In 1962, the Heritage Series of Black Poetry, founded and edited by Paul Breman, published Robert Hayden's A Ballad of Remembrance. By 1975, the Series had published 27 volumes by some of the twentieth-century's most important and influential poets. As elaborated in Lauri Ramey's extensive scholarly introduction, this innovative volume has dual purposes: To provide primary sources that recover the history and legacy of this groundbreaking publishing venture, and to serve as a research companion for scholars working on the Series and on twentieth-century black poetry. Never-before-published primary materials include Paul Breman's memoir, retrospectives by several of the poets published in the Series, a photo-documentary of W.E.B. Du Bois's 1958 visit to The Netherlands, poems by poets represented in the Series, and scholarly essays. Also included are bibliographies of the Heritage poets and of the Heritage Press Archives at the Chicago Public Library. This reference work is an essential resource for scholars working in the fields of black poetry, transatlantic studies, and twentieth-century book history.

The Heritage Series: An Introduction; Essays; "The Time of the Whirlwind and the Fire:" Dudley Randall, the Heritage Series and the Broadside Press Connection; Whose Images? Waring Cuney and the Harlem Renaissance Idea of the Poet's Work; Bardic Memory and Witness in the Poetry of Samuel Allen; Russell Atkins: "Heretofore"; Clarence Major and Mark Twain Abroad; Spiritual Witness in the Poetry of Dolores Kendrick; Audre Lorde: The Voice of Multiple Consciousness; "Ray Durem: Take No Prisoners "; Owen Vincent Dodson: Faith and Sorrow; Sorrow and Faith; Calvin C. Hernton: Portrait of a Poet; Memoirs and Reflections; The Heritage Series: A Memoir (excerpts); Paul Breman's Heritage Series of Black Poetry 1; Poetry and the Heritage Series 1; Reflections on the Heritage Series; Heritage and "Black" Poetry in the 1970s; Paul Breman and Black Poetry; Ebele Oseye as Poet; The Responsibility and Power of Art; 'Bout me, 'bout you, 'bout us (excerpts) 1; The Comic Vision of Robert Hayden: A Brief Remembrance; Memories of My Father: Ray Durem; W.E.B. Du Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois in the Netherlands, 1958; Statements on Poetry and Poetics; Statement 1; Statement 1; Statement 1; Statement 1; Statement 1; Introduction: The Wright Poems by Conrad Kent Rivers 1; On Negritude 1; First Editorial as Editor of The New African (excerpt) 1; Poems