Sunday Evening Lecture – David Leeming on “James Baldwin”

Please join us on Sunday, March 10 at 5 P.M. in the Stonington Free Library for the opening talk of the 2019 Sunday Evening Lecture Series. David Leeming will talk about James Baldwin as a traveler, both literal and metaphorical, focusing on Baldwin’s literary works.

Leeming worked for Baldwin in the mid-sixties in New York City at the height of the Civil Rights period as a research assistant and traveling companion. When Baldwin moved to Istanbul, Leeming accompanied him, where they shared a house until Baldwin returned to the States in 1969. The two friends remained close during the 70s and 80s when Leeming started to interview Baldwin for an authorized biography. Leeming visited Baldwin frequently both here and in France where Baldwin lived until his death in 1987. At that time, Leeming finished sorting Baldwin’s papers, work he had begun in the 60s.

David Leeming taught at Robert College in Istanbul for 8 years and at the University of Connecticut in Storrs for 26 years and is a Professor Emeritus of English. He is a graduate of Princeton University and earned his PhD at New York University in Comparative Literature. Leeming has been an NEH Fellow and Schomburg Foundation Fellow.

Leeming’s writings include three biographies and many books on world mythology, including his latest book “Sex in the World of Myth.”