA, by Paul Buhle
THE FALL OF KWAME NKRUMAH, by Manning Marable
THE CARIBBEAN REVOLUTION, by Basil Wilson
IN QUEST OF MATTHEW BONDMAN: SOME CULTURAL NOTES ON THE JAMESIAN JOURNEY, by Sylvia Wynter
INTERVIEW, Darcus Howe with Ken Lawrence
LETTERS, C.L.R. James and Martin Glaberman
INTERVIEW, C.L.R. James with James Early, Ethelbert Miller, Paul Buhle. Noel Ignatin

Times and Places
C.L.R JAMES, THE SPEAKER AND HIS CHARISMA, by Constance Webb
A CRITICAL REMINISCENCE, by James and Grace Lee Boggs
REVOLUTIONARY ARTIST, by Stanley Weir
YOUNG DETROIT RADICALS, 1955-1965, by Dan Georgakas
ONLY CONNECT, by Ferruccio Gambino

Books and Subjects
MINTY ALLEY, by E. Elliot Parris
PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, by Dave Wagner
FACING REALITY, by Paul Lawrence Berman
WHAT IF C.L.R JAMES HAD MET E.P. THOMPSON IN 1792?, by Peter Linebaugh
BLACK WOMEN WRITERS, by E. Ethelbert Miller

Encounters
THE GOSPEL ACCORDINC TO ST JAMES, by Gregory Rigsby
A UNIQUE MARXIST THINKER, by Wilson HaRRIS
PERSONAL NOTES, by George Rawick
CONVERSATION, Vincent Harding and Ken Lawrence
MEETING IN CHICAGO, by Noel Ignatin
BRIXXTON THANKSGlVING, 1983, by Jim Murray
C.L.R. JAMES AT 80, by E.P. Thompson

C.L.R. JAMES: A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

Paul Buhle is a retired lecturer at Brown University and biographer of CLR James. He is author of C.L.R. James: The Artist as Revolutionary (1988). His latest work includes a collaboration with the cartoonist Milton Knight bringing James to life in comic strip form.

Read the original Urgent Tasks special edition here. Purchase CLR James: His Life and Work here.