You Think Your Pain and Your Heartbreak Are Unprecedented in the History of the World, But Then You Read

James Baldwin? Jane Howard? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Reading about other lives and cultures can replace a narrow self-involved vision with a wide open vista. The pains and afflictions of one’s own life are placed into a larger perspective when one reads about the harrowing travails of others. The prominent novelist and playwright James Baldwin once made this point. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Quote Investigator: In May 1963 journalist Jane Howard published a profile of James Baldwin in “LIFE” magazine. He spoke about his early experiences. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1963 May 24, LIFE, Volume 54, Number 21, ‘Doom and glory of knowing who you are’ by Jane Howard, Start Page 86B, Quote Page 89, Column 1, Time Inc., Chicago, Illinois. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]

You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who ever had been alive. Only if we face these open wounds in ourselves can we understand them in other people. An artist is a sort of emotional or spiritual historian.

In 1964 James Baldwin provided a narrative describing his life for a television broadcast. “The New York Times” printed excerpts from the program. Baldwin employed a slightly different version of the quotation with “Dostoevsky and Dickens” replaced by the word “books”:[ref] 1964 May 31, New York Times, James Baldwin Recalls His Childhood, Quote Page X11, Column 2 and 3, New York. (ProQuest) [/ref]

You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In 1967 “The Home Book of American Quotations” compiled by Bruce Bohle printed an entry matching the text immediately above. The accompanying citation pointed to the television program:[ref] 1967, The Home Book of American Quotations, Selected by Bruce Bohle, Topic: Reading, Quote Page 336, Column 1, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

James Baldwin, Television Narrative about his life, WNEW-TV, New York City, 1 June, 1964.

In 1977 “A Word from the Wise: A Sufficiency of Quotes & Images to Brighten Your Day” compiled by Otto L. Bettmann credited Baldwin with the version using the word “books”.[ref] 1977, A Word from the Wise: A Sufficiency of Quotes & Images to Brighten Your Day, Compiled by Otto L. Bettmann, Topic: Books, Quote Page 19, Harmony Books: A Division of Crown Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

In 1985 “The Book Book” by Steven Gilbar included a variant with the plural words “pains” and “heartbreaks”:[ref] 1985, The Book Book by Steven Gilbar, Quote Page 65, Bell Publishing Company, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

You think your pains and your heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who have ever been alive.
—James Baldwin

In 1987 “Pearls of Wisdom: A Harvest of Quotations from All Ages” printed the version from the television program.[ref] 1987 Copyright, Pearls of Wisdom: A Harvest of Quotations from All Ages, Compiled by Jerome Agel and Walter D. Glanze, Quote Page 97, Perennial Library: Harper & Row, New York. (Verified with scans)[/ref]

In 2008 a version of the quotation appeared in “Advanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations”. The QI in this book title referred to the U.K. comedy quiz show “Quite Interesting” which is unrelated to the Quote Investigator. The instance in this book also used the plural words “pains” and “heartbreaks”.[ref] 2008 Copyright, Advanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, Series: A Quite Interesting Book, Section: Suffering, Quote Page 319, Faber and Faber: Bloomsbury House, London. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

You think your pains and heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who have ever been alive.
JAMES BALDWIN

In conclusion, James Baldwin deserves credit for what he said in “LIFE” magazine in 1963. He also deserves credit for the similar remark he made in the 1964 television program. However, the version using “pains” and “heartbreaks” is slightly inaccurate.

(Great thanks to Doug Lucas whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Lucas identified the crucial citation in “LIFE” magazine. He wished to learn more about the variant using the word “books”.)

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