Left Front Magazine (1933-1935) was an American magazine published by the Chicago chapter of the John Reed Club,[1] itself a Marxist club for writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist, activist, and poet, John Reed. The magazine is most famous for being a major early publishing venue of American author Richard Wright.
In 1933, Richard Wright joined the Chicago chapter of the John Reed Club at the urging of friend Abraham Aaron.[2] The same year, he is elected executive secretary of the chapter[3] and founded Left Front.[4] By early 1934, Wright began writing poetry for the chapter's magazine, Left Front.[5][6] He published poems "A Red Love Note" and "Rest for the Weary" in the January–February 1934 issue[7] and became co-editor of the magazine at the same time.[1][8] "Everywhere Burning Waters Rise" appeared in the May–June 1934 issue of Left Front.[9][10]
While some sources say the CPUSA shut down the magazine in 1935,[2][11] its demise most likely came in August 1934 during a Midwest Writers Congress, when publisher Alexander Trachtenberg proposed replacement of the John Reed Club with a new (i.e., Party-sanctioned) organization called the First American Writers Congress.[12]
