a il | a

Build an auditorium

Winnipeg’s

civic auditor-
tum, shown here. has a year-
ly operating profit of some

$20,000. Revenue comes from

rentals tor cultural events,
dances, meetings, musical

festivals and other affairs. hr
Vancouver, civic-minded cit-
zens have long been pressing
for construction of a similar
auditorium, In place of new
. ‘| theatres and halls to meet the
needs of the city’s growing
population, Vancouver has
lost some of the few such
centres it had — the Arena,
which burned down, the Em-
press and Avenue theatres,
which were torn down.

GUIDE TO GOOD READING

THE APPEARANCE of V. J.
Jerome’s A Lantern for Jeremy
(Masses and Mainstream, $3.00)
is an event of major.literary im-
portance. The novel is a dis-
tinguished work of. art, a sen-
sitively shared experience which
| deepens our sense of reality—
‘because the truth and beauty
which it communicates are not
abstractions about humanity-in-
general: it brings us truth in
rs terms of the impact of the class
E : struggles on human beings in a

specific social ‘situation; the
beautiful quality of the work—
and it is really a thing of con-
sumate beauty—rises from the
hearts and souls of oppressed
people,. from the heart’s love
andthe soul’s courage in. the
battle against oppression.

Thus the book’s value ag lit-
erature is directly related to
the author’s personal and politi-
al. experience. His life-long .de-
votion to the working class ex-
plains the passion and clarity
_of his creative writing. It is, of
course, inevitable that there
‘should be such an interrelation-
ship of life and art. We may

3 say of any artist that his work
\ - \ig the reflection of what he has
lived and learned. The creative

‘shaped by practical human ac-

» tivity.- mrs
But this simple principle, all

»too little understood and ap-

a special: significance in the case
of V. J. Jerome. A Lantern for
Jeremy appears at the moment
when Jerome and other Com-
munist
themselves against the threat of
long prison terms for alleged
violation of the Smith Act.

The book has a vital bearing
on the issues of the trial. It
illustrates the Communist ap-
“proach to culture. It throws a
much-needed light on the cre-

ative efficiency of Marxist-Lenin-

ist thought in the practice of

the arts. It helps to answer

troublesome questions concern-
: ing “art and politics.”

It is no longer unusual in the
United States for the publication
of a book to_coincide with the
author’s arraignment or impris-
onment for holding or express-
ing “dangerous thoughts.” Wall

= : Street’s attempt to stiffe critic-
ee ism of its treasonable' conspir-
a ee acy against the peace of the
4 world is forcing Americans to.

painful recognition of the truth

of Pablo Neruda's statement
Pie that “Poetry, like freedom, is
iad ae linked with prisons.”

product cannot transcend the
consciousness from which : it:
springs, and consciousness is

‘plied by progressive artists, has |

leaders are defending

In A Lantern for Jeremy,
Jerome strikes back at his ac-
cusers with the weapon of cul-
ture. At the same time, he pro-

~vides a useful lesson for those

intellectuals—and there are un-
fortunately a great many—who
hesitate to “grasp the weapon of
culture,” separating their poli-
tical activity as ‘citizens’ from
their professional work in the
arts or sciences.

The weakness of many recent
novels and plays by supposedly
progressive authors may be
traced in large part to reaction-
ary .pressures. But theoretical
errors concerning the alleged

incompatibility of art and_poli-

— 4

~
—~!

tics play an important role, in
justifying opportunism and in
leading well-intentioned and
talented artists into an esthetic
blind alley,

* * *

IT IS NOT an accident that
this gentle novel of a childhood
in old Poland comes from the
pen of an outstanding Commun-
ist leader. Similar contributions
to culture have been made by
leaders of the people’s struggle
in many lands, proving in their
writing as in their daily politi-
cal work that art* and politics

are indissolubly bound -together. |

A Lantern for Jeremy em-
bodies the meaning of socialist
humanism. It is afire with
hatred of suffering and cruelty,
but it burns even more brightly
with love of people, respect for
the human personality and faith
in its limitless potentialities,

The life of a Polish ghetto in
the period of the Russo-Japan-
ese war is seen through the
eyes of a boy-from the age of
7 to 9. The child’s viewpoint
is consistently maintained. The
lyric quality of the narrative, its
golden freshness and humor, de-
rive to a considerable, extent
from the author’s ability to see
into the child’s mind, to trans-
late the awe and surprise that
accompany his awakening per-
ception of people and events,

Many writers have explored a
child’s consciousness in terms of
dreams and fantasies, an escape
from reality into a world of the
child’s own making. The
twentieth century has seen a
veritable plague of so-called
“stream-of-consciousness”’ novels
about neurotic adults and occa-

Sionally about neuroti¢ children.

= — '
iI

* certain recent novels.

‘
a

.

John Howard Lawson calls novel
by Jerome ‘major literary event’

In A Lantern for Jeremy, as
its title indicates, the boy’s
mind is always turned outward,
seeking illumination. Here are
no Freudian horrors, no bogus
psychic probings, no sick fears.

Jeremy has a lively '.imagina-
tion, but his reveries grow out
of his attempts to understand
his environment. He has” a
child’s acuteness of judgment.
He has no desire to escape life,
because he is preparing to live.
In order to live, he must learn
where to find honor and truth;
and he must learn to fight for
what is honorable and true. He
moves in the stream of history,
and historical forces are reflect-
ed in his consciousness.

Although the book never goes
beyond. Jeremy’s immediate vis-
ion, it shows the impact of the
1905 Revolution on the little
village community, the growing
cooperation of Jewish.and Pol-
ish workers, the stirring of the
movement of people that would
eventually bring freedom to
Russia and Poland.

The book has a feeling for
Jewish life and culture which
contrasts strikingly with the lib-
elous misrepresentation of Jew-
ish customs .and .traditions in
Jerome
touches the humor and tragedy
of Jewish life, the ‘“‘picturesque-
ness’? of many customs, the spe-
cial quality of language; these
aspects of ghetto existence are
treated with socialist realism, a
creative insight that makes
every line and incident a trib-
ute to the greatness of the peo-
ple and the enduring beauty
of their heritage.

I cannot conclude without
paying tribute to Masses and
Mainstream for its remarkable
achievement in the field of book
publishing, Lloyd L. Brown’s
Tron City was the most import-
ant novel to appear in 1951. It

is appropriate that it should be:

followed by such an. outstand-
ing work as Jerome’s A Lantern
for Jeremy (obtainable in Van-
couver at the People’s Coopera-
tive Bookstore, 337 West Pen-
der). The magazine has an-
nounced other. books to appear
under its imprint. Masses and
Mainstream has made a proud
beginniig in the publication of
creative writing. It points the
way to a new and rich develop-
ment of an American people’s
culture—a culture serving the
needs and embodying the aspir-
ations og the working class and
the Negro people and their al-
lies. ;

—JOHN HOWARD LAWSON.

ARGUMENT IN MOSCOW

JAMES ALDRIDGE, fam-

ous author of The Diplomat, re-

cently. visited Moscow for the
Gogol centenary celebrations. In
this article on his impressions, he

Soviet audiences demand
high theatre standards

comments on Soviet cultural life. \

‘xk. ges *

LITERATURE is my field and
I spent most of my time discuss-
ing it, I saw many Soviet writ-
ers, and we were always in argu-
ment.

We were not always calm and
peaceful about it, but our dis-
cussions were friendly and ex-
citing.

Of course, nowhere that I’ve
been in the world is a writer so
admired and respected. Perhaps

“ , . Soviet students, even of
high school standard, and young-
er, know much more about Eng-
lish literature than their op-
posites in Western countries.”

this prejudices me in their favor,

Anyway, it is satisfying to find
that the writer is treated serious-
ly, not only as a person of in-
tellect and education, but as a
man with a social conscience and
a@ social responsibility,

They respect all literature,
I’m very much afraid that the
Soviet students, even of high
school standard, and younger,
know much more about English
literature than their opposities
in Western countries,

They are taught a more living
respect and appreciation for qt:

Actually they have world lit-
erature at their fingertips, even
modern Arabic and Korean and
Turkish and other “Temote”’
literatures of which we know
little or nothing.

In Moscow I was often asked

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MAY 16, 1952 — PAGE 8

tive

to give an honest and critical
opinion of Soviet literature a8
the British people’ see it. I
criticized it rather too harshly,
perhaps, saying that much of
the minor literature was not
convincing in a universal sense,
and it was, therefore, invalid for
British readers,

Of course, I could hardly pre
tend to speak far all English
readers, Furthermore, Soviet
writing is certainly: valuable and
true for Soviet people. Its popu-
larity proves that.

Nevertheless. like everything
else in the Soviet Union, there
are higher and higher demands
being made on literature, and
at the moment there is a very
fierce controversy going on about
its shortcomings in characteria-
ing men and Man as whole and
real, '

klk *

CRITICAL STANDARDS are
not set on a cult or whim, but
on technical skill and reality of
portrayal. Also, optimism and
social decency are vital to #
Soviet writer’s outlook if he
wishes to succeed,

I did not see any modern
plays, but LI. spoke to many
theatre people, and here agaill
there is a very fierce and critical
attitude to Soviet plays of this
year.

They too lack full and objec
characterizations, There
was no Stalin prize awarded at
all for drama this year,

Even so, where else in thé
world can one find half the
quantity and quality of theatre
that one finds in Moscow? The
classics of the world are a pe!
petual repertory—perfectly and

, Sincerely performed,

-

For the Gogol centenary there
was a new production of Th
Inspector-General, and I for 00°
could find hardly a flaw in it.

The ballet is as rich as it eve?
Was, with many of the youns-.
sters I knew as students in 194
now prima ballerinas and lead-
ing dancers. 4 Sa aa

I can’t talk about cinema b&
cause I kept every night {f0F
ballet, opera, or drama, feelin&
that I could see Soviet films
home, j

I did see the three-dimensiot-
al Stéreo-Kino, and this Ww
particularly interesting for ™®.
because I saw the present meth-
Od in its infancy in 1945; 12
fact I was the first foreigne”
ever to see it and report it.

It is certainly three-dime”-.
Sional (on a glass screen), 22
the shorts are very well madé

‘for the form; but an hour of it

and the brain and the eyes 2%
exhausted ——JAIME§ ALDRIDG