Literary Centers, Publishers, & Independent Bookstores
Past and Present
Alternative Press, Cass Corridor (1969-1974): Founded and managed by Ann and Ken Mikolowski, this small experimental press sent poetry and other creative work in a variety of formats to subscribers. The Alternative Press left Detroit in 1974 but continued to publish until 2011. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69676/diy-detroit
Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126: This resource for Arab American culture has hosted conferences devoted to Arab American culture and readings by the Detroit area's Arab American writers. http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/
The Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield Rd, Oak Park, MI 48237: Oak Park's cramped, crammed, and thoroughly wonderful bookstore: http://www.thebookbeat.com/.
Broadside Press (1960s and 1970s), 15021 Livernois, Detroit. MI 48238: This once and future hamburger restaurant was Broadside's second location. The first was Dudley and Vivian Randall's home on Old Mill Place. For the full story, see Melba Joyce Boyd, Wrestling With the Muse: Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003) or visit http://www.broadsidelotuspress.org/.
Carr Center, 15 E Kirby St, Detroit, MI 48202: This center for African American cultural expression, established in 1991, has found a new home in Detroit's cultural center after several years in Harmonie Park in downtown Detroit. See Michael H. Hodges, "The Carr Center reopens in Detroit's Park Shelton," Detroit News 12 Nov. 2019: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2019/11/12/carr-center-reopens-detroit-park-shelton-african-american-art/2530191001/
Casa de Unidad Cultural Arts and Media Center, 1920 Scotten, Detroit, MI 48209 (1980-2006): The center promoted Southwest Detroit's Hispanic/Latino cultural heritage. The organization offered workshops in the visual, literary, and performing arts; maintained a community print shop and a gallery; and held a performing arts festival. See "The Guide to the Casa de Unidad Records, 1980-2006," Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan: https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6zd27h1
Center for Detroit Arts + Culture @ Marygrove, 8425 West McNichols Rd. Detroit, MI 48221: CDAC@Marygrove preserves the legacy of Marygrove College, which closed in 2019. In addition to programs with literary emphases--the Contemporary American Authors Lecture Series, the Institute for Detroit Studies, and the Tuxedo Project--CDAC@Marygrove sponsors the Institute of Music and Dance and the Institute for Arts-Infused Education. https://www.detroitartsculture.org/
Claes Book Shop, 1670 Leverette, Detroit, MI 48216 (1930-1982): Paul Sewick provides a fine history of this Corktown landmark and its proprietors in "Ethel Claes and the Westside Industrial Project,"Corktown History, 25 Feb. 2013: http://corktownhistory.blogspot.com/2013/02/ethel-claes-and-west-side-industrial.html. (This article is available: See the first item under "RECOMMENDED POSTS.")
Classic Book Shop, 32336 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, MI 48073: This Royal Oak rare book dealer has been in business since1988: classicbookshop.dawntreaderbooks.com
Alexander Crummell Center, 74 Glendale, Highland Park,MI 48203: In the late 1970s and early, the Crummell Center became a site for the Broadside Press's activities, including readings and workshops by Gwendolyn Brooks, Sterling A. Brown, Etheridge Knight, and others.
Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202: The site of readings by major writers as well as the Detroit Film Theater. https://www.dia.org/
Detroit Public Library, Main Branch, 5201 Woodward Ave, Detroit,MI 48202: The library's main branch hosts readings and book signings, as well as lectures about literary topics. https://detroitpubliclibrary.org/locations/main
Detroit River Press, Highland Park, MI 48203 (late 1970s-early 1980s): A "printing cooperative" managed by Glen Mannisto, Jim Wanless, and Dennis Teichman, the Detroit River Press published STRAITS, a newsletter and books by Detroit poets. In 1983, the DRP collaborated with Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press to produce Melba Joyce Boyd's Song for Maya. See Melba Joyce Boyd, Wrestling with the Muse: Dudley Randall the Broadside Press (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003): 298.
Broadside Press's Livernois location
Broadside's Old Mill Place location
Carr Center's Park Shelton location
CDAC@Marygrove
Claes Book Shop
Detroit Writers' Guild, 5057 Woodward Ave., Detroit,MI 48202: Founded by Peggy A.Moore as the Detroit Black Writers' Guild in 1983 and re-established as DWG under the leadership of M.L. Liebler, the Guild maintains a busy schedule of readings, workshops, and other events like the Annual Midtown Literary Walk. Visit https://www.dwguild.org/ .
The Detroit Writing Room, 1514 Washington Boulevard, Suite 203, Detroit, MI 48226: "Opened in June 2019, The Detroit Writing Room is a cozy co-working space in the heart of Detroit for people to work, write and create." See more at: https://www.detroitwritingroom.com.
InsideOut Literary Arts, Prentis Hall, 5201 Cass Ave., Detroit, MI 48202: Detroit's innovative literary arts program for young people, founded by Terry Blackhawk in 1995, now resides at Wayne State University: https://insideoutdetroit.org/.
John K. King Used and Rare Books, 901 W Lafayette Blvd, Detroit, MI 48226: One of the wonders of the modern world. https://www.johnkingbooksdetroit.com/.
John K. King North, 22524 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, MI 48220: A smaller version of the great used and rare bookstore: https://www.johnkingbooksdetroit.com/explore-king-ferndale.
Lotus Press, 18080 Santa Barbara, Detroit, MI 48221: For many years, Naomi Long Madgett operated the Lotus Press out of her Bagley Community home. http://www.broadsidelotuspress.org/.
Marwil Bookstore (1948-2013), 4870 Cass Ave., Detroit, MI 48201: A popular scholarly and academic resource located in the middle of the Wayne State University campus, Marwil's closed in 2013. See Eli Hoerler, "Marwil Bookstore to Close," The South End, 28 Oct. 2013: https://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/news/article_059faba4-4045-11e3-aa9d-0019bb30f31a.html.
Miles Poetry Room, Old Main, Wayne State University, 480 W Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201
"The Miles Modern Poetry Room and Poetry Committee were established in 1946, with funds donated by the family and friends of Theodore Miles, an assistant professor of English killed in WW II. As a memorial to Miles, Wayne University established the Poetry Room, which opened in 1947 and was located in the General Library. It housed a continuing collection, primarily of books of poetry, manuscripts and recordings of poets."
--Miles Poetry Committee Collection, papers 1946-1974, courtesy of Laval Todd Duncan
Dudley Randall’s recollection: “While I was a student at Wayne, I was a member of the Miles Modern Poetry Group.… We first met to study contemporary poetry, but then we started bringing our own poems to discuss.… the workshop decided to publish a magazine… [“Milestone”]… A lot of fine poets came out of that group. Robert Huff, Phil Levine, and Henrietta Epstein.... Wayne produced some good poets.”
--Quoted in. in Melba Joyce Boyd, Wrestling With the Muse: Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003): 70.
Pages Bookshop, 19560 Grand River Ave., Detroit, MI 48223: Pages opened in Detroit’s Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood in 2015 and hosts readings and book signings: https://www.pagesbkshop.com/
Paperbacks Unlimited (1969-2005), 22634 Woodward Ave, Ferndale, MI 48220 : Ferndale's wonderful hangout for Detroit-area scholars and readers closed in 2005 after thirty-six years. See Cole Haddon, "Closing the Book," Detroit Metro Times, 17 Aug 2005: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/closing-the-book/Content?oid=2182319
Past Tents Press, 332 W.Woodland, Ferndale, MI 48220: Run by poet Dennis Teichman, Past Tents Press publishes work of Detroit area poets. http://pasttentspress.com/
The Dudley Randall Center for Print Culture, University of Detroit Mercy, UDM Library, 4001 W. McNichols Road, Detroit, MI 48221: Located on the campus where Dudley Randall worked as a reference librarian and poet-in-residence, the center sponsors student publishing, literary events, and writers-in-residence at the University of Detroit Mercy: https://liberalarts.udmercy.edu/academics/eng/dudley-randall-center-for-print-culture.php.
John K. King Bookstore
Lotus Press
Old Main at Wayne State University
Scarab Club
The Ridgeway Press, St. Clair Shores, MI: One of many literary projects of the tireless M.L. Liebler, Ridgeway has published dozens of works by Detroit area poets: http://www.ridgewaypress.org/.
The Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St, Detroit, MI 48202: Founded in 1907, The Scarab Club is "an enduring home for the cultivation & celebration of the visual, literary and performing arts in Detroit" and serves as a venue for readings by visiting and local writers: https://scarabclub.org/
Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center (1970-2014), 13535 Livernois, Detroit, MI 48238: Opening in 1970 as a community resource, the Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center grew from the Afrocentric vision of Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman (Albert B. Cleage, Jr.), the founder and longtime pastor of the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1,located at 7625 Linwood in Detroit. The Shrine Bookstore had an extensive collection of works by African and African American authors and scholars as well as artworks and a gathering space for readings and lectures. Although it closed in 2014, the bookstore and cultural center is expected to reopen in 2020. See Rhonda J. Smith, "A Historic Detroit Bookstore that Celebrated Black Culture Is Getting a New Life," Detour Detroit, 22 Aug. 2019: https://detourdetroiter.com/detroit-shrine-of-black-madonna-bookstore-reopening/.
Source Booksellers, 4240 Cass Ave., Detroit, MI 48201: Janet Webster Jones's bookstore opened in on Cass Ave. in 2013 and features booksignings, presentations, and discussions. www.sourcebooksellers.com.
The Tuxedo Project Literary Center, 7122 Tuxedo, Detroit, MI 48238: The Tuxedo Project Literary Center is a public, community-focused space dedicated to bringing the joy of the written and spoken word to the neighborhood around 7122 Tuxedo, the boyhood home of Detroit journalist Stephen Henderson, on Detroit’s west side https://www.tuxedoproject.com/
Vaughn’s Bookstore (1964-c.1995), 12123 Dexter, Detroit 48206 (first site)
16525 Livernois Ave Detroit MI 48221 (final site): In 1964, Ed Vaughn established this store as a center of African American culture, and it quickly became a gathering place for activists and others. It was torched and burned during the 1967 rebellion.Vaughn maintained, with good reason, that the damage had been done by police angered by the store's reputation as a haven for revolutionaries. He reopened in three other locations before settling at 16525 Livernois, across from the University of Detroit's McNichols campus.There the store remained until the mid-1990s. For more, see Chad Livengood, "Still Rebuilding: The Impact of 1967 on Three Generations of Black Business Owners," Crain's Detroit Business, 25 June 2017: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/2017062/news/632291/still-rebuilding-impact-1967-three-generations-black-business-owners.
Shrine of the Black Madonna
Bookstore and Cultural Center
Tuxedo Project Literary Center
Wayne State University Press, 4809 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201: In addition to serving as a major academic press, WSUP publishes works of local writers through the Made in Michigan Writers Series. Visit https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 East Warren, Detroit, MI 48201: The Wright honors major contributors to African American American culture, including Detroit's writers. https://www.thewright.org/
Write A House, Banglatown, Detroit: Established in 2012, Write A House is "a nonprofit that combines community building with support for the literary arts." Visiting writers live and work in different Banglatown homes. See "Write a House Is Giving Free Houses to Writers in Detroit"Stateside,Michigan Radio, 3 June 2014: https://www.michiganradio.org/post/write-house-giving-free-houses-writers-detroit
Your Heritage House, 110 E Ferry St., Detroit, MI 48202
"Your Heritage House was cofounded in 1969 by Gwendolyn Hogue and Josephine Harreld Love. Its mission was to nurture young people in the arts, helping them to discover their creative potential. As a children’s museum, it housed an extensive collection of books and artifacts (e.g., dolls, puppets, instruments and sheet music). There were also studio classes in painting, music, dance and ceramics, held afterschool, on weekends and during the summer. The emphasis was on instruction by working artists.
"A long standing close friend of Robert Hayden, Mrs. Love arranged for the poet to do numerous readings. Hayden himself was committed to supporting Your Heritage House and its mission, which was international in scope but emphasized the tradition of African American artistic culture." --Laval Todd Duncan
Compiled by Frank D. Rashid, frankdrashid@outlook.com
January 2020
Wright Museum
Your Heritage House