Garth Greenwell

Beauford Delaney’s final self-portrait is a moving testament to his lifelong quest to accept his sexuality, especially when seen alongside his first portrait of James Baldwin. Free post; no paywall. Full essay here: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-beaufor...

I really enjoyed talking shop about opera and writing with @kevinng.bsky.social for @parterrebox.bsky.social.

On Beauford Delaney’s “Dark Rapture”—his first, great portrait of James Baldwin. Link to full essay (free post, no paywall) garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-beaufor...

This fills me with such joy.

Truly excellent choices.

On Beauford Delaney Courage & Desire in Baldwin's "Principal Witness"

Garth Greenwell @garthgreenwell.bsky.social On Beauford Delaney. Courage & Desire in Baldwin's "Principal Witness". garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-beaufor...

Thanks so much for reading this.

I wrote about the great painter Beauford Delaney, his friendship with James Baldwin, & the tremendous courage of his wrestling with desire & selfhood. Free post, no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-beaufor...

Just over a month until the start of this online course on Augustine's Confessions. Our focus will be on Augustine as a writer—as the inventor of much of what is "modern" in the modern novel. 6 sessions, all recorded. I'd love for you to join us. www.garthgreenwell.com/classes-ig

Enamored of the Abyss, by Garth Greenwell On the place of affirmation in art

“The fact is that we live in the irreparable; we need art to help us ‘say Yes to life’ (a phrase Baldwin uses in Giovanni’s Room and elsewhere) from within the irreparable.”

Garth Greenwell (@garthgreenwell.bsky.social) on Giovanni’s Room and literary “affirmation.”

buff.ly/H17RvRG

Enamored of the Abyss, by Garth Greenwell On the place of affirmation in art

“What the sentence says is that David and Giovanni’s romance will not last; but that meaning is scored to a music of rapture.” Amazed by @garthgreenwell.bsky.social's take on affirming literature: that affirmation comes as much from style—an author's care—as the subject harpers.org/archive/2025...

Thanks so much for reading this!

It’s extremely moving to read James Baldwin’s novels, one after the other, & watch him slowly escape the homophobic logic that structures Giovanni’s Room—even if traces of that logic always remain. These & more thoughts on Giovanni’s Room here: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/more-thoug...

Scholarship applications for my upcoming class, Daddy Augustine: Reading Confessions, close tomorrow at noon ET. I’d love for you to join us. Full info here: www.garthgreenwell.com/classes

Enamored of the Abyss, by Garth Greenwell On the place of affirmation in art

Can’t pick a sentence or two to pull, so let me just say, tremendous stuff here and a rare piece of criticism that speaks convincingly to why the art matters to me

Thank you so much—I’m so glad you found something useful in this.

Thank you so much for reading this.

Enamored of the Abyss, by Garth Greenwell On the place of affirmation in art

This essay about Giovanni's Room by @garthgreenwell.bsky.social is beautiful and moving (as I would expect it to be)

harpers.org/archive/2025...

Harper’s gave 6k words to my essay on Giovanni’s Room—very generous for lit crit in a glossy magazine. But the essay is a good bit longer. On the stack this week I shared some of what was cut. Also: why everyone should have a cat nearby when writing a difficult essay. tinyurl.com/4fj97d37

The Zone of Interest | The Point Magazine If somehow you were to wander into a screening of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest (2023) without knowing what you were getting into, it might take about ten minutes to figure things out.

In other news, this critical essay on "Zone of Interest" by @garthgreenwell.bsky.social is both beautiful and provocative. Doing some lesson prep for my screening of ZoI next week and happened upon it. thepointmag.com/criticism/th...

Thank you so much for reading this.

"Any art that excludes the irreparable excludes the possibility of genuine affirmation, as I’m trying to articulate it here; such art can only ever be propaganda for life, which can’t offer us any help at all."

Thanks so much for reading this.

Wonderful essay. Giovanni’s Room was the first Baldwin I read, as an adolescent. Thank you for helping me understand the work of beauty and the work of the irreparable in this book

Thank you so much for reading this essay.

Thanks for reading this!

This is a wonderful article from @garthgreenwell.bsky.social about Baldwin.

Thank you so much.