Evening star., 1934-04-28
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN,

THE CRUCIFTxIoN OF LIBERTY.
BY Alexander Kerensky. Transla-
ted by @. Kerensky. New York:
The John Day Co.
From his exile in Paris, Kerensky,
whose government might have given
Russia a constitutional democracy II
it had been strong enough to endure,
writes Of the growth Of the revolu-
tionary spirit in Russia through q
hundred years to its great climax in
the revolutions of 1917. "The Bolshe-
vik party in 1917" he says, was a
party of the political rabble. 1t was
a host of barbarians, Of those who in
normal times burrow far below the
surface of social life. The war had
cast them up In their millions to the
surface, and the revolution now blind
ed and tempted them with that mys-
terious word that promised them
everything: Freedom. Loot what was
looted' Chuck the war, take the
land!' Knife your class enemyl' I.
Lenin was q past master at inventing
social slogans which stirred up the
most anti-social instincts" II Mr..
Kerensky's book were merely recapitu-
lation Of the events Of the double
visional government, coupled with de-
nunciation Of the long dead revolu-
tionary leader, 1t would take its place
among volumes Of past history. It is,
however. directly related to present
problems through its authors appeal
against dictatorship Of any kind and
for the re-establishment of political
and social democracy throughout the
world. The good of all the people Is
his ideal, not the good Of only a class,
whether the class be the aristocracy
or the proletariat. THE color of the
shirt does not alter the nature of
oppression. The united front of vio-
lence must be opposed by a united
front of freedom" Kerensky is at
present editor in Paris Of the White
Russian newspaper Gnu.
DURANTY REPORTS RUSSIA. BY
Walter Duranty. Selected and
Arranged by Gustavus Tuckerman,
jr., New York University. New
York: The Viking Press.
Duranty's l2-year record Of articles
from Russia to the New York Times,
containing some of the most accurate
information given the world about
that bewildering epoch, Is something
from which history is made. Alexan-
der Woollcott in personal note about
Duranty pref1xed to the book at
tributes to him much of the credit for
the recent rapprochement between the
United States and the Soviet Union.
Duranty was one of the few persons
who succeeded in obtaining interviews
with both Lenin and Stain; he was
awarded the Pulitzer prize for the
best piece Of reporting for 1891; he
was consulted by President Roosevelt
concerning Russian affairs. The Sc
lection from his articles made by
Gustavus Tuckerman is admirably
adapted both to the telling Of a
chronological story and to emphasis
on fundamental principles and
policies. The introduction Is an
article Of November 6, 1882, on
Fifteen Years of Soviet Power; the
I conclusion is one of October !, 1898,
on "Russia's Ledger: Gain and Cost"
The articles included are classified
under three heads: Russia Under
Lenin," "Stalinism" and "Collectiviza-
ton" Those who know the clarity
and crispness of Duranty's style and
his ability to draw from facts their
complete significance need no recon-
mendation of these articles, some of
his best.
SOVIET LITERATURE An Anthol-
ogy. Edited and Translated by
George Reavey and Marc Slonim
New York: Covici-Friede.
1t has seemed that with the Bel
shevist Revolution, modern Russian
literature ended. Most of the writer's
who had won distinction at the time
of the crisis went into exile. Soviet
Russia has been occupied with Com
munist reorganization and industrial
plans and little attention has been
paid to the creation of a new litera-
ture, at least so far as the outside
world has known. This anthology
does not demonstrate otherwise 1t
contains no noteworthy literary work
of length, but is composed chiefly of
short stories, with some poetry and
criticism. The names of most of the
authors represented are little known
in this country. Among the fiction
writer's are Pilnyak, Isaac Babel,
Fadeyev, Pasternak. Kaverin and
Gladkov. Poets are divided into "The
Missionaries and the Poets of the
Schism," Revolutionary and Prole-
tartan Poets" and "A Poet and the
Revolution" Boris Pasternak). The
selections, both prose and poetry, do
much, in their bald realism and occa-
slonal theorizing, to help in an under
standing of the underlying emotions
of the revolution and Communist
regime. Imagination, purely literary
quality, fine Characterization are al
most entirely lacking. 1t is question:
able II propaganda is a possible basis
for real literature. Strength obvious
ly characterizes Soviet literature, but
beauty is lacking, at any rate beauty
in the conservatively accepted sense.
AS a reference book, showing what
communism has inspired in literature
since 1917, the anthology is valuable.
Biographical sketches of all the au-
thors included add greatly to the ref
erence utility. The editorial essay by
Marc Slonim on THE New Spirit in
Russian Literature" contains much
information and interesting, sympa-
thetic criticism. Mr. Slonim is the
author of a historical work From
Peter the Great to Lenin," published
in French.
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ANITRA'S DANCE. BY Fannie Hurst.
New York: Harper & Bros.
Artistic households are prone to &C.
centricity. extravaganza, melodrama.
In THE Constant Nymph," Margaret
Kennedy made her Sanger family, in
its high Tyrol home, intensely real
in all its absurdity. When conven-
tional relatives broke up the family,
1t seemed sin against the truth of
nature. Fannie Hurst does not sue
coed in attaching us similarly to the
Bruno household, in "Anitra's Dance"
1t Is equally mad, according to all
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