The Eugene B. Redmond Interviews
SIUE alumnus and Emeritus Professor Eugene B. Redmond wears many hats -- as a poet, scholar, teacher, mentor, and cultural activist.
Dr. Redmond has written and edited numerous works of poetry. He is also the author of the definitive literary study Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry: A Critical History (1976). In these interviews, Dr. Redmond talks about his experiences as a pioneering black studies academician and Black Arts Movement poet, his connections to SIUE and East St. Louis, and much more.
Eugene B. Redmond Oral History Interview 1: October 11, 2011
Link to transcript of Interview 1
Interviewed by: Mary Rose
Recorded by: Virginia Stricklin
© 2011 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Redmond discusses attending SIUE at the East St. Louis Center, his mentors, his work as a teacher-counselor at SIUE's Experiment in Higher Education, Katherine Dunham, East St. Louis, and other topics. He also demonstrates the yonvalou dance.
Eugene B. Redmond Oral History Interview 2: November 23, 2011
Link to transcript of Interview 2
Interviewed by: Howard Rambsy II
Recorded by: Virginia Stricklin
© 2011 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Redmond discusses the meaning of the word "drumvoices," disengaging from Eurocentric poetry, Melvin B. Tolson, creating black studies programs, writing Drumvoices: The Mission of Afro-American Poetry, and other topics. He also discusses selected photographs from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection.
Eugene B. Redmond Oral History Interview 3: March 12, 2012
Link to transcript of Interview 3
Interviewed by: Howard Rambsy II & Mary Rose
Recorded by: Virginia Stricklin
© 2012 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Dr. Redmond reads and explains several of his poems. He discusses Miles Song, Milestone, and Funky-Grace with Howard Rambsy; and The Eye in the Ceiling, Highflown: Love, Sonnet Serenade/Soulo Beauty, and River of Bones and Flesh and Blood with Mary Rose.
About the interviewers:
Howard Rambsy II is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He writes about African American literary history, black poetry, digital humanities, and contemporary publishing history. Rambsy is the author of the book The Black Arts Enterprise -- a study of African American poetry during the 1960s and 1970s.
Mary Rose is an Associate Professor in the Library and Information Services department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. As the Metadata Librarian, she has developed digital collections related to the Eugene B. Redmond Collection, including the EBR African American Cultural Life collection. She is working on a writing project about Dr. Redmond's personal library.
Virginia Stricklin is the Digital Imaging Specialist in the Library and Information Services department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She has digitized photographs, manuscripts, and audio recordings from the Eugene B. Redmond Collection for digital presentation and preservation. She has also served as the photographer and videographer recording Dr. Redmond at numerous library events.
Visit Digital LIS on the SIUE Library and Information Services website to see additional digital projects related to the Eugene B. Redmond Collection.