The German Democratic Republic has completely restored the famous German State Opera House in Berlin (above), which was destroyed by air raids in 1944. In London however, the equally famous! Royal Opera House at Covent Garden has warned that it may have to close its doors unless the government provides properly for opera and ballet. Soviet Union honors great Jewish writer AY 13 marked the 40th.an- niversary of the death of Sholem Aleichem, great Jewish humorist. The anniversary was marked in many countries of the world. The following :ac- eount of the Sholem Aleichem commemoration in Moscow was published in Soviet News Bul- letin: 503 x bes HE literary public of Moscow T recently marked the 40th onniversary of the death of ~“Sholem Aleichem.- His books are published in the USSR in large editions. At present, the Detgiz (pub- lishing house of children’s books) is issuing a mass edition of a book of stories for children. A volume of collected works, ‘including the novel From the Fair and several short stories, is being published by the State Fiction and Poetry Publishing ~ House. The evening dedicated to the memory of Sholem Aleichem at- tracted many writers, journal- ists, representatives of publish- ing houses and magazines, and _ readers. The hall, galleries and entrance-hall of the _ Central House of Writers in Moscow _ si: Ma ai gg cee JUST OFF THE PRESS ! The new book thousands of Canadians will soon be talking ; about. (Ivan Franko POEMS AND STORIES Translated by JOHN WEIR Inspiring seleetions from the works of the renowned Ukrain- ian writer whose centennial is being celebrated this year throughout the world. 340 Pages (Clothbound) Se 50. J Ask for it at your local book- store or order it directly from the publishers: UKRAINSKA KNYHA 1162 Dundas St. W. Toronto, Ontario. au at SE were filled by admirers of this outstanding Jewish writer, about whom Vsevolod Ivanov said, in opening the meeting: “A sincere, great talent, ex- ceptional diligence, and ard- ent, passionate love for ordin- ary people, hatred for ignor- . ance and violence—these mark the whole of Sholem Aleich- em’s creative work.” Ivanov cited a few words from Sholem Aleichem’s will. “Wherever I died let me be buried not among aristocrats, nobles and rich people, but among plain workers, among the true ordinary people, so that the tombstone which will be er$cted on my grave might adorn the simple graves around rhe, and the simple graves might adorn my tomb- stone, as the plain honest peo- ple in my lifetime adorned their popular writer.” “What great and simple words, what great force, what truth there is in them,” said Ivanov. “In 1910, Maxim Gorky wrote the following to Sholem Aleich- em about the Russian transla- tion of the story, Little Boy Mottele: ; “‘T have received your book. I_have read it, laughed and cried. -A wonderful book! . The whole of it is full of such splendid, good and wise love of the people, and that is such & rare sentiment in our days.’ “Later, I had occasion while meeting Gorky to hear his opin- jons about humor, which he highly appreciated and under- stood in literature. In speaking cf the great humorists, Dickens and Gogol, he always mention- ed the name of Sholem Aleich- em side by side with these names. “In a few words, Gorky beautifully described the talent of Sholem Aleichem, his subtle humor, his amazing powers of observance, his figurative lan- guage, and his remarkable know- ledge of life.” __R. Rubina, well-known Jew- ish literary critic, spoke of Sho- lem Aleichem, the man and writer. ‘ An unpublished article by Soviet Jewish writer Peretz Markish about Sholem Aleich- em, was read to the audience. Poems dedicated to Sholem Aleichem by S. Halkin and S. Marshak were recited. A comprehensive concert pro- gram included short stories by Sholem Aleichem. Where does U.S. go from point at which New Deal left off? HERE is a great re-evaluation taking place today among those groups which once made up what came to be known as the New Deal coalition in the United. States. From the Communists on the left, to many labor leaders, to such liberal idealogues as Arth- ur Schlesinger Jr. the discussion revolves around such questions as: How was it possible for Mc- Carthyism to make such rav- ages on the body politic? How did big business and its Cadillac Cabinet manage to make such headway? What steps are need- ed for a resurgence which be- _ gins where the ‘New Deal left off? The Enemy Forgotten by Gil ‘Green is the contribution of a national Communist party lead- er to this discussion. The theme is: “If the New Deal coalition is no more, it is because the big business enemy of the people was forgotten by some and obscured by others, and the mass movement became derailed into a sterile fight against a fictitious foe.” “This book,” Green writes, “written from an avowedly Marxist point of view, shall seek to prove that the enemy of the people is not commun- ism but special. privilege which has grown up to become the monster of big business mono- poly.” xt xt tt There may be disagreement, Gepending.on the backgrounds and viewpoints of the readers, as to how well Green succeeds in his mission. But I think few will dispute that the book (ob- tainable in Vancouver at the People’s Co-op Bookstore, 337 West Pender, price $2.75) .is intellectually stimulating, that one of its greatest values is its © -give-and-take tone, that it can and should serve as a basis for discussion among all sectors of the old Franklin D. Roosevelt camp, and within its left sector. Readers, I believe, will find refreshing the absence of. rigid- ity and dogmatic assertion. The author sets out to docu- ment each of his theses from mainly U.S. sources, usually con- servative ones. His polemics are generally with spokesmen of the labor- Negro-liberal camp, but these are polemics of a high order. They wax passionate at times, but they do not degenerate to name-calling; they hold to the issues, with the author making no pretense of having uttered the final word. The subject matter ranges over a wide field: the substance of U.S. progressive tradition, mon- copoly today, the economic, so- cial and political dangers today, | the process of political realign-® ment, the outlook for labor, the struggle for Negro freedom and the U.S. road to socialism. se og at Socialism, Green writes, “could ‘ be accomplished in a constitu- tronal way” and Communists “do not advocate the use of force and violence in the achievement of either their immediate or ul- timate aims.” “Socialist democracy in the United States,” he ‘says, “would take many political forms not jjentical with those of other countries . . . Different political parties, fore example, could continue to exist. No political party or group would be denied access to the political arena so long as it abided by the major- ity will of the people.” Socialists, he declares, need to defend socialist advances in other “lands but “it is not re- quired of all who consider them selves socialists ‘to be in full accord with each and every thing done in the lands building socialism.” : The author asserts his con- fidence that “the day will come when the best of these forces, and many more who have not yet spoken out, will unite to- gether with the Communists to | form a single, united party of socialism in the United States.” RECORDS While he generally refrains from vitriolic counter-charges in his polemics, I think he oc- casionally falls into needless characterization of certain view- points as “McCarthyite” when ~ it would have been better to let the replies stand on their own merits. The chapter on “The Process of Political Realignment” is a powerful contribution to cur- rent discussions of the electoral outlook and beyond, as the chap- ter on the movement for Negro liberation is on one of the most epic struggles of our time. I think whether or not one agrees with everything in this book is of less importance than the fact it can Serve as a much needed door-opener for discus- sions within the groups making up the political left and those of the former New Deal coali- tion as to where does the United States go from here. BERNARD BURTON French Canada has — rich folk heritage HIS REVIEW of French Can- T adian folk music is the second part of a comprehensive survey of Canadian folk music avail- able on commercial recordings. Further sections will deal with Maritime, Native Indian and Eskimo folk music. ~~ % 503 5 o3 RENCH Canada has a folk heritage as rich as any people in the world. Already upwards to 15,000 songs and variants have A been collected, ‘wie about half of a them by Dr. Marius Barbeau. In keeping with this the avail- able recordings ere of a consistently high qual- ity, with one exception. Allan Mills - 10” Fkys 29 - $0 mns. - $4.45: Here is the earli- est LP of Canadian music (aside from an unprepossessing, Eskimo record). Accompanied on guitar, Mills has chosen an unusually well varied and representative collection, still as enjoyable and popular as when first released four years ago. His French pro- nunciation is not all it should be, but he makes up for it in -+he warmth and _ self-effacing charm of his delivery. Most moving are C’est La Belle Francoisé, a tender story of lovers parted by his army con- scription, and Un Canadian Errant, the widely known la- ment about Canadian Patriots exiled for their part in the 1837 Rebellion: The mood extends to the rousing lumberjack song, Les Raftsmen, the playful Mon- sieur Le Cure, and the humor- ous Mon Pere Y Ma Marie. The accompanying booklet in- troduces an introduction and complete song texts, but only brief interpretations in English. Reproduction: good. Pierrette Champoux - 12” Esoteric 536 - 41% mins. - $5.95: Sixteen delightful songs by a Montreal CBC artist and folk collector, accompanied by violin and piano. Miss Champoux has a fine voice and diction, but over-sophisticated for folk ex- pression, which the instrumen- tation emphasizes. Aside from the perennial A La Claire Fontaine, only two duplicate other recordings, while old favorites like Alouette and Au Clair De La Lune are wel- come additions to LP. The other songs, less widely known, are equally charming. Song texts are given without English translations or com- mentary, an inexcusable omis- sion these days. Reproduction: superbly clear and natural. : Allan Mills & Melene Baill- argeon (Duets) - 10” Fyks 918 - 2% mins. - $4.25: Only Aupres De Ma Blonde has been recorded elsewhere (Champoux) al- though all deserve recognition. This 1955 recording should ac- celerate that process All who have heard the artists on the CBC national network will know there is nothing arti- ficial about their arrangements. They sing expertly, but with simple honest directness. One of their specialties is songs with dialogue between men and women, like I Went To The Market, an example of the com- paratively rare “chanson farcie” where French and English are mixed. Equally ingratiating are the voyageurs song, Fringue ! Fringue !, the ancient Le Retour De Marin, and the drinking song, C’est A Boire. The notes contain a full in- troduction and compete song texts, but only brief interpre- tations in English. Reproduc- tion: excellent. Jacques LaBrecque - 10” Lon- don LB-957 - 2714 mins. - $4.45. The title sounds the warning: “Chansons Populaires Du @an- ada” and, even though most of the items are (or were) folk songs, that seems quite accurate. Recorded about five years ago with an anonymous orchestra, probably in France, this is mierely a series of vulgar arrangements a la Tin Pan Alley and Maurice Chevalier. Repro- duction is good, but there are no notes whatsoever! This record is unacceptable. ? _, N. E. STORY — June 15, 1956 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE — PAGE 8