The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-17
Writers and Artists Are
Engineers of the
Spirit

in the past, not as it has already
been told but as it has been illu-
minated by the teachings Of Marx,
Lenin and Stain.
This, in my opinion, is the task
of the Union of Writers. Our con-
gress must serve not merely as a
report to cur readers, as a parade
of our talents, but it must take
upon itself the organization Of lit
erature, the work Of training young
writers in the task, so important to
the whole country. of achieving a
thorough knowledge Of the past
and present of our country"
The Soviet Press and the
Writers Congress
THE Importance of the congress
4 found its reflection in the
amount Of space devoted to it not
only by the literary publications,
like the Moscow Literary Gazette, "
but also by the general press. Be-
low are given extracts from an Ell
torial devoted to the congress by
the Moscow "Izvestis.
To-day the All-Union Writer'S
Congress opens after long prepara-
tions. Behind it trails long string
Of congresses, conferences and
meetings in the different national
republics and regions of our coun-
try. From the West and East have
come foreign writers. those who
have felt most strongly the mag
netic attraction Of the new centsrs
Of world socialist culture. The en-
thusiasm of the response Of the
workers and collective members to
the calling Of the congress is a not
able symptom of the tremendous
growth of mass culture.
THE mysticism and pessimism-
all the shades and 'nuances' of
the theological ref1exes of the old
world-have to a great extent al
ready been outlived, and the main
ranks Of our writers march boldly
forward along their great historic
path, vigorously repulsing every re-
lapse into bourgeois theology. The
more urgently, therefore, does the
question of literary mastery now
come to the fore, the quality Of
literary production, the technique
of literary creation. the mastery Of
our whole cultural heritage, the
thorough portrayal Of the epic his
torical period Of today through the
single great style Of the present
the style Of socialist realism.
Recent years have given an ex-
ceptional impetus to the develop
ment of culture. With the raising
Of the material levels Of culture,
with the tremendous growth Of
technical knowledge and practice,
the spiritual horizons Of the masses
have widened in all directions. The
natural sciences, art Of all kinds,
the products of the highest func-
lions of the brain, which under ex-
plotting forms of society have fall
en- to the share Of the few, have re-
Gently become, with fabulous swift
ness the vital cultural requirement
of the masses. That is the real
cultural revolution, and its impet-
uous development means the plac-
ing of exceptional tasks on the
shoulders Of all cultural workers
and more particularly, literary
workers. Literature has come for
ward in our country as a powerful,
active force. The circulation of
books of all kinds is immense. The
needs are inexhaustible quantita-
lively, and with each hour they
grow quslitatively as well.
"All nationalities are included In
this great Transformation process.
And this congress, which knows no
precedent in history, must sum up
this process, must critically ana
ly5e the pluses and minuses, in
dictate the further prospects of de-
velopment. raise our whole litera-
ture to higher levels. This great
epoch in the history of humanity
must produce the greatest literature
"a literature vivid, shining. power
full, heroic. bold, a literature OF
high technical production, a litera-
ture that will lie across the CEN
turies like great theological noun
tain range, and that will be a
mighty inspiration to the people of
today and of the future We are
still far from this goal. But we are
going toward it. We must at this
congress give an example of tena-
cious labor, bold thinking, vivid
perception. The congress must
mark a new stage in this struggle
for culture"