This book offers the first extensive look at Black-owned publishing companies from 1817 to 1990, and reveals previously unknown facts about the contributions of Blacks to Western civilization.
Introduction The Dictionary Appendix: Geographical Distribution of Black-Owned Book Publishers Indexes
DONALD FRANKLIN JOYCE is Director of the Felix G. Woodward Library at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.
?According to Joyce little attention has been given to the
activities of black US book publishers. His dictionary attempts to
rectify that situation with detailed profiles of 45 blackowned
denominational, institutional, and commercial firms. Each article
includes a brief narrative history followed by brief critical
summaries of major books published. One reads, for example that
Counter Clockwise by John Lee (A. Wendell Malliet and Co., 1940) is
"melodramatic with patently stereotyped characters," and that
Maleficium by Russell Atkins (Free Lance Press, 1971) is made up of
20 "skillfully crafted vignettes." The historical essays are
supported with notes and bibliographies, lists of titles from the
particular firms, names of libraries holding specific titles, and
names of the firms' chief executive officers. In many cases Joyce
obtained historical details and statistics of press runs directly
from the publishers themselves, thus providing an insider's view of
the world of black publishing. Some of the information here can
also be found in Joyce's Gatekeepers of Black Culture: Black Owned
Book Publishing in the United States, 1817-1981 (CH, Jul '83), but
dictionary format makes the present work more convenient for
reference use. Recommended for libraries of institutions where
there is interest in black culture and history as well as those
supporting studies in the history of American
journalism.?-Choice
?The book is indispensable for any research into Black book
publishing. Its interest extends beyond the scholar to the ordinary
citizen, who will find this book most useful.?-ARBA
"The book is indispensable for any research into Black book
publishing. Its interest extends beyond the scholar to the ordinary
citizen, who will find this book most useful."-ARBA
"According to Joyce little attention has been given to the
activities of black US book publishers. His dictionary attempts to
rectify that situation with detailed profiles of 45 blackowned
denominational, institutional, and commercial firms. Each article
includes a brief narrative history followed by brief critical
summaries of major books published. One reads, for example that
Counter Clockwise by John Lee (A. Wendell Malliet and Co., 1940) is
"melodramatic with patently stereotyped characters," and that
Maleficium by Russell Atkins (Free Lance Press, 1971) is made up of
20 "skillfully crafted vignettes." The historical essays are
supported with notes and bibliographies, lists of titles from the
particular firms, names of libraries holding specific titles, and
names of the firms' chief executive officers. In many cases Joyce
obtained historical details and statistics of press runs directly
from the publishers themselves, thus providing an insider's view of
the world of black publishing. Some of the information here can
also be found in Joyce's Gatekeepers of Black Culture: Black Owned
Book Publishing in the United States, 1817-1981 (CH, Jul '83), but
dictionary format makes the present work more convenient for
reference use. Recommended for libraries of institutions where
there is interest in black culture and history as well as those
supporting studies in the history of American journalism."-Choice
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