László Jakab Orsós initially found out via email that there was a photo collection showcasing James Baldwin and his life in Turkey. He thought it was a scam. But he sent a reply, asking to see some of the images. “In less than a day, I was sitting in front of my computer, watching 10 exclusive photographs,” Orsós, the vice president of arts and culture at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), told the Amsterdam News. “Amazing works! So, then I thought, okay, this is actually a real thing.”
Turkish photographer and filmmaker Sedat Pakay had captured the photos. He’d formed a friendship with Baldwin when the author first traveled to the city of Istanbul and was granted access to the life Baldwin led while he lived there in the 1960s.
The photo archive is now on display as part of BPL’s centennial celebration of James Baldwin. The exhibition, “Turkey Saved My Life –– Baldwin in Istanbul, 1961–1971,” is on view through Feb. 28, 2025, in the Grand Lobby of BPL’s Central Library.
The Harlem-born and bred Baldwin grew up to become an internationally known writer and social activist. Normally associated with New York City and his life in France, Baldwin was also highly affected by the life he led in Istanbul, and the photos in the BPL exhibition showcase this connection.
A Baldwin portrait greets visitors to Brooklyn Public Library’s Grand Lobby (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos 
Baldwin and singer Bertice Reading at Baldwin’s weekend retreat at Kilyos on the Black Sea, 1965 (© Sedat Pakay photo) 
Baldwin and singer Bertice Reading at Baldwin’s weekend retreat at Kilyos on the Black Sea, 1965 (© Sedat Pakay photo)
While he remained a celebrated writer there, Baldwin found refuge in Turkey –– it was a place that had the kind of diversity that reminded him of New York but with a lot less of the racial hostility. As a gay African American, Baldwin stood out as different, but this southwestern Asian country offered him a distinctive perspective on life.
The many photos on display in the Central Library show the author touring famous historical sites and out in the middle of Turkish crowds. But there are also intimate moments when he is with family and friends, cooking, talking, laughing, and establishing a life there. Many of the panelists who presented at the December 12 opening of the BPL exhibition explained that Turkey became a viable place for Baldwin to recalibrate. He made friends with other artists and collaborated with local and international performers while there. The country is also where he worked on his manuscripts for “Another Country,” “The Fire Next Time,” and “No Name in the Street.”
The photo exhibition sits in the main lobby and on the second floor of the Brooklyn Public Library, which means it is free and open to the public. BPL’s Orsós noted that the Central Library is not a professional gallery or museum: “Everything that we do turns to our public and tries to bring in people rather than scaring people off. So, no tickets, no guards. Most of the major works are going to be in the main lobby, open to public view. So people are having their coffee and reading their books and walking into the exhibition. They’ll see some of the most striking Sadat Pakay photos of Baldwin, a frail Black male navigating his life through Istanbul. … You see him in the city, you see him among his friends — he had different substantial friendships — major actors. You see him cooking at a party, you see him with his partner who was a swimming instructor, you see him among some of the most recognizable Istanbul landmarks.
“Sadat Pakay was a fantastic, very, very sensible photographer. So you see this face, the very known James Baldwin face, he’s close to the eyes, he sees his face, he sees his eyes, and he keeps looking into the camera, and in the backdrop, there is this soaring civilization, and he’s there kind of walking through that world and feeling increasingly more accepted and safe.” For more info, visit www.bklynlibrary.org.