Between the Covers

Unbound. A group of 52 assorted typed, carbon, and photomechanically reproduced loose quarto sheets. Near fine with light edgewear, some age-toning, and a couple of sheets with foxing. A collection of 30 poems written by Watts Writers Workshop member Blossom Powe. The poems here are housed in an envelope with Powes’ address and are accompanied by a one-page biography and a typed letter dated 2/27/70 to a “Mr. Laning” requesting he pass along her poetry to the actress Paulene Myers for her consideration.

The Workshop was founded in 1965 by author and screenwriter Budd Schulberg as a way to help the South Los Angeles neighborhood after nearly a week of rioting following an altercation with police. The writing program garnered national television coverage and resulted in the publication of two anthologies, *From the Ashes: Voices of Watts* and *Watts Poets: A Book of New Poetry & Essays*.

This group totals 30 poems, that vary in length from one to five pages, with all largely clean versions with few if any edits or notations. Included are the three poems that appear in the anthology *From the Ashes: Voices of Watts*: “Black Phoenix,” “What Can I Say?” and “Tomorrow”; the complete five-page version of the poem “Black Ivory,” which was included in the 1967 issue of *The Antioch Review* that featured work by the Watts Writers Workshop, but only in excerpt form; and the poem “To A Young Blood,” which was read by Powe in the 1968 NBC television documentary, *Tell It Like It Is*. Many of the remaining 24 poems, with titles like “Ache!”, “The Price,” “Each Day,” “Like What Americans?”, "A Thousand Candles," and “Now That Famous Incident,” which address the difficult life and every day struggles of the resident of Watts during the late Sixties, could not be located in print.

According to *From the Ashes*, Powe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, worked as a chorus girl at the Club Riviera jazz club as a teenager, and was the valedictorian of her high school before moving to Los Angeles where she married and had six children. Powe seems not to have published anything aside from what appeared in the two anthologies and a few contemporary publications related to the Workshop. In fact, the only other appearance of Powe we could find was in the much later 2008 *Kerner Plus 40 Report*, issued by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, which includes her comments about life in Watts during the 1960s and makes only a passing reference to the Workshop.

A notable collection of poetry including a number of unpublished works written during the immediate aftermath of the tragic Watts Riots.

Item #448119