John Williams & Colin Grant: CLR James

Historian, revolutionary and cricket writer, CLR James was lauded as the greatest of Black British intellectuals: one of the truly radical voices of the twentieth century. He debated with Trotsky, played cricket with Constantine, was published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf, was a profound influence on the British Black Power movement and even had a library in Dalston named in his honour. And yet by the late 1970s, he was all but forgotten.  John Williams, author of James' new biography talks to Colin Grant, director of the Royal Literary Fund initiative WritersMosaic and author of the hotly anticipated memoir I'm Black So You Don't Have to Be (Jan 2023). They explore James' compelling story, his legacy and timely rediscovery for the 21st century.