The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-14

Opinion. Published by the John
Reed Clubs Of the West at Box
2OSS, Hollywood. California. Vol.
!, No. 4. March, 1894.
Reviewed by GRANVILLE HICKS
THE striking thing about The
l Partisan is that it contains so
much good journalism. In this is
sue, for example. we find an article
on the A. F. Of L. policy among the
movie men, a summary of recent
labor struggles in California, and
an account Of the theses OF the
18th Plenum Of the Executive Com
mittee of the Communist Interna-
tionsl. There Is also a short ar
ticle answering s. N. Behrman's de-
Tense of the movies, a sketch of a
milk strike, and report by a relief
worker. On the back page are news
letters. Even the cultural depart
ments are, for the most part, jour-
nalistic: The effect Of the depres-
sion on musicians, the c. w. A.
projects for artists, the need for a
workers theatre.
This seems to me a decidedly good
thing, and I believe that The Par
tican is pointing the way for other
John Reed Club organs. OF course,
there ought to places where pro-
letarian literature can be printed,
and I trust that the editors of The
Partisan are not turning down any
great short stories and fine poems.
But the truth is that great short
stories and fine poems are not writ
ten every month, whereas good jour-
nslism is always possible. Journal
ism, moreover, Is extremely good
practice for the short story writer's
and poets OF course, only certain
types of reporting are effective in
monthly publication, but the edi-
tors Of The Partisan seem to me to
have been successful in selecting the
kind Of news articles that belong
in such periodical.
There is one short story in the
issue, THE Rope" by John McGre-
gor. 1t suffers from over condensa-
ton; the author has tried to cram
into it more than any short story
can carry. He has good theme,
however, and the characters do at
moments come to life.
Title Lerner has taken the letter
Of Felipe Ibarro in the New Masses
of January 9, and has found in it it's
essential poetry. The result, called
Il want You Women Up North to
Know" is one of the finest contri-
buttons to the growing body Of
workers correspondence in verse. If
1t was Mike Gold who originated
this idea, he can be thanked for
discovering one of the richest veins
of proletarian literature. The other
poem in the issue, "Canticle OF
Labor" by Theodore Erwin, Is less
effective,
The weakest section Of The Parti-
san Is that devoted to books. There
Is an amusing and pointed note by
Guy Bruce on the publishers habit
of putting out one book on the right
and then one on the left, but the
reviews are weak. The review of
Fox's Lenin is rather undiscriminat-
ing, and the review of The Natives
Return is merely news-note. Con-
rad Sellers account Of Mussolini's
Fascist Manifesto is informative but
that is all, Some Of the brief para
graphs show more critical ability
than the longer reviews.
On the whole The Partisan is sat-
isfying because it Is alive. Too often
magazines of this sort betray, either
in a constant preoccupation with
slogans or in sheer pedanticism, a
kind Of remoteness from the strug-
gle. Moreover, it is firmly rooted
in its locality; it belongs to Cali
fornia. 1t seems to me that, though
the editors and writers have good
deal to learn, they are taking the
right course. and we can expect bet
ter and better things from them.