John Byrne

Jack is an English and Global Literatures major. He will be presenting his project, “Seeing Beyond Rage: The Young Baldwin’s Powerful Joy.” The project puts Baldwin’s 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain in conversation with his 1955 essay collection Notes of a Native Son, exploring their mirrored themes of rage and joy. With each positing joy as a vital survival strategy that combats white supremacy, the project is interested in how the autobiographical is always informing Baldwin’s literary production.