Left Front (magazine)
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''Left Front Magazine'' (1933-1935) was an American magazine published by the Chicago chapter of the
John Reed Club The John Reed Clubs (1929–1935), often referred to as John Reed Club (JRC), were an American federation of local organizations targeted towards Marxist writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist and activist John ...
, itself a
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
club for writers, artists, and
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
s, 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. The same year, he is elected executive secretary of the chapter and founded ''Left Front''. By early 1934, Wright began writing poetry for the chapter's magazine, ''Left Front''. He published poems "A Red Love Note" and "Rest for the Weary" in the January–February 1934 issue and became co-editor of the magazine at the same time. "Everywhere Burning Waters Rise" appeared in the May–June 1934 issue of ''Left Front''.


Demise

While some sources say the CPUSA shut down the magazine in 1935, its demise most likely came in August 1934 during a Midwest Writers Congress, when publisher
Alexander Trachtenberg Alexander "Alex" Trachtenberg (23 November 1884 – 26 December 1966) was an American publisher of radical political books and pamphlets, founder and manager of International Publishers of New York. He was a longtime activist in the Socialist Part ...
proposed replacement of the John Reed Club with a new (i.e., Party-sanctioned) organization called the First American Writers Congress.


See also

* ''
New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...
'': magazine associated with the John Reed Club's New York chapter * ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'': newspaper published by the CPUSA from headquarters in Chicago


References


External links


Partial text of "I Tried to be a Communist", by Richard Wright

Yale University Press
''Artists on the Left'' b
Andrew Hemingway
Communist periodicals published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Communist magazines Communism in the United States Communist Party USA publications Magazines established in 1933 Magazines disestablished in 1935 Magazines published in Chicago 1933 establishments in Illinois 1935 disestablishments in Illinois {{Communist-party-stub