Pym-Randall Press (Mss. Gr. 19)

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.