James Baldwin centenary
with Bold Tendencies: an interview with Mendez

Mendez (they/them) is a London-based novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Born in 1982 and raised in the Black Country as the eldest of four children in a Jehovah’s Witness family of Jamaican heritage, Mendez left the religion as a teenager and pursued studies in automotive engineering and acting, though did not complete either course. Inspired by James Baldwin’s novel Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone, Mendez began journaling in 2002 while working various jobs, including as a sex worker and journalist. 

Active in the arts, Mendez has been involved with an art collective, exhibited at RichMix, and performed in theatre, notably as Othello. Their writing has appeared in prominent publications such as Glass, Esquire, and British Vogue. They will also be taking part in the event 'The Fire Next Time! — James Baldwin: Notes on a Native Son' from the London Review of Books, where Mendez is a frequent contributor to the publication, in collaboration with Bold Tendencies to celebrate Baldwin’s legacy. Mendez’s debut novel, Rainbow Milk, was published in 2020 by Dialogue Books to critical acclaim, making the Observer’s Top Ten Debut Novels list and being shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.

I had the privilege to sit down with Mendez to discuss how they initially discovered Baldwin’s work, the impact it had on society, the timeless themes he used throughout, and the importance of his legacy.

Bethan Dadson: So how did you first discover James Baldwin's work, and what was your initial reaction?

Mendez: A friend of mine found his novel Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone in a charity shop and gave it to me because he was interested in my writing and thought I would benefit from it. It was the first time I’d read a book written by a Black person, and it was full of the experimental queer relationships and dances that I was toying with in my own life, so I found a face-value kinship with it that revealed itself to be multi-layered and -faceted as I delved further into his work.

BD: Can you tell me a specific Baldwin work or passage that deeply resonated with you? Why?

M: The line in his essay "Notes of a Native Son": “I learned in New Jersey that, to be a Negro meant, precisely, that one was never looked at but was simply at the mercy of the reflexes the colour of one’s skin caused in other people.” Once I read that, I realised I didn’t need to waste so much energy trying to convince strangers that I’m not the stereotype in their head. If someone didn’t like or respect me, or thought me capable/incapable of certain things because of my race, presumed gender and class, that’s their business.

BD: ‘The Fire Next Time!’ is an event that you will be taking part in, which celebrates Baldwin’s legacy and different themes that he explores throughout his works. Can you tell me why this is so important for the culture?

M": The culture? African Americans use that phrase a lot, but what’s interesting is that the Black Power generation dismissed Baldwin from the culture, judging him based on his homosexuality and the fact that he fled America for Europe. Baldwin always had one foot in and one foot out of any so-called culture; this could describe many of the greatest writers of the last century, who were migrants and/or queer or in any case were caused to develop some form of double consciousness. That’s why Baldwin was able to see so many perspectives, and why some of us are still talking about him and reading him for guidance today, but his contemporaries did such a good job of suppressing his influence that even now, a lot of people haven’t even heard of him.