Turner, Darwin. “Afro-American Literary Critics: An
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day, 1971.
Loretta G. Woodard
Redmond, Eugene B. (1937– )
A poet, playwright, editor, literary historian, edu-
cator, and photographer, Eugene Benjamin Red-
mond is a multitalented writer whose literary art
celebrates and embodies the dynamic spectrum of
black culture. His skills as an organizer have led
him to found or cofound cultural institutions that
provide publishing opportunities for a wide range
of writers. Redmond was born December 1, 1937,
in St. Louis, Missouri. Soon after his birth, Red-
mond’s family moved across the Mississippi River
to East Saint Louis, Illinois, where he spent his for-
mative years. Throughout his career as a poet and
cultural worker, Redmond has found in East St.
Louis a constant source of inspiration and site of
presentation for his artistic productivity.
After serving in the U.S. Marines from 1958
to 1961, Redmond began a career as a journalist
while pursuing a college education. From 1961 to
1962 he served as an associate editor for The East
St. Louis Beacon. In 1963, after assisting in found-
ing The Monitor, a weekly East St. Louis news-
paper, Redmond became one of its editors and
writers. In 1964, he earned his bachelor’s degree
in English literature from Southern Illinois Uni-
versity Edwardsville (SIUE), where he had served
as the editor of the student newspaper. Two years
later, he completed graduate studies in literature at
Washington University in St. Louis.
During the mid-1960s, Redmond, who had
begun to publish his poetry on a regular basis,
played an active role in the emerging BLACK ARTS
MOVEMENT. He published numerous volumes of
poetry, including A Tale of Two Toms: Tom-Tom
(Uncle Toms of East St. Louis & St. Louis) (1968),
Sentry of the Four Golden Pillars (1970), Songs from
an Afro/Phone: New Poems (1972), In a Time of
Rain and Desire: New Love Poems (1973), and The
Eye in the Ceiling: Selected Poems (1991). In 1973
Redmond released Bloodlinks and Sacred Places,
a recording that features him reading his poems
to music. Overall, his writings focus on black re-
lationships, culture, African heritage, and politics,
and he utilizes the stylistics of black speech and
music to convey his messages. In 1976, Redmond
became poet laureate of East St. Louis; he was in-
ducted into the National Literary Hall of Fame for
Writers of African Descent in 1999.
In addition, Redmond is an accomplished liter-
ary critic and historian. Drumvoices: The Mission
of Afro-American Poetry, A Critical History (1976)
stands as his most noted contribution to the study
of African-American poetry. Covering the years
1746 to 1976, Drumvoices illustrates the develop-
ment of the African-American poetic tradition.
Redmond’s book serves as a valuable resource for
students and scholars of black literary history, as
he identifies dozens of lesser-known poets and
makes connections among various modes of black
expressive culture and poetry.
Combining his interests in literary arts with
activism and community development, Redmond
has taught writing courses and assisted in the de-
velopment of cultural events. From 1967 to 1969 he
served as a consultant to dancer Katherine Dunham
at Southern Illinois University’s Performing Arts
Training Center. During this time, he also served
as a director of language workshops at SIUE’s East
St. Louis educational initiative, the Experiment in
Higher Education. He has taught English and cre-
ative writing at Oberlin, California State University,
Sacramento, Southern University in Louisiana, and
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
While he continues to have a distinguished ca-
reer as a writer and educator, Redmond’s services
as a mentor to emerging writers and his contri-
butions as an editor are particularly impressive.
After the death of his friend HENRY DUMAS in
1968, Redmond became the writer’s literary ex-
ecutor, playing a decisive role in bringing Dumas’s
work into print. He served as editor for Dumas’s
posthumously published works, including Play
Ebony, Play Ivory (1974), “Ark of Bones” and Other
Short Stories (1974), Knees of a Natural Man: The
Selected Poetry of Henry Dumas (1989), and Echo
Tree: The Collected Short Fiction of Henry DumasRedmond, Eugene B. 431