 New Masses cover by Hugo Gellert, May 1926 | |
| Former editors | Michael Gold, Walt Carmon, Whittaker Chambers, Joseph Freeman, Granville Hicks |
|---|---|
| First issue | 1926 |
| Final issue | 1948 |
| Country | United States |
New Masses (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). It was the successor to both The Masses (1911–1917) and The Liberator (1918–1924). New Masses was later merged into Masses & Mainstream (1948–1963).
With the widespread economic hardships brought on by the Great Depression of 1929, many Americans were more receptive to socialist and leftist ideas. As a result, New Masses grew in circulation and became highly influential in literary, artistic, and intellectual circles. The magazine has been called “the principal organ of the American cultural left from 1926 onwards."[1]
- ^ Foley, Barbara (1993). Radical Presentations: Politics and Form in U.S. Proletarian Fiction, 1929–1941. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. p. 65.