Left-wing Press Research Articles

The "Labour Prophet"?: Representations of Walt Whitman in the British Nineteenth-Century Socialist Press

The s ignificance of Walt Whitman to British socialism has long been recognized: in emerging fin de siecle labor movement, socialist peri- odicals printed articles about him and extracts from his poems; socialist orators spoke of him and quoted from Leaves of Grass ; his poems were set to music, published in labor movement songbooks, and sung at Labor Church meetings; Leaves of Grass was advertised and recommended to socialist readers alongside economic and political publications; he was even featured in a calendar of socialist saints. As M. Wynn Thomas has convincingly argued in relation to Edward Carpenter's Whitman- esque collection of poetry Towards Democracy, these can be seen as acts of translation: Whitman's democratic vision was removed from its American context and reconstructed so that it was applicable to Britain and socialist cause.1 For Whitman, America and were convertible terms, interchangeable conceptually and linguisti- cally.2 Clearly, British commentators did not interpret in this way, and as Thomas observes, it was a ver y heatedly contested term.3 Socialists were one group who incorporated it into their vocabu- lary, and in discourses of this movement, tended to be used either synonymously with or to denote an overarching category which included not only socialism but other movements which worked towards creating a more equal society. In this way, W hitman, who was frequently dubbed of democracy by contemporary critics, was seen to have a special message for labor movement and could be claimed as a poet of British socialism.This essay is part of a larger research project which examines how Whitman was represented, interpreted, and used in socialist publications in late nineteenth century. My aim is to use examples, or speci- mens (to use a W hitmanian term), from three periodicals to give an overview of some of ways in which he was invoked by fin de siecle socialist journalists. It is not always easy to determine what constitutes a socialist publication; at end of nineteenth century, anarchism and socialism were not such distinct ideologies, and it can be difficult to pinpoint where radical liberalism ended and socialism began. For purposes of this study I follow Deborah Mutch in defining socialist periodical in same way that Deian Hopkin defines left-wing press: as papers that espoused socialism or one of its variants and generally regarded themselves as politically on opposite side, so to speak, of conventional press.4 The periodicals selected-Seed-Time, The Labour Prophet, and The Labour Leader -span a period from 1889 (when first number of Seed-Time was published) to 1922 (when The Labour Leader became The New Leader). This gives a sense of progres- sion, showing how socialism developed and how this development had an impact on way that socialist periodicals treated Whitman and literature more generally.These three publications were chosen according to two further criteria. First and most obviously, they had to engage with Whitman and his work. This criterion was not established in an attempt to provide a skewed notion of Whitman's importance but, rather, to show how he was appropriated when he was appropriated. The second consideration was variety, as I felt it would be fruitful to examine journals that served different socialist purposes and had different intended readerships. As journal for Fellowship of New Life (a group interested in religious thought, ethical propaganda, and social reform that gathered around philosopher Thomas Davidson in 1883), Seed-Time is associated with what has been described as the fons et origo of later nineteenth- century ethical socialism of England.5 The Fellowship promoted a form of socialism that prioritized development of individual spirit over state reform, and individualism was not seen as being antithetical to socialism, a philosophy which has strong resonances with Whitman's cel- ebration of both individual and social whole. …

Torture and Masculinity in George Grosz's Interregnum

This article examines the exiled German artist George Grosz's Interregnum, a print portfolio published in New York in 1936, in particular Grosz's depiction of the interrogation and torture of political prisoners such as Erich Muhsam in the concentration camps established after Hitler's appointment as Reich chancellor. Grosz's drawings, compared with other representations of the camps in the mainstream press and by left-wing artists, are distinguished by their treatment of the masculinities of both the perpetrators and the victims. Gay Nazis, frequently evoked by the left-wing press in the early 1930s, abuse impotent antifascist intellectuals, incessantly ridiculed by Grosz in his letters. Thus the article concludes that the portfolio not only offered a mordant critique of Nazi brutality but also dismissed European civilization. Both Nazi perpetrators and their victims embodied perverse or abject masculinities that Grosz, who portrayed himself as a priapic heterosexual artist in the American landscape, rejected. Language: en

Joe Hill and the Rhetoric of Radicalism

When Joe Hill was arrested for murder in Salt Lake City in 1914, he was known by fellow members of the Industrial of the World (IWW) as the author of popular contributions to their but outside the IWW he was as known as any other itinerant laborer. In more than a year, Hill's erratic but courageous actions during his murder trial turned the obscure songsmith into a labor martyr. Hill often made decisions that hurt his chances for acquittal, yet enhanced his image as a working-class hero. He refused to provide an alibi, stubbornly insisting that the American legal system live up to its claim that all defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial based on evidence and the rule of law. Nor would he explain the gunshot wound he suffered on the night of the murders, the main piece of circumstantial evidence against him, claiming that he needed to remain silent to protect a woman's honor. In the middle of the trial, Hill angrily dismissed his court-appointed attorneys, accusing them of working with the prosecution, and insisted on defending himself. Although the prosecutor presented only circumstantial evidence connecting Hill to the murders, and witnesses changed their stories to implicate Hill, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Thousands signed petitions supporting Joe Hill, and President Woodrow Wilson twice appealed to the Governor of Utah to grant a new trial.1By this time, Hill was no longer an anonymous migrant worker. He had become the IWW incarnate, the quintessential Wobbly, as members of the IWW were called. The image of Hill as a thief and cold-blooded murderer epitomized the capitalist propaganda about traitorous, bombthrowing radicals, and right-wing newspapers denounced Hill as typical of the IWW menace. Meanwhile, the left idolized Hill as a workingclass poet incapable of murder, who was being railroaded by a crooked legal system intent on silencing the Wobbly bard. While in prison, Hill continued to write songs, including the wellknown anthem Workers of the World Awaken. Hill's letters, widely reprinted in the left-wing press, argued for his innocence but at the same time expressed his determination to use his case to expose injustices in the legal system. His final telegram commanded - Don't mourn for me - organize! - and these words remain a rallying cry for radicals. When Hill was executed by firing squad in Salt Lake City in November 1915, his status as a labor martyr was assured.This article explores how Joe Hill's martyr image was created and how it has been perpetuated in opposition to the hegemonic narratives of capitalism. It does not address the question of Hill's guilt or innocence, which has preoccupied many scholars; instead it examines Hill's songs and prison letters, as well as the rhetorical battles over Hill's image, to reveal how radical social movements appropriate and revise powerful aspects of the dominant discourse to persuade others to fight for social change. The first part of the article examines Joe Hill's songs in their historical performance context to better understand the role they played in radicalizing workers. Clearly the most popular contributions to the IWW's little red songbook, Hill's songs, taken together, constitute a singable synopsis of the Wobblies' philosophy of class struggle.2 Hill's habit of writing new words for familiar tunes, his ironic humor, and his knack for turning abstract IWW philosophy into memorable human dramas in song all contributed to the popularity and lasting appeal of his work. Often rewriting Christian rhetoric to point out the hypocrisy of religion's close collaboration with capitalism's mistreatment of workers, Hill's songs create an alternative vision of a worker's paradise on earth. This battle for the rhetorical high ground, which Hill waged in his songs, intensified with his arrest on charges of murder. The second section considers how Joe Hill created a martyr image for himself during his trail and subsequent appeals. …

The Air Panic of 1935: British Press Opinion between Disarmament and Rearmament

The British fear of bombing in the early twentieth century has aptly been termed ‘the shadow of the bomber’. But the processes by which the public learned about the danger of bombing are poorly understood. This paper proposes that the press was the primary source of information about the threat, and examines a formative period in the evolution of public concern about airpower — the so-called air panic of 1935 — during which German rearmament was revealed and large-scale RAF expansion undertaken in response. A proposed air pact between the Locarno powers enabled a shift from support of disarmament to rearmament by newspapers on the right, while simultaneously supporting collective security. Paradoxically, after initially supporting the air pact, the left-wing press and its readers began to have doubts, for the same reason: the need to support collective security. This episode sheds new light on Britain’s early rearmament, and how the government was able to undertake it, despite the widespread feelings in the electorate in favour of disarmament.

Отражение в прессе левых партий майского переворота 1926 года в Польше

Отражение в прессе левых партий майского переворота 1926 года в Польше

Ignazio Silone in Exile: Writing and Antifascism in Switzerland, 1929-44

Contents: Preface, Introduction: Silone in the context of comparative exile research The conditions of literary exile in Switzerland, 1929-44 Silone's role in the Swiss left-wing press: social politics and technology in information, 1932-34 The reception and rewriting of Brot und Wein/Pane e vino: 'The story of the human race... ever-changing and unchanging' Silone's role in the Swiss left-wing press: literature and society in Die Zeit, Das freie Wort and Der Aufbau, (1936-44) Dialogue versus demagogy: Silone's evolving critique of fascism and the dictator figure Conclusion: 'The choice of comrades' Selected bibliography Index.

AN INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD SAID

A slightly shorter version of the following was published in Hebrew as ‘Soon I won't be here’ (with Daphna Vard) in Ha'aretz 26 February 1993. Since there was never an English-language version – Ha'aretz began publishing an English edition only a few years later – it has largely been forgotten, and has never been re-published. It was, we believe, the first major ‘introduction’ of Edward Said to a non-specialist Israeli audience: his The Question of Palestine had been published there by a small left-wing press, but Orientalism was translated only in 2000 and most of Said's other works remain unavailable in Hebrew (or indeed in Arabic). The fact that the article was thus directed at readers either with little knowledge of Said, or who were likely to have a vague but hostile image of him, explains the sometimes elementary-level nature of the questioning. Also relevant to its original context are that it coincided both with the publication of Culture and Imperialism, and with Said's having very shortly before been diagnosed with the illness which, a decade later, was to take his life.

Reds, Whites, and the Blues: Lawrence Gellert, "Negro Songs of Protest," and the Leftwing Folksong Revival of the 1930s and 1940s

In 1936, a slim songbook of African American vernacular music was published by the American Music League, a Popular Front-affiliate of the Communist Party U.S.A. Negro Songs of Protest, as the volume was titled, included just twenty-four song transcriptions and accompanying musical arrangements. Nevertheless, the modest publication featured lyrics of black discontent and rebellion rarely encountered by a white readership. There were, among the striking compositions, verses of caustic irony and warning: You take mah labor An' steal mah time Give me ol' dish pan An' a lousy dime 'Cause I'm a nigger, dat's why White man, white man Sit in de shade Heah in de hot sun I sweat wid his spade 'Cause I'm a nigger, dat's why I feel it comin', Cap'n Goin' see you in Goddamn Take mah pick an' shovel Bury you in Debbil's lan' 'Cause I'm a nigger dat's why ("Cause I'm a Nigger") There were also expressions of black religious disillusionment and militant worldly defiance: [End Page 179] Sistren an' brethren Stop foolin' wid pray (2x) When black face is lifted Lawd turnin' away Yo' head tain' no apple Fo' danglin' from a tree (2x) Yo' body no carcass For barbacuin' on a spree Stand on yo' feet Club gripped 'tween yo' hands (2x) Spill dere blood too Show 'em yo's is a man's ("Sistren an' Brethren") Such lines were characteristic of the evocations of race, class, and protest collected within the songbook. Their release in print sounded a note of revolution in terms of both the culture and politics of the modern United States.1 The compiler behind the book was one Lawrence Gellert, an independent white music collector who had been documenting black protest traditions in the South for more than a decade. The younger brother of prominent radical artist Hugo Gellert, Lawrence was an active proponent of the Communist movement of the era. Since 1930, he had been contributing articles of song lyrics and commentary culled from his fieldwork to such left-wing periodicals as New Masses. With this first book publication—to be followed by a second, "Me and My Captain", in 1939—Gellert received considerable acclaim. In a short profile in 1936, Time magazine applauded the "lean, scraggly-haired New Yorker" for his skill in "collecting Negro songs that few white men have ever heard." His collection, determined the New York Times, unearthed a "new genre" of black music dealing with "the realities of Negro life." The left-wing press was even more enthusiastic. The Communist Party newspaper Daily Worker called the release of Negro Songs of Protest a "landmark in American culture." Composer Lan Adomian, in New Masses, wrote that the book featured "some of the finest examples in Negro folk music" of the day. The material, he concluded, represented an "indictment" against long-standing white ignorance and denial, a stark rebuke to "the slander that a nation of thirteen million people, reduced to peonage, is nothing more than a grand minstrel show."2 Nearly seventy years later, Lawrence Gellert's name has fallen into obscurity. More important, his impressive documentary archive of African American [End Page 180] musical protest rarely gains a hearing.3 Gellert researcher Bruce Conforth has identified close to half of the work songs, chain gang songs, hollers, and blues in the full collection as "overt songs of protest." This compares with "less than 5 percent," he concludes, in the collections of recognized predecessors and peers in the field of white research on black vernacular music. Along the same line, blues scholars Guido van Rijn and Bruce Bastin have written on the Gellert archive as a valuable "alternative source," as Bastin put it, to the canon housed in the Archive of American Folk-Song at the...

Culture as communication: the rise of the left-wing press in South Africa

Culture as communication: the rise of the left-wing press in South Africa

Papers for the millions: the new journalism in Britain, 1850s to 1914

Preface Introduction Part I: The Beginnings of the New Journalism The Old Journalism and the New: Forms of Cultural Production in London in the 1880s A Precursor of the New Journalism: Frederick Greenwood of the Pall Mall Gazette How New Was the New Journalism? Fleet Street in the 1880s: The New Journalism Part II: The Flowering of the New Journalism W. T. Stead and Democracy by Journalism Politics and the New Journalism: Lord Esher's Use of the Pall Mall Gazette The Star: Its Role in the Rise of the New Journalism The New Journalism in Wales Part III: Subjects and Audiences Marriage or Celibacy?: A Victorian Dilemma The Philistine and the New: J. A. Spender on Art and Morality The Left-Wing Press and the New Journalism Women's Periodicals and the New Journalism: The Personal Interview Pulling Strings at Printing House Square Part IV: An Assessment Good Journalism in the Era of the New Journalism: The British Press, 1902-1914 Bibliographical Essay Index

And They Sang the “Marseillaise”: A Look at the Left French Press as It Responded to the Haymarket

This is a tale of two cities: Chicago and Paris. They were different worlds, one the gem of western Europe, the other the gem of the prairies, yet both had a working-class movement in the 1870s and 1880s that produced a unique set of historical events which have served a symbolic function of communicating between one side of the globe and another. To illustrate these events as they appeared to one continent from the other I will begin with Chicago and demonstrate how the Paris Commune served as a symbolic event which gave meaning to local political struggles in the Windy City. Then, as the Haymarket Affair of 1886 unfolds, I will shift to Paris and the left-wing press as it tried to translate Chicago events into something meaningful for French workers. If these were the best of times and worst of times for workers in the late nineteenth century, then it is worth exploring the uses of these events in the creation of a working-class language of internationalism.

The Local State and Local Economic Policy: Why the Fuss?

In the last decade, and especially since the accession of a radical right wing government to power in 1979, local government and the ‘local state’ has re-emerged as an important area of debate and public interest in Britain. This is not just a matter of academic journals, professional politicians and the inside pages of ‘serious newspapers'. Local government has become front page and even TV news material. Right-wing popular papers sell copy through sensationalist headlines about ‘Red Ken’ (the Greater London Council leader), the dangers of ‘municipal marxism’ and ‘socialism on the rates’. This is mirrored, and also exaggerated by the more earnest and less manipulative reports in the left wing press on local socialism, decentralisation, popular planning, and the scope for local economic regeneration. Even those shadowy local state institutions outside the orbit of officially public electoral policies, like police authorities, water boards and health authorities, now share some of this interest. Above all, there is a clear, continuing and at times rather dramatic crisis in relations between central and local government. Furthermore, this is a crisis which often cuts across party lines or becomes identified with internal party conflicts—localist v. centralist, left v. right, Thatcherite v. the wets, monetarist v. patrician.

Du neuf on the "Banquet of the People," June, 1848

Some years ago in the pages of this journal I published an article that tried to solve the problem of whether the June 1848 insurrection was organized or spontaneous by focusing on the campaign for a monster Banquet of the People, Fraternization of the Workers, which attracted widespread attention just prior to the outbreak.' My findings indicated a striking contrast between the attitudes of a militant rank and file, enthusiastically welcoming a mass gathering of the Paris workers, and those of a club leadership, anxious to avoid trouble in the belief that the working class would become the first victim of violence By implication, I construed the clubs' sabotage of the potentially insurrectionary banquet as circumstantial evidence that the June insurrection was indeed a spontaneous outburst in which the radical leaders played at best the part of reluctant followers. The justification for this somewhat roundabout approach to the motives and outlook of the insurgents was the seeming lack of direct evidence. My documentation was based on a perusal of much of the left-wing press, supplemented by some unpublished police reports and other documents from the archives of the parliamentary commission that investigated the causes of the June uprising.2 The aim of this note is to set the record straight on the basis of new evidence, while using this opportunity to draw the attention of

Freedom of Conscience

On May 19, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Harry Sacher v. United States reversing Mr. Sacher's conviction by a lower court of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer certain questions put to him by the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security. This case is in some ways unique among the hundreds of witch-hunt cases of the last few years, for, so far as we know, Harry Sacher alone refused to answer questions about his politics solely on grounds of conscience and without invoking any amendment to the Constitution. Since the case has been largely neglected, even by the left-wing press, and since Harry Sacher's statement before the Senate subcommittee is one of which Americans can not only be proud but from which they can take heart, we publish below the key excerpt from the committee hearings. In doing so, we pay our respects to a man who has given us all a welcome and invigorating lesson in courage and principle. —The Editors.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.