On Wednesday 17th December 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of Encounters with James Baldwin – a collection celebrating the centenary of his birth. It’s a wide-ranging volume of short essays, reflections and poetry, demonstrating the significant legacy of the writer and activist from his work during the era of the Black Civil Rights movement in the US, and after. We will meet at Redz Youth Hub, 6 Threadneedle St, GL5 1AF. Entry is free and anyone interested in the book is welcome – you don’t need to have read it to join us. See below for more information. At this event we’ll be celebrating 10 years of Stroud Radical Reading Group, so people are encouraged to stay after the discussion for a social where we’ll make plans for 2026 and share memories from the last year and, indeed, last decade.

In the literary anthology Encounters With James Baldwin, over 30 contributors reveal the influence of Baldwin’s thought, speech and writing to their personal journeys and their awareness of the need for social justice. Local resident Ronnie McGrath will introduce the book and his essay “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”

Below in our resources section you can find a link to buy the book at a discount, and free audio/visual resources. There is also more information about the book and Stroud Radical Reading Group events.

Entry to the reading group session is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before. We encourage people to read as much of the book as possible, but you are welcome to attend to listen to the discussion without reading any of it.

About James Baldwin

James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain was ranked by Time magazine as one of the top 100 English-language novels. His 1965 debate with William Buckley is regarded as one of the most influential debates on Racism. As well as being an influential public figure and orator discussing racism, especially during the civil rights movement in the United States, Baldwin’s writing explored themes of masculinity, sexuality, and class. His unfinished manuscript Remember This House was expanded and adapted as the 2016 documentary film I Am Not Your Negro, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. His 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk was adapted into a 2018 film of the same name. Read more: the Wikipedia page on James Baldwin.

About Ronnie McGrath

Ronnie teaches creative writing at Imperial College London, Bath Spa University, and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. A published writer and poet, Ronnie is a graduate of Manchester University’s MA in Novel writing and was both a runner up and 1^st place winner of Len Garrison’s ACER award for Young Penmanship. Born in the UK, he spent his early years growing up with his grandmother Sarah, brother Michael, and other members of his extended family in Kingston, Jamaica. Just like his neo-surrealist poetry and postmodern writing, Ronnie produces contemporary works of art which are informed by the changing same of his ‘black’ identity. Read more on Ronnie McGrath’s website.

Resources

• Buy Encounters With James Baldwin – RRP £15.99, £13.59 with discount (saving £2.40). To get the 15% discount: Look at your “basket”, and enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage.
• Wikipedia page on James Baldwin
• Watch James Baldwin on the Dick Cavett Show (17 minutes, embedded below)
• Watch James Baldwin in conversation with Maya Angelou (26 minutes, embedded below)
• Watch James Baldwin debating William F Buckley in 1965 at Cambridge University – a legendary debate broadcast on the BBC at the time (1 hour, embedded below)
• Available on some streaming services through subscription, for rent, or to buy online is “I Am Not Your Negro” – a documentary “Narrated entirely in the words of James Baldwin, through both personal appearances and the text of his final unfinished book project, this film touches on the lives and assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr and Medgar Evers, and how the images and reality of black lives in America today are fabricated and enforced”.

About our events

Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash if you can afford it (a few pounds would be great).

We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.

To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.

Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.

There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.

About the venue

The venue for this session is Redz Youth Hub, a hub for organising, creativity, and community building. It’s a free space for young people to host their own events, workshops, and meetups. They’ve been hosting sessions by Mutiny: Stroud’s Youth Assembly and The RYSE – the Radical Youth Space for Educations – see their schedule for the rest of the year here, including sessions on the Peace Movement, Stroud Water riots, and decolonial action.

Redz is in central Stroud, close to the train station and bus station, with nearby stands to lock bikes, and parking for cars nearby at Fawkes Place or Church St car park. There is step-free access to the ground floor but for this session we will be meeting upstairs. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.