BOOKS Anthology of future works by writers who defy McCarthyism | HAVE always been a pushover for anthologies. The word is derived from “anthos” which is Greek for flowers, and “lego” to gather, and anthologies are liter- ary bouquets gathering together what the editors considers the choicest blooms in the particu- lar garden of his interest. The collection before me now has inded a singular and unique theme. It is an anthology of the future, rather than the past. It contains 19 pieces from works in progress by 19 American au- thors, all of them works which International Publishers intends to publish. Quite aside from the quality of the 19 pieces, there is inspira- tion in the fact that at a time when the left is under fierce at- tack, when the right is joyfully proclaiming the decline of Marx- ist writing, when the publisher, Alexander Trachtenbeng, is him- self - facing a prison term for printing such books, 19 vital Marxist books are being written in the U.S. This anthology, Looking For- ward, published by International to commemorate its 30th anni- versary, offers a good substantial chapter from each of these works. And the samples be- speak not only of the vitality of these writers and of the move- ment they represent but also the Scope and variety of their -inter- ests. The result is a volume which is in the first place fascin- ating reading, and beyond that illuminates new areas of human knowledge. “Read and see,” says Alexan- der Trachtenberg in his foreford, “what the bookburners would like to destroy in the flames of anti-Communist hysteria.’ What they would destroy is among other things an indictment of their bookburning, an indictment which. inspires the readers through increased understanding to stay their hands and save a Precious heritage of culture. it nm xt James S. Allen opens the book with a very penetrating discus- sion of the crisis in the foreign and domestic policies of US. -~big business. . Herbert Aptheker, in a section e nt itled “The. Constitution” strips the subject of some. non- sense current for the last 30 years in liberal circles. Meridel Le Sueur’s chapter on her family in the’ northwest is superb writing which confirms again my estimate that hers. is one of the finest literary talents in the U.S. today. Philip Foner provides a new chapter in labor history by his researches into the attitude of the American Federation ‘of La- bor to the Negro question in its early days. From Oakley Johnson’s forth- coming biography of Charles Ruthenberg, one of the founders of the U.S. Communist party, there is a vivid picture of the life and times of a socialist in Cleveland at the turn of the century and then at the outbreak of roe First World War. in Art Shields’ biograph of Pat Cush, there is a eo account of the Homestead strike and the beginnings of the 1919. drive to organize steel. Throu this story Pat emerges as ne militant young Irish-American whose contributions to the or- ganization and struggles of the American working class have given him a claim to a niche in labor’s hall of fame. Joseph North offers two ex- cerpts from his forthcoming vol- ume on Robert Minor, U.S. Com- munist leader, who died two MERIDEL LE SUEUR HOWARD FAST ALBERT MALTZ years ago. One relates dramatic- ally of young Bob’s first introduc- tion to socialism, through griz- zled old Texan driving a six- mule team across the mesquite covered plain. The other pres- ents him in Spain at the height of the fighting to save Republi- can Spain from the fascists. Howard Fast is represented by a fine poem to Walter Lowenfels, the Philadelphia poet who faces prison under a Smith Act con- viction. There is an installment of Vic- tor Perlo’s full length survey of the structure of finance capital in the US. And there is William Z. Fos- ter’s stirring chapter on China’s victorious revolution, a preview of his forthcoming book on the history of the world Socialist and Communist movements. Especially interesting to me who saw Albert Maltz trundled off to prison in- Washington, Oc- tober, 1946, for contempt of the House un-American Committee, . is a section from his novel pres- enting a scene in the district jail at that time. Michael Gold is represented by two scenes from his play, Coun- cilman Pete, on the life of Peter V. Cacchione. Samuel Sillen has provided a chapter on Thoreau which deftly annihilates the thesis of the bio- graphers that Thoreau was an impractical anarchist who believ- ed in “no government,’ and could be taken seriously only as a withdrawn “bachelor of na- ture.” : Sidney Filkelstein returns to his familiar theme, music and people, with new enlightening ideas. And the _ philosophers are here, too, with Howard Sel- sam on “Philosophy and the Class Struggle’ and Harry K. Wells with an excerpt from his forthcoming book on Pavlov and Freud. The book concludes with a significant commentary by Dox- ey Wilkerson on “Books in Courtroom and Classroom.” Here the Marxist works are pub in their proper context in their role as guide and inspirer of for- ward-looking, democratic Ameri- cans, for more than a century. The volume contains seven fine drawings by artists whose work has been published by In- ternational, including Rockwell Kent, Anton Refregier, Charles White, Hugo Gellert, Philip Ev- ergood, Robert Minor and Fred Ellis. In Looking Forward (obtain- able in Vancouver at the Peo- ple’s Cooperative Bookstore, 337 West Pender, price $1.31) is enough material to whet one’s appetite for the 19 volumes, all of them weapons in the struggle for U.S. democracy. May they come soon. : —ROB F. HALL é Chopin Festival opens FOUR symphonies, three ballets, two operas, six concerti and many cantatas are among the new works ‘by contemporary Polish composers which will be introduced to audiences during the Second Festival of Polish Music, which opened on January 17, tenth anniversary of the lib- eration of Warsaw, and will con- clude on the Polish national holi- day, July 22. One of the highlights of the . festival will be the Fifth Inter- national Chopin Competition for young pianists, beginning on February 22 and concluding on March 21. Young artists from more than 20 countries will com- pete in Warsaw before an inter- national jury for ten cash awards totalling 125,000 zlotys ($31,250), including a first prize of 30,000 zlotys. _ Few of the actors in Riot in Cell Block 11 are named. A power- ful: movie, it has won high praise from critics, many of whom in- cluded it in their lists of the best pictures of 1954. They make fun of Hollywood snobbery west happens when a simple but spirited Spanish girl, living in poverty in Madrid, is whirled off to Hollywood and ~ turned overnight into a world star? One thing that could happen, in a movie on this theme would be a great deal of acid fun at the expense of Hollywood snobbery, jobbery and high life generally. In this respect The Barefoot Contessa, written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is no disappointment. The dialogue fizzes and crackles like fireworks. And as long as Mankiewicz is tilting at the abominable rich, the movie executives, Hollywood life and the futile existence of the international set, he is bril- liant. Humphrey Bogart as a writer- director and Ava Gardner as the star are as relaxed and charming a pair as you'll find anywhere, even if Ava never looks either Spanish or the sort of person- ality that becomes a star over- night. Edmond.O’Brien and Marius Goring turn in juicy, satirical portraits of a publicity man and a cynical millionaire. The direc- tion is often sharply imaginative ‘3 and Jack Cardiff’s color photo- graphy is first rate. You won’t enjoy every minute of this movie. long for that. But you'll enjoy It goes on too if at least two-thirds of it, and that is a very high percentage today. se 5o3 % The trouble is that this is only incidentally a satire. Although most of the picture is taken up with wisecracks, it is in essence a sentimental drama about a girl who can’t find love until she meets an Italian count. After he has confessed on the wedding night that he is impo- tent, the girl decides to have a child, nevertheless, to give him the heir she thinks he wants. But the count, catching his wife with the lover who has served his purpose and is about to be dismissed, shoots them both. All this is told with a great deal of sentimentalizing about Cinderella and symbolic stuff about bare feet. Whenever they get too bogged down in this sort of thing, Mankiewicz tries to snap his characters out of it by having them sneer at each other that they’ve been seeing too many cheap movies. But the evidence here is that Mankiewicz, for all his brilliance, has seen a. few himself. —THOMAS SPENCER << LUGGAGE & CHINA Special Discount To All Tribune Readers Bring This Ad With You 519 DUNSMUIR ST. ARY 11, 1955 — PAGE 8