Printing the Message for the People: The Making of Citizen Printer

For several years, Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., and Letterform Archive Books Publisher Lucie Parker worked closely together to tell Kennedy’s story in print. The resulting monograph, Citizen Printer, features more than 800 reproductions representing the full breadth of Kennedy’s 35-year career in letterpress printing (including rarely seen artist’s books), plus essays that explore Kennedy’s influences and personal mission of printing words of social justice for the masses.

Citizen Printer is also Kennedy's major solo exhibition, curated by design educator and practitioner Kelly Walters and on view now through January at Letterform Archive. With over 150 type-driven artifacts from the self-described “humble negro printer," this exhibition, together with the book, embraces the rich cultural traditions of Black printing and the importance of free expression.

In-person at the San Francisco Public Library (recorded for online viewing later), Kennedy and Parker will riff on their adventures in bringing the book to life, while exploring the experiences that have shaped Kennedy as a printing revolutionary.

You'll have an opportunity to purchase Amos' books—and get them signed—after the program's Q&A.

Letterform Lectures are a public aspect of the Type West postgraduate program. The series is co-presented by the San Francisco Public Library, where events are free and open to all.

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., was working a corporate job when, at nearly forty, he discovered the art of letterpress printing on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Kennedy then devoted himself to the craft, earning an MFA in graphic design at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He now operates Kennedy Prints!, a letterpress printshop in Detroit. He has been featured in outlets like Hyperallergic, the New York Times, and the Economist, and he has exhibited in dozens of museums and galleries across the United States, including Poster House, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the libraries of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lucie Parker, made her first book when she was three years old, and — 200-plus titles later — she shows no sign of letting up. With nearly 15 years’ experience crafting best-selling books for the trade and gift markets, Lucie specializes in producing high-end, design-driven books, often in collaboration with museums — such as the Exploratorium and the Walt Disney Family Museum — and magazines, such as Popular Science. Lucie was formerly a senior editor at Weldon Owen Publishing, where she developed more than 20 art, lifestyle, and technology titles a year. We are thrilled to have her expertise and enthusiasm as we ramp up the Archive’s publishing program.

Host or Publisher Letterform Archive