A weapon in the struggle : the cultural history of the British Communist Party

For over 70 years, the Communist Party of Great Britain had an extraordinary impact on British cultural life, exercising an influence quite out of proportion to its size or political influence. Many art forms were revitalized or profoundly changed, new ones were established or shaped by groups and individuals associated with the party. They brought a dynamism and vision to cultural production - whether in music, film, theatre or literature - that helped lay the foundations of a new radical culture, a progressive avant garde in which the struggle was to produce a culture for and of the people, in the front line of the battle of ideas. This volume recounts the histories of the artists, poets and cultural visionaries of the period, placing them in a broader historical context and providing an introduction to British social and cultural history in the 20th century. ‘Andy Croft's amalgam of essays on some of the dimensions of culture pursued and generated by British communists during give decades of this century, from the twenties through to the sixties, makes compulsive reading... a lively and provocative collection.'Tribune For over seventy years, the Communist Party of Great Britain had an extraordinary impact on British cultural life, exercising an influence quite out of proportion to its size or political importance. Many art forms were revitalised, others profoundly changed, new ones established or shaped by groups and individuals associated with the party, who brought to the realm of cultural production – whether in music, film, theatre or literature – a dynamism and vision that helped to lay the foundations for a new radical culture, a progressive avant garde in which the struggle was always to produce a culture for and of the people, in the front line of the battle of ideas. The distinguished contributors to this volume – the first serious study of the subject – draw on new research to recover the fascinating histories of the artists, poets, musicians, film-makers and cultural visionaries of the period, placing them in a broader historical context and providing an invaluable introduction to British social and cultural history in the twentieth century. 'Andy Croft's amalgam of essays on some of the dimensions of culture pursued and generated by British communists during give decades of this century, from the twenties through to the sixties, makes compulsive reading ... a lively and provocative collection.' TribuneFor over seventy years, the Communist Party of Great Britain had an extraordinary impact on British cultural life, exercising an influence quite out of proportion to its size or political importance. Many art forms were revitalised, others profoundly changed, new ones established or shaped by groups and individuals associated with the party, who brought to the realm of cultural production - whether in music, film, theatre or literature - a dynamism and vision that helped to lay the foundations for a new radical culture, a progressive avant garde in which the struggle was always to produce a culture for and of the people, in the front line of the battle of ideas. The distinguished contributors to this volume - the first serious study of the subject - draw on new research to recover the fascinating histories of the artists, poets, musicians, film-makers and cultural visionaries of the period, placing them in a broader historical context and providing an invaluable introduction to British social and cultural history in the twentieth century 1. James Barke: A Great-hearted Writer, A Hater Of Oppression, A True Scot / H. Gustav Klaus -- 2. To Disable The Enemy: The Graphic Art Of The Three Jameses / Robert Radford -- 3. Heirs To The Pageant: Mass Spectacle And The Popular Front / Mick Wallis -- 4. Notes From The Left: Communism And British Classical Music / Richard Hanlon And Mike Waite -- 5. Sylvia Townsend Warner In The 1930s / Maroula Joannou -- 6. An Intellectual Irrelevance? Marxist Literary Criticism In The 1930s / Hanna Behrend -- 7. King Street Blues: Jazz And The Left In Britain In The 1930s-1940s / Kevin Morgan -- 8. The Boys Round The Corner: The Story Of Fore Publications / Andy Croft -- 9. The Edinburgh People's Festival, 1951-54 / Hamish Henderson. Edited By Andy Croft. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A companion volume to Opening the Books, focusing exclusively on the cultural history of the CP - covering film, theatre, literature, music, poetry, the folk revival, etc. etc