''Masses & Mainstream'' (1948–1963) was an American

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

monthly

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The magazine resulted from a merger between ''

New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). It was the successor to both '' The Masses'' (1911–1917) and ''The Liberator'' (1918–1924). ''New Masses'' was later merge ...

'', which ceased publication in January 1948, and ''Mainstream'', a Communist cultural quarterly established in 1947. ''Masses & Mainstream'' was edited by Samuel Sillen. On the board of editors were critics, writers and scholars including

Sidney Finkelstein Sidney Finkelstein (1909–1974) was an American cultural critic with wide-ranging interests in literature, music and fine arts, which he analyzed from a Marxist perspective. His area of particular expertise was popular music: its history, and th ...

W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

Mike Gold Michael Gold (April 12, 1893 – May 14, 1967) was the pen-name of Jewish-American writer Itzhok Isaak Granich. A lifelong communist, Gold was a novelist, journalist, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, playwright, and literary critic. His se ...

Herbert Aptheker Herbert Aptheker (July 31, 1915 – March 17, 2003) was an American Marxist historian and political activist. He wrote more than 50 books, mostly in the fields of African-American history and general U.S. history, most notably, ''American Negro ...

, Phillip Bonosky,

Lloyd L. Brown Lloyd Louis Brown (April 3, 1913 – April 1, 2003) was an American labor organizer, Communist Party activist, journalist, novelist, friend and editorial companion of Paul Robeson's, and a Robeson biographer. Early life Brown was born Lloyd Di ...

Annette Rubinstein Annette Teta Rubinstein (April 12, 1910 – June 20, 2007) was an American Marxist educator, literary critic, and activist. Biography Rubinstein was born on April 12, 1910, on the Lower East Side, in New York City. Both of her parents, Abraham ...

, and

John Howard Lawson John Howard Lawson (September 25, 1894 – August 11, 1977) was an American playwright, screenwriter, arts critic, and cultural historian. After enjoying a relatively successful career writing plays that were staged on and off Broadway in the 192 ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

was always on the masthead. Although many of the magazine's best-known contributors had written for ''New Masses'' before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Masses & Mainstream'' also provided a platform for younger writers such as

Howard Fast Howard Melvin Fast (November 11, 1914 – March 12, 2003) was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E.V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson. Biography Early life Fast was born in New York City. His mother, ...

, Thomas McGrath,

Eve Merriam Eve Merriam (July 19, 1916 – April 11, 1992) was an American poet and writer. Writing career Merriam's first book was the 1946 ''Family Circle'', which won the Yale Younger Poets Prize. In 1956, she published ''Emma Lazarus: Woman with a Torc ...

Jesús Colón Jesús Colón (1901–1974) was a Puerto Rican writer known as the Father of the Nuyorican movement. An activist and community organizer, Colón wrote poetry and stories about his experiences as an Afro-Puerto Rican living in New York. Early y ...

, and

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

. The magazine had a circulation of 17,000 in 1948, but steadily lost subscribers during the

McCarthy era McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United S ...

. ''Masses & Mainstream'' shut down in 1956. It then became an offshoot publication entitled ''Mainstream'' which lasted until 1963. In addition to its monthly magazine, ''Masses & Mainstream'' published a small number of pamphlets and books, including: *

, ''Intellectuals in the Fight for Peace'' (1949) *Samuel Sillen, ''Cold War in the Classroom'' (1950) * V. J. Jerome, ''The Negro in Hollywood Films'' (1950) *

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

, ''Let the Rail Splitter Awake and Other Poems'' (1950) *

, ''I Take My Stand for Peace'' (1951) *

, ''America's Racist Laws, Weapon of National Oppression'' (1951) *

, '' Iron City'' (1951) * Steve Nelson, ''The Volunteers'' (1953) *

, ''Film in the Battle of Ideas'' (1953) *Virginia Gardner, ''The Rosenberg Story'' (1954) * Steve Nelson, ''The 13th Juror: The Inside Story of My Trial'' (1955) *Samuel Sillen, ''Women against Slavery'' (1955)

References

Communist periodicals published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1948 Magazines disestablished in 1963 Defunct Marxist magazines Defunct magazines published in New York City Communism in New York (state) {{US-lit-mag-stub