Paul Breman

Paul Breman (Bussum, 19 July 1931 - London, 29 October 2008) was a Dutch writer, bookseller and publisher.

The late 1950s Breman edited two volumes of African American poetry together with Rosey E. Pool, that were both published in the Netherlands. In 1962 Breman started the "Heritage" series of black poets, beginning with Robert Hayden's A Ballad of Remembrance and his own anthology Sixes and Sevens. Until 1972, 27 titles were published in the Heritage series. Some of the authors later became famous, such as Mari Evans, Dolores Kendrick, Audre Lorde, Clarence Major and Ishmael Reed. This series, run by a Dutchman in London, became one of the most important publishing outlets for African American poetry.^[1]

Bibliography (selection)

• Rosey E. Pool en Paul Breman (eds.), Ik zag hoe zwart ik was. Poëzie van Noordamerikaanse negers. Een tweetalige bloemlezing van Rosey E. Pool en Paul Breman (Den Haag, Bert Bakker / Daamen N.V., 1958)
• Rosey E. Pool en Paul Breman, Black all day. American negro poetry (Amsterdam, Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs, 1960)

Secondary literature

• Nicolas Barker, 'Paul Breman: Bookseller, writer and publisher of black poetry' [Obituary], Independent, 24 November 2008. URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/paul-breman-bookseller-writer-and-publisher-of-black-poetry-1032228.html

References

1. Lauri Ramey, The Heritage Series of Black Poetry, 1962–1975. A Research Compendium / (Ashgate, 2008), 'The Heritage Series: An Introduction', p. 1-17:1