Leane Zugsmith (18 January 1903 – 13 October 1969) was an

American writer American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Biography

Zugsmith was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

on 18 January 1903 to Albert Zugsmith and Gertrude Appel. She lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, where she became a leftist journalist, proletarian writer and activist. She and playwright

Carl Randau Carl Randau (8 August 1893 - April 1969) was an American playwrightDashiell Hammett, ''Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett'', Counterpoint,U.S., 2002, p. 26/ref> and journalist. Biography A native of Iowa,Society of Sigma Xi, ''A Magazine of Sig ...

formed a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

, where she entertained guests such as

Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted aft ...

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (' ...

Heywood Broun Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. (; December 7, 1888 – December 18, 1939) was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspape ...

, and

Louis Kronenberger Louis Kronenberger (December 9, 1904April 30, 1980) was an American literary critic (longest with ''Time'', (1938-1961), novelist, and biographer who wrote extensively on drama and the 18th century. Background Kronenberger was born in Cincinnat ...

. She married Randau in 1940. She later moved to small-town

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

. She wrote novels and short stories. Her novel ''All Victories Are Alike'' is about a disillusioned newspaper columnist. ''The Summer Soldier'' is about a civil rights committee that investigates allegations of violence against workers in a southern town. American Naturalist writer

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

had a copy of ''Never Enough'' in his library. Her younger brother,

Albert Zugsmith Albert Zugsmith (April 24, 1910 – October 26, 1993) was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s. With a background in music promotion (Ted Weems, P ...

, was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s.

Bibliography

*''All Victories Are Alike'' (1929) *''Goodbye and Tomorrow'' (1931) *''Never Enough: A Novel'' (1932) *''The Reckoning'' (1934) *''A Time to Remember'' (1936) *''Home is Where You Hang Your Childhood and Other Stories'' (1937) *''L is for labor: A glossary of labor terms'' (1937) *''The Summer Soldier'' (1938) *''Hard times with easy payments: Fifteen short stories from "P M "'' (1941) *''The Setting Sun of Japan'' (1942, with husband Carl Randau) *''The Visitor'' (1946, with husband Carl Randau)

References

1903 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American novelists American women short story writers American women novelists Jewish American novelists Writers from Louisville, Kentucky Writers from New York City 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Kentucky Kentucky women writers 20th-century American Jews {{Louisville-stub