The first book of poetry produced by Broadside Press was Poem/Counterpoem, a collaboration between Dudley Randall and Margaret Danner. This was followed by For Malcolm, Broadside’s first anthology, dedicated to poems reflecting on the life of Malcolm X.
Many of the books published by Broadside could be classified as chapbooks. These are paperback volumes with a small number of pages that were well suited to presenting collections of poetry. Broadside also offered a number of hardcover books, including several anthologies and hardcover editions of their most popular titles, such as Don’t Cry, Scream by Haki R. Madhubuti (Don L. Lee).
Randall’s philosophy on the design of the books was similar to how he felt about the broadsides. He used many of the same Black, Detroit artists to create attractive books. He also kept the prices of the books low, between $1 and $3 initially.
“The most obvious reason [for the establishment of Black presses] was because Black authors could not be published by white publications, white magazines, or by white publishers. We had to do it ourselves. The other day I was looking through my files and I found the manuscript of my first book of poetry, Poem Counterpoem, which I did with Margaret Danner. Accompanying the manuscript was a rejection slip from Harcourt, Brace & Company. We had sent the book to a number of publishers. ... By the time I got it rejected by Harcourt, Brace I thought we’d just better go ahead and publish the book ourselves, which we did-So I think we have to thank Harcourt, Brace for making Broadside a publisher of books as well as Broadsides.”
The appeal of Broadside’s titles was helped by a marketplace that was becoming more receptive to the idea of buying Black poetry. The Black Arts Movement renewed an interest in the art of Black nationalism and liberation that was previously seen during the Harlem Renaissance period. Additionally, civil rights gains nationwide had sparked the creation of African American studies programs in colleges. Scholars demanded to study works by Black poets and authors. In a clear indication of a nationwide movement, other Black publishers sprung up around the United States at this time, including Newark’s Jihad Press, Chicago’s Third World Press, and Detroit’s Lotus Press.
