“formal” poetry. He began searching for African-
American poetry while still a student at Amster-
dam University. After meeting Rosey Pool, who
was lecturing on black poetry in Amsterdam, and
discovering poetry by COUNTEE CULLEN, CLAUDE
MCKAY, LANGSTON HUGHES and others, Breman’s
interest was solidified.
In 1959, Breman moved to London. In May of
that year, he wrote to Waring Cuney, “For some
time I have been thinking of issuing a series of
smallish well-printed books of poetry by U.S.
Negro authors. I want to print ROBERT HAYDEN’s
latest verse, STERLING BROWN’s second book, reprint
the GEORGE MOSES HORTON broadsides, and make
an anthology of the younger poets.” That year,
Hayden sent Breman A BALLAD OF REMEMBRANCE,
which launched the Heritage Series in 1962 and
four years later won Hayden the poetry prize at the
first black arts festival, in Dakar.
The series eventually resulted in 27 numbered
volumes published between 1962 and 1975. Bre-
man chose the name Heritage because “the poet
is a bridge between past and present, and also
between present and future—he uses a heritage,
and leaves one.” In that spirit of linking past with
present, Breman determined that the series would
focus on HARLEM RENAISSANCE poets who never
had published a book and on new poets, to “give
them a platform from which to take off.” Some of
the important forerunners in the series were ARNA
BONTEMPS, Waring Cuney, and Frank Horne. The
exciting newcomers included ISHMAEL REED, whose
first poetry collection, catechism of d neoamerican
hoodoo church, was the 11th volume in the series.
Other significant Heritage authors included Lloyd
Addison, Samuel Allen, Russell Atkins, Sebastian
Clarke, OWEN DODSON, Ray Durem, MARI EVANS,
Frank John, Dolores Kendrick, AUDRE LORDE,
CLARENCE MAJOR, DUDLEY RANDALL, Ellease South-
erland, James W. Thompson, and many other new-
comers in the influential Heritage anthology Sixes
and Sevens, edited by Breman.
The Heritage Series held an important place in
the development of many African-American poets
who later went on to establish significant literary
careers. Many poets whose work was published in
the series credited the books’ uniformity of pre-
sentation in quality and style and the publisher’s
lack of editorial interference with the poets’ vision
for their work.
The legacy of the Heritage Series will be its pres-
ervation of African-American poetry of excellence
by fine poets, some of whom are still underrep-
resented in print. It enabled some established fig-
ures to publish a book of their writing. Finally, the
Heritage Series offered an important breakthrough
into the realm of professionalism for many poets
who look back on this series as providing them
with the opportunity that launched their careers.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bontemps, Arna. Personals. Heritage Series. Vol. 4.
London: Paul Breman, 1963.
Hayden, Robert Earl. The Night-Blooming Cereus.
Heritage Series. Vol. 20. London: Paul Breman,
1972.
Lorde, Audre. Cables to Rage. Heritage Series. Vol. 9.
London: Paul Breman, 1970.
Major, Clarence. Private Line. Heritage Series. Vol. 15.
London: Paul Breman, 1971.
Randall, Dudley. Love You. Heritage Series. Vol. 10.
London: Paul Breman, 1970.
Lauri RameyHernton, Calvin Coolidge (1932–2001)
Calvin Coolidge Hernton was a writer and social
scientist for whom these two roles were seam-
lessly connected. Hernton was born to Magno-
lia Jackson in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was
raised there primarily by his grandmother, Ella
Estell. A vivid portrait of his childhood, showing
his grandmother’s influence and his awakening
race consciousness, appears in his autobiographi-
cal essay “Chattanooga Black Boy” (1996). Hernton
attended Talladega College, earning the nickname
“Socrates” for his intellectual and philosophical
bent, and received a B.A. in sociology (1954). In
college, Hernton first exhibited his talent and pas-
sion for writing and began to think of himself as
a poet. He attended graduate school at Fisk Uni-
versity, receiving an M.A. in sociology (1956). His
M.A. thesis, “A Thematic Analysis of Editorials andHernton, Calvin Coolidge 245