Letter to Julius E. Thompson, August 1991 (page 2 of 3)

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QUESTIONNAIRE ON DUDLEY RANDALL AND BROADSIDE PRESS James A. EMANUEL 26 August 1991 55 bis, blvd du Montparnasse 75006 Paris FRANCE (Retired. Was Professor, Dept. of English, The City College of the City University of New York. Other professorships in France and Poland.) 1. I was in steady correspondence with Dudley approximately from 1966 to 1976 with regard to our literary relationships. I met him person- ally only about 1970, at a poetry reading in Harlem, end talked with him at length afterwards, probably in 1971. I was the first poet to make a recording (of my first poetry volume, Treehouse and Other Poems, published by him in 1968--the title having been suggested to me by Langston Hughes, upon whom I had just written a book) for Dud— ley's Broadside Voices series. Also, in correspondence with him from Seyssins, France, in 1968-69--when I had an invitational Ful- bright professorship at the University of Grenoble--I discussed with him the creation of the Broadside Critics Series and became the Gen— eral Editor of that series, editing by myself its five books by Don L. Lee (as he was known then), Addison Gayle, Bernard Bell, Hous— ton A. Baker, and William Robinson. 2. The success of Broadside Press as an outlet for African American poets in the 1960's and early 1970's was due to the remarkable vi— sion, strength, and purposeful integrity of Dudley. Because those same qualities do not necessarily lead to commercial success and be— cause they were functional in what must be called a racist society, they probably fed into an ultimately unprofitable policy that was redeemed, however, by its moral beauty. From bis best and best—known poets he earned a little money, and from his usually younger, less capable poets he earned the respectful memory of having been their champion when they most needed encouragement. 3. The growth of the Black reading public for poetry between the 1960's and 1980's was largely attributable to Broadside Press, of course, simply because that press was almost the sole source, at first, of those poetry books that one could see sticking out of the pockets and pocketbooks of ordinary African Americans on the street. "Poetry as an art form," if one underscores the word "art," is different reading matter, appreciated most by those searching for the subtle— ties and various beauties of knowingly crafted poems. Dudley's best poets did produce some work that was true poetic art when held up to any intense critical light; many of his poets offered life—giving fare to a Black audience vitally in need of it; and all of his poets evidenced talent worthy of publication. Commercial statistics could support the eminence of Broadside Press in this evolution of taste, but they are hardly needed alongside the historical fact of Black America's feelings concerning Broadside Press. 4. Dudly's personal contribution, as a poet and writer, to the intel— lectual and literary climate of the 1960's and 1970's--like that of all other living African American writers and editors--is quite im— perfectly known, precisely because not enough reliable study has been directed toward that inquiry. Academicians, in whose hands such mat— ters rest, are not sufficiently accustomed to laboring over the works of people still alive. Fifty years after the death of a writer used to be the starting point for questions raised behind the meditative pipes of mature scholars; and the starting blocks in the race to seize and size up authors have not radically changed. It is certain that Dudley's "the Southern Road" is a poem worthy of long and close discussion in any university classroom; end his ideological state— ments as a publisher, as well as his published commentary on literary developments in his time, will set intellectual standards and affect

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Typed letter to Julius E. Thompson from James Emanuel, dated August 26, 1991. Emmanuel responds to Thompson's questions concerning Dudley Randall and Broadside Press, and he also encloses an ad for his books. (Page 2 of 3)

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  • type
    Image
  • created on
  • file format
    jpg
  • file size
    2 MB
  • container title
    James A. Emanuel Papers
  • creator
    James A. Emanuel
  • issue
    Box 13 Folder 26 Thompson, Juilius E., 1991-1998, 2000
  • rights
    James A. Emanuel Estate
  • rights holder
    James A. Emanuel Estate
  • version
    26-Aug-91