After class when we watched the James Baldwin speech, I went home that day and found the Malcolm X interview we saw a snippet of in class. I proceeded to watch all 30 minutes of that 3 times. I found James Baldwin’s articulation and voice addicting and almost relaxing, but at the same time very powerful. His voice and diction command attention in a way that very few people can, and it was an enjoyable experience to listen to him speak. Some of the best leaders of all time (John F. Kennedy, Adolf Hitler, etc.) were notorious for being exceptional speakers. When they spoke, people listened. This is a talent that takes year of dedication to master, and deserves respect.
The peculiar thing that I noticed when reading the excerpt from “The Fire Next Time” was that instead of reading it in an unknown, monotonous voice, I read it in James Baldwin’s powerful voice and could not stop reading. I learned something huge. The background of an author is nice, but when you actually know how the author speaks, their accent, their tone, their voice, you read their writing in that voice. It’s kind of like when you’re on Facebook or Twitter, you read your friends posts in their respective voices (at least, I do). This method is far more engaging than reading a piece by someone you’ve never heard. “The Fire Next Time” was pleasant for me to read. It was very moving and straightforward, as well as extremely relevant. Lesson learned: before reading anything, listen to the author’s voice for a while first.
