from my collection:

GLOWCHILD - A BELATED BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO RUBY DEE, OCTOBER 27, 2011

• Though known as a celebrated actress/activist, Ruby’s earliest interest in the arts was through her poetry, which was published in the Amsterdam News.
• Ruby Dee’s 1st book publication as author/editor is GLOWCHILD and OTHER POEMS from 1972.
• John Henrik Clarke, editor of Freedomways, was instrumental in reacquainting Ruby with her long time passion for poetry through this editorship opportunity.
• The book includes poems from junior high and high school students in Ruby’s neighborhood, New Rochelle, alongside poems by herself, John Henrik Clarke, Abiodun Oyewole, Margaret Burroughs et al.
• Glowchild was later made into a young audience TV special, Today is Ours.  Harry Belafonte , young writers included in the book and the entire Davis family contributed creative skills to the production.
• The Third Press, publisher of Glowchild, also published Katherine Dunham, Chinua Achebe, Angela Davis and many others throughout the 70’s & 80’s.
• Joseph Okpaku, owner of The Third Press, is currently a renowned player in the realm of African telecommunications development.

Dee, Ruby. Glowchild, and Other Poems. New York: Third Press, Joseph Okpaku Pub. Co, 1972. Print.