Lotus Press was established in 1972 with the publication of Pink Ladies in the Afternoon by Naomi Long Madgett. Much of the poetry by African Americans at that time was characterized by anger and rage, but Madgett’s poems were quiet and subtle and she was unable to find a publisher who would accept it. In considering a name for the new company, the author remembered the Egyptian lotus and saw the best of black poetry as a part of Africa transplanted to American soil. Thus the motto, “Flower of a New Nile.” Madgett used a typewriter with proportional fonts to prepare Pink Ladies for the printer. The book was professionally printed and bound.

     It was not her intention to publish additional poetry, but in her pioneering efforts for fairer representation of literature by African Americans in high school and college textbooks, she was offended by the comment of one of her white colleagues who said, “If you’ve read one, you’ve read them all.” Aware of the wide variation in style and subject matter in black poetry, she purchased a duplicator that printed with interchangeable tubes of color. Selecting poems by living black authors, she printed sets of twenty poster-poems which she titled, Deep Rivers, A Portfolio in 1972.  It was intended for use on classroom bulletin boards. Each set included a teacher’s guide, which Madgett wrote, with suggested activities and discussion questions. The National Council of Teachers of English purchased several hundred sets for distribution.

     As a professor of English at Eastern Michigan University, Madgett became acquainted with the poetry of one of her students, Pamela Cobb (now Baraka Sele). Pamela would bring new poems for Madgett to critique. She decided to encourage her student by printing a chapbook of her work. Using the same typewriter and duplicator and collating and stapling the pages by hand, she published Inside the Devil’s Mouth in 1975. Published the same year were Love Poem to a Black Junkie by Paulette Childress White and Dust of Uncertain Journey by May Miller. All three books were collated and stapled by hand; then the pages were trimmed on a heavy duty paper cutter. Since Madgett had no experience in layout, she used books published by major companies as models so that the title page, other information, and text would be in the correct order.

     With the assistance of another small publisher, she learned to bind a book by cutting the letter size pages in half, stacking one half on top of the other, stapling the pages on the outside, then scoring the cover with a razor blade so that it would fold cleanly. Then she applied household glue to the spine and fitted the pages to the cover until the glue dried, then trimming the edges. Because of the spine, the book looked as if it were perfect bound. She perfected this method of binding with The Persistence of the Flesh by Herbert Woodward Martin in 1976.

     The first professionally bound book was O Africa, Where I Baked My Bread by Lance Jeffers in 1977,  and the first typeset book was The Empress of the Death House by Toi Derricotte in 1978. In 1979 a generous donation made possible the purchase of a computer system and a laser printer.

     In 1980 Lotus Press became a non-profit corporation, and the following year it became tax-exempt as a federal 501(c)(3) organization. In this way the press could apply for donations and grants. Nevertheless, the press continued to be sustained by Madgett’s monetary contributions.

     The annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award was established in 1993. The first winning manuscript, Forever Afternoon by Adam David Miller, was published the following year by Michigan State University Press. An additional four winners were published by that press before Lotus Press, Inc. assumed that task.

     In 1993 Naomi Long Madgett won an American Book Award for her work as publisher and editor of Lotus Press. At the close of the thirtieth anniversary celebration, the chairman of the Board of Directors announced that they were commissioning sculptor Artis Lane to create a life-size bust of Naomi. After a campaign to raise the necessary funds, the bust was unveiled in 2004 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and is now a part of its permanent collection.

     Lotus Press has published more than ninety collections of poetry and Naomi’s autobiography, Pilgrim Journey. It has no paid employees, and Naomi works without a salary and virtually alone, except for a volunteer assistant and an intern.

     Among the poets whose books are now out of print are Louie Crew, Tom Dent, Toi Derricotte, Kamaldeen Ibraheem, Gayl Jones (3 books), Dolores Kendrick, Pinkie Gordon Lane, Haki R. Madhubuti, Herbert Woodward Martin (2 books), E. Ethelbert Miller, Dudley Randall, Isetta Crawford Rawls, Sarah Carolyn Reese, Satiafa (Vivian V. Gordon), and Helen Earle Simcox, editor.

     Since poetry, especially by African Americans, is very difficult to get published and does not enjoy significant sales, Madgett considers her work a labor of love. A publisher once told her that his company had stopped publishing poetry because it doesn’t sell. Her reply was: “That’s why I’m doing it. Somebody has to.” Madgett does not show a preference in the style or subject matter of the books selected for publication as long as they are considered good literary poetry that will stand the test of time. As a very small press without sufficient funds to do much advertising, Madgett is happy when authors first published by Lotus are able to publish additional books with major publishers who can better promote their books. This has been the case for a number of Lotus authors. She sees herself as a ladder upon whom authors may climb to better opportunities and is proud of the part she has played in their careers as poets. At the age of 85, she plans to continue as long as she is able, but she is very much concerned about the future of Lotus Press, Inc. when she is no longer able to function.

     Except for entries in the annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, Lotus Press is not considering any unsolicited manuscripts.

Lotus Press, Inc.
Post Office Box 21607
Detroit, Michigan 48221
Telephone: (313) 861-1280     E-mail: lotuspress@comcast.net
Web Address: www.lotuspress.org