Cooper Hewitt says...
Between 1966 and 1975, Broadside Press in Detroit, Michigan published 81 books and dozens of poetry broadsides written and designed by Black writers and artists. The founder of this independent press was poet and librarian Dudley Randall (American, 1914–2000). In the process of publishing Black poetry for Black audiences, Randall collaborated with Detroit artists and became a designer and art director himself. He made decisions about format, paper, typography, color, and cover design that turned his books and broadsides into visual and tactile experiences. He said, “I, in my spare time and in my spare bedroom, do all the work, from sweeping floors, washing windows, licking stamps and envelopes, and packing books, to reading manuscripts, writing ads, and planning and designing books.” [1]
Broadside Press, scholar Kinohi Nishikawa has stated, “started off as a functional enterprise. [Dudley Randall] just wanted to secure copyright for ‘Ballad of Birmingham.’ He very quickly realized that ornament, paper quality, format, and illustration could help create something magical and something lasting.” [2] Randall sought to share poetry with Black readers, who were ignored by the white-dominated publishing establishment. Beginning from a utilitarian view of printing as a means to an end, Randall fell in love with print’s tactile beauty and its ability to put poetry into people’s hands.
[1] Quoted in Melba Joyce Boyd, Wrestling with the Muse: Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), 230.
[2] Interview, Kinohi Nishikawa and Ellen Lupton, February 5, 2021.
