'Baldwin: A Love Story' explores how the author's love life inspired his work

By Michel Martin

Published October 8, 2025 at 4:53 AM EDT

American novelist James Baldwin sits in front of his typewriter in the study of his home in St. Paul de Vence, in southern France, on March 21, 1983.

NPR's Michel Martin talks to author Nicholas Boggs about his new book "Baldwin: A Love Story," a biography that documents James Baldwin's intimate relationships and how they influenced his work.

Tags

Michel Martin

Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.

See stories by Michel Martin

Side Hustle

The life of an artist can sound like a dream: long hours spent lost in the craft, reveling in a faraway retreat. In reality, the same people who are writers, DJs, drag queens and emcees are also accountants, scientists, custodians and teachers. But they’re passionate — about their side hustles.