Left Front (magazine)
- Please see disambiguation page for Left Front
Left Front Magazine (1930?-1935) was an American magazine published by the Chicago chapter of the John Reed Club,[1] itself a Marxist club for writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist, activist, and poet, John Reed. The magazine is most famous for being a major early publishing venue of American author Richard Wright.
Richard Wright
In 1933, Richard Wright joined the Chicago chapter of the John Reed Club at the urging of friend Abraham Aaron.[2] The same year, he is elected executive secretary of the chapter.[3] By early 1934, Wright began writing poetry for the chapter's magazine, Left Front.[4][5] He published poems "A Red Love Note" and "Rest for the Weary" in the January–February 1934 issue[6] and became co-editor of the magazine at the same time.[1][7] "Everywhere Burning Waters Rise" appeared in the May–June 1934 issue of Left Front.[8][9]
Demise
While some sources say the CPUSA shut down the magazine in 1935,[2][10] its demise most likely came in August 1934 during a Midwest Writers Congress, when publisher Alexander Trachtenberg proposed replacement of the John Reed Club with a new (i.e., Party-sanctioned) organization called the First American Writers Congress.[11]
See also
- New Masses: magazine associated with the John Reed Club's New York chapter
- Daily Worker: newspaper published by the CPUSA from headquarters in Chicago
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Richard Wright: John Reed Club". George Washington University. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wright, Richard (1940). "john+reed+club"+chicago&source=bl&ots=48gPJizneB&sig=NToZI3z1MyCtU7xPD81eekwoE78&hl=en&ei=5K8DTMDrFYP78Aa157HEDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22john%20reed%20club%22%20chicago&f=false Native Son. Harper & Brothers. p. 468.
- ↑ "Richard Wright: Chronology 1931–1935". George Washington University. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard Wright". University of North Carolina: All American encyclopedia. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard Wright: Chronology". University of Illinois at Champlain: Modern American Poetry. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
- ↑ "On Richard Wright's Poetry". University of Illinois at Champlain: Modern American Poetry. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard Wright: Life". University of Illinois at Champlain: Modern American Poetry. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard Wright: Chronology". Independent Television Service (ITVS). Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard Wright: Primary (Poetry and Secondary Source Bibliographies". University of Illinois at Champlain: Modern American Poetry. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ "Richard N. Wright". Visit Natchez. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ↑ Ward, Jerry Washington (2008). "left+front"+1934&source=bl&ots=INYyG_y6eq&sig=lY9HnTjU5MMdm3-VJaPtKZCQRsI&hl=en&ei=q9wDTKWrNYH48AaUxbD1DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=richard%20wright%20%22left%20front%22%201934&f=false The Richard Wright Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-313-31239-7. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
External links
- Partial text of "I Tried to be a Communist", by Richard Wright
- Yale University Press: Artists on the Left by Andrew Hemingway