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UCL Library Special Collections is one of the foremost university collections of manuscripts, archives and rare books in the UK. Our holdings span the 4th century to the present day and cover a vast range of subject areas and disciplines. The strengths of the collections include language, literature and poetry from the 15th to the 21st centuries, 20th and 21st century small-press publishing, politics and social policy, History of Science, Mathematics, Latin American history and economics, Hebraica and Judaica, Education, the history of London and the history of UCL.
As well as the rare books and archives held by UCL Special Collections, the Library also subscribes to numerous databases of primary sources (digitised archival material). A primary source is a first-hand expression or evidence of an event or experience. This evidence can be in the form of the written word, images, artefacts, film or sound recordings, and will have been created at some point during the lifetime of the person involved. Using primary sources in your research adds context and credibility to your argument.
See a full list of over 200 primary source databases, many of which will have content of relevance to Black Studies, or see our list of key primary source databases in Black Studies.
The UCL Special Collections Small Press Collections, consisting of Poetry Store, Little Magazines and Alternative Presses, contain numerous mid-twentieth century publications by Black presses, and include poetry and artwork by Black writers and artists as well as magazines produced by activist groups from the 1960s onwards. The collection includes many publications originating from Africa and the Caribbean. The following is a selection.
To search Explore for material in the Small Press Collections, use the term 'smallpress' combined with your chosen keyword(s) and filter to show only those items in Special Collections.
A selection from the Little Magazines and Alternative Presses:
LeRoi Jones (aka Amiri Baraka) was a controversial Black American poet and professor who wrote about racism and Black liberation during the Civil Rights movement. Baraka and his contemporaries were part of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which sought to show the realities of life for Black Americans through fiction. He co-edited the literary magazine Yugen and published his first poetry collection, Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note in 1961. His work became more controversial as he broke away from the Beat poets and publicly criticized the pacifist nature of the Civil Rights Movement. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Imamu Amiri Baraka but later dropped the spiritual title, Imamu, when he moved away from the Black Arts Movement and adopted a Marxist-based personal ideology. Despite ongoing criticism, the influence of his written work on Black American culture and his promotion of the Black Arts Movement is undeniable.
LeRoi Jones in the Small Press Collections
Yugen
Cricket: Black Music in Evolution
Books and articles by and about LeRoi Jones
Ted Joans (1928 – 2003) was an American jazz poet, surrealist, trumpeter, and painter, who from the 1960s spent periods of time travelling in Europe and Africa. His work stands at the intersection of several avant-garde streams and some have seen in it a precursor to the orality of the spoken-word movement. However, he criticized the competitive aspect of "slam" poetry. Joans is known for his motto: "Jazz is my religion, and Surrealism is my point of view". He was the author of more than 30 books of poetry, prose, and collage, among them Black Pow-Wow, Beat Funky Jazz Poems, Afrodisia, Jazz is Our Religion, Double Trouble, WOW and Teducation.
Ted Jones in the Small Press Collections
Books and articles about Ted Joans
Anyone with a need to consult our collections is welcome to do so. UCL Special Collections is reference only. It is essential to book in advance to make sure of a reading room place and that the items requested are available. Please contact us at least two weeks before you intend to visit. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate drop-in visits.
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