Nkombo Publications records

This collection documents the literary production and intergroup collaboration of Nkombo Publications, one of the best-organized and most active groups affiliated with the Southern extension of the Black Arts Movement. These records include outgoing and incoming correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts from both well-known and lesser-known poets of the Black Arts Movement, collected publications and ephemera, and financial documents. The records span the late 1960s and early 1970s. Correspondence and literary submissions include those of several figures of national prominence such as Margaret Walker Alexander, Earl Billings, Alice Walker, Keorapetse Kgositsile, and David Henderson. In addition, prominent New Orleans-based writers were regular contributors or key personnel for Nkombo, including Kalamu ya Salaam, Tom Dent, Quo Vadis Gex, Norbert Davidson, John O'Neal, and Jerry Ward. The records also include literary submissions and requests for materials from inmates. Materials also include illustrations, layout designs, subscriptions lists, and invoices for the group's occasional journal, Nkombo. Administrative and financial records attest to Nkombo Publications' active fundraising activities and collaborative efforts with organizations such as the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines and as part of the Southern Black Cultural Alliance.