SOURCE: “An Interview with Dudley Randall,” in The Black Scholar, Vol. 6, No. 9, June, 1975, pp. 87-90.

In the following interview, Randall and Fowlkes discuss the process of creating poems such as “The Southern Road,”“The Profile on the Pillow,” and “Frederick Douglas and the Slavemaker.”

On December 10, 1974 I interviewed Mr. Dudley Randall. Mr. Randall had been with us at our school for a week. I felt this was a good opportunity to get to know a famous person. Mr. Randall has edited three anthologies: For Malcolm, Black Poetry, and The Black Poets. He has published five books of poetry. His latest book is After the Killing. In 1965 he founded Broadside Press, which has published such poets as Gwendolyn Brooks, Don L. Lee, Nikki Giovanni, and Etheridge Knight. He has taught library science at Lincoln University of Missouri and English at University of Michigan and University of Detroit. He was...