SOURCE: “Interviews: Dudley Randall,” in Black Books Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter, 1972, pp. 23-6.

In the following interview, Randall discusses the influence the Harlem Renaissance poets had on his own work, explains his goals and philosophy as a publisher of black poetry, and talks of his aim to promote black literature and black consciousness.

Dudley Randall was born January 14, 1914 in Washington, D.C. He studied in the public schools of Washington, D.C., East St. Louis, and Detroit. In 1949, he received a B.A. degree from Wayne State University and in 1951 an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Michigan. Currently Brother Randall is serving as librarian and poet-in-residence at the University of Detroit. He is the author of four books of poetry including Poem Counterpoem, written along with Margaret Danner, Cities Burning (1968), Love You (1970) and More to Remember (1971). The last volume is a selection of all...