New Masses

New Masses was a prominent American Marxist magazine that played a significant role in the American literary scene of the 20th century, closely associated with the American Communist Party and influential figures like Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin. The magazine was founded in 1926 by a group of American intellectuals, including Michael Gold, Granville Hicks, and Hugo Gellert, with the goal of promoting proletarian literature and socialist realism, as exemplified by authors like Upton Sinclair, Theodore Dreiser, and John Steinbeck. New Masses was known for its radical editorial position, which often sparked controversy and debate among its readers, including notable figures like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Langston Hughes. The magazine's contributors and editors were often involved in the American labor movement, with ties to organizations like the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the American Federation of Labor.

● History

The history of New Masses is closely tied to the American Left and the Communist Party USA, with many of its contributors and editors being members of the party, including Earl Browder, William Z. Foster, and Jay Lovestone. The magazine was initially published weekly, with a focus on literary criticism, political commentary, and cultural analysis, featuring writers like Max Eastman, John Reed, and Mary Heaton Vorse. New Masses was also known for its graphic art and cartoons, with contributions from artists like Hugo Gellert, William Gropper, and Art Young, who were influenced by the Mexican muralism movement and artists like Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. Throughout its run, the magazine faced financial difficulties and censorship, including a notable Supreme Court case, Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc., which involved Esquire magazine and had implications for New Masses, as well as other publications like The Nation and The New Republic.

● Editorial_position

The editorial position of New Masses was firmly rooted in Marxist theory and socialist ideology, with a strong emphasis on class struggle and revolutionary politics, as influenced by thinkers like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. The magazine's editors and contributors were critical of capitalism and imperialism, and often expressed support for Soviet and Chinese Communist movements, including the Russian Revolution and the Chinese Civil War. New Masses also published articles and essays on feminism, racism, and anti-Semitism, featuring writers like Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, and W.E.B. Du Bois, who were influenced by the women's suffrage movement and the Civil Rights Movement. The magazine's radical editorial position often put it at odds with mainstream American culture and politics, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated figures like Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley.

● Notable_contributors

New Masses featured a wide range of notable contributors, including Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Nelson Algren, who were influenced by the Lost Generation and the Harlem Renaissance. The magazine also published work by European intellectuals like Bertolt Brecht, Georg Lukacs, and Walter Benjamin, who were associated with the Frankfurt School and the Institute for Social Research. Other notable contributors included American artists like Thomas Hart Benton, John Sloan, and Stuart Davis, who were influenced by the Regionalist and American Modernism movements, as well as musicians like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, who were associated with the American folk music revival.

● Impact_and_legacy

The impact and legacy of New Masses can be seen in its influence on American literature and politics, with many of its contributors going on to become prominent figures in the American Left, including Michael Harrington, Irving Howe, and C. Wright Mills. The magazine's emphasis on proletarian literature and socialist realism also influenced the development of American literary movements like Social Realism and Radical Fiction, as seen in the work of authors like John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, and Upton Sinclair. New Masses also played a significant role in promoting cultural exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, with many of its contributors traveling to the Soviet Union and writing about their experiences, including Lincoln Steffens and Anna Louise Strong.

● Publication_details

New Masses was published weekly from 1926 to 1948, with a total of over 1,000 issues, featuring a wide range of literary genres, including poetry, short stories, and essays, as well as graphic art and cartoons. The magazine was initially published by Librado Rivera and Hugo Gellert, and later by the New Masses Publishing Company, with a circulation of around 20,000 copies per issue, reaching readers like FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. New Masses was also known for its special issues, which focused on topics like labor rights, civil rights, and anti-fascism, featuring contributors like A.J. Muste, Bayard Rustin, and Paul Robeson. Despite its relatively short run, New Masses remains an important part of American literary history and a testament to the power of radical journalism and socialist ideology, influencing publications like The Nation and The New Republic. Category:American literary magazines