Pym-Randall Press

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2002

Collection Overview

Title:	Pym-Randall Press
Date range:	1964-1983
Creator:	Pym-Randall Press
Extent:	27 box(es) 13.5 linear feet
Abstract:	The Pym-Randall Archive consists of correspondence, books, proof sheets, manuscripts, and business records.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 19

Scope & content

The Pym-Randall Press Archives were purchased by purchased by Special Collections at the University of Rhode Island on September 4, 1974, and were then organized and arranged by Gregory Curtis and David Titus under the direction of David Maslyn, Head. In 1980 and 1986, significant additions of material dating from 1964 to 1982 were added to the body of the collection. In 2002, in conjunction with an exhibit put on by Special Collections, Leslie Tobias Olsen integrated these three accessions of various records of the Pym-Randall Press Archives into one manuscript group.

The Pym-Randall Archive consists of correspondence, books, proof sheets, manuscripts, and business records. Most of the materials currently in the archive are from the years 1964-1974.

The archive has been arranged into five series:

Series 1, Correspondence, 1964-1982, contains correspondence between the owners of the Pym-Randall Press, James and Joanne Randall, and persons interested in the press or its business. The letters are both personal and business related. There is also some outgoing correspondence from James and Joanne Randall concerning various publications of the press. Significant correspondence deals with the production of the press’s books, but there are also personal letters with many important contemporary poets. Poetry manuscripts enclosed in letters were removed and placed in Series 3, Manuscripts, 1964-1982, since many such enclosures were already separated from the covering letters.

Series 2, Books, 1964-1982, contains copies of books and pamphlets published by the Pym-Randall Press. It also contains books published by Pym-Randall poets with other presses.

Series 3, Manuscripts, 1964-1982, contains poetry manuscripts many of which were enclosed in the Correspondence series. They were removed and placed in this series, since other such enclosures were already separated from the covering letters.

Series 4, Business Records, 1964-1974, contains the business records of the Press from the years 1964 to 1974, mostly cash disbursements, receipts, ledgers, records of the sales of books, and other financial statements.

Series 5, Permissions, 1964-1976, contains permission agreements to reprint materials.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in five series as follows:

• 1. Correspondence
• 2. Books
• 3. Manuscripts
• 4. Business Records
• 5. Permissions

Historical note

The Pym-Randall Poetry and Arts Foundation, Inc., was founded as the Pym-Randall Press in 1964 by Professor James Randall (b. 1926) of Emerson College. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Press published thirty-seven titles in its first ten years. Name for the founder and his “cranky Manx cat,” Pym (1958-1971), the Press specialized in first book publication of young poets. Pym was a central figure in the life of the Press; one of the Pym-Randall poets, Robert Kelly, described Pym at his death as “a fine fierce surly animal, a poet of a cat.” (See “Kelly to the Randalls,” Sept. 3, 1971). The Press published its first book in August 1964 – Tim Reynolds’ “Half-life” – in a paperback edition of 425 copies. Pym-Randall Press has also published works by Kenneth Rexroth, Thom Gunn, Richard Eberhat, Ford Madox Ford, Robert Lowell, Gerard Malanga, and other noted poets.

Dr. Randall earned a PhD in literature from Boston University. He founded and chaired the Writing Program at Emerson College in 1967. He is still an Emeritus Professor at Emerson College. In 1971, he helped found the journal, “Ploughshares,” edited four of the early issues, and help bring the journal to Emerson College which still publishes it. He presently runs an antiquarian bookstore, Ahab, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1970, the Press became a non-profit foundation and received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. James Randall was president and editor, with Paul Hannigan and James Tate as associate editors. In 1975, the Press went into a self-described “torpidity,” and was reactivated in 1980 under the direction of J.L. Jonsson (see “James Randall to Michael Harper,” June 27, 1980). It closed operations in 1986 and the last of the records were given to Special Collections.

The Pym-Randall Press Archives reveal the interesting editorial and business-related correspondence of a Press that took as its mission the publication of up-and-coming works of exciting new poets. Special Collections also collects the works of the poets of the Press (even if published by other presses), in addition to other related records of the poets, in its Pym-Randall Rare Book Collection. These related archival items, manuscripts, and letters of the Pym-Randall authors have been acquired from other sources and are added as acquired to the Pym-Randall Rare Book Collection. These books, manuscripts, and other items are cataloged and accessible through the HELIN library catalog.

Taken together, these two collections represent an intriguing record of the workings of a specialized press, the creative processes involved in publishing poetry, and the daily activities of some of America’s recent poets.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Pym-Randall Press Archives, Mss. Gr. 19, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The Pym-Randall Press Archives, which include copies of first editions (many of them signed) of the Press, were first purchased by Special Collection at the University of Rhode Island on September 4, 1974. In 1980, a significant addition of material dating from 1964 to 1976 was added to the body of the collection and in 1986, more materials, mostly the business records of the Press, were given to Special Collections when the Press officially disbanded. In 2002, in conjunction with an exhibit Special Collections mounted on the Pym-Randall Press, the records were consolidated.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by David Maslyn.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Leslie Tobias Olsen 2002, updated by Erin C. Mullen on 2011 October 18, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 14
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory