Poetry Corner: She knows the Answer by Jane O’Donnell
She knows the Answer, an original poem by Jane O’Donnell
Communist Party Centenary plans in full swing
Phil Katz, the Communist Party’s Assistant Secretary for Communications, outlines the exciting plans for the Communist Party’s Centenary celebrations over the next few months.
Poetry Corner: Che Comandante by Nicolás Guillén
Che Comandante by Nicolás Guillén, 1967.
“Che Comandante,” by Nicolás Guillén (1902 – 1989), Cuba’s National Poet Laureate, read on that solemn evening of October 18, 1967, in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución José Martí, shortly after Che’s death was announced to the world.The first verses were prophetic.
Over twenty years ago, Che’s remains were found where they had been hidden following his murder and were transferred to Cuba. Che was laid to rest, with six of his fellow combatants with military honors in a specially built mausoleum in the Cuban city of Santa Clara, where he had commanded over the decisive military victory of the Cuban Revolution.
“Boots on the moon” – A review of Netflix Sitcom Space Force’s critique of US Imperialism.
“The generation that won WW2 was exposed to so much awful reality that they made mostly good decisions for a long time after. Forget history and you are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Forget how bad Polio was, and people stop taking vaccines. Forget how bad World Wars are, and people start […]
Poetry Corner: Our March by Vladimir Mayakovsky
Our March by Vladimir Mayakovsky, 1917.
Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and came to be one of the most celebrated communist poets in the Soviet Union and internationally. He was also a talented playwright, artist and actor who used art as a medium to convey the politics and ideals of the new socialist state.
Book@Bedtime: The Siege of Krishnapur (1973) by J. G. Farrell
Julian Jones reviews J.G. Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur (1973), the second outing in a loosely connected trilogy of novels set among the breakdown of British colonial rule.
Poetry Corner: Let America be America again by Langston Hughes
Let America be American again by Langston Hughes, 1936
Poetry Corner: The Kingdom of Heaven by Christopher Caudwell
Christopher Caudwell was a Communist Party member, poet and influential Marxist thinker.
Born into a relatively well to do Catholic family, Caudwell worked as a journalist before working on Marxist critiques on a variety of subjects from poetry to his book The Crisis in Physics.
Like many of his contemporaries, such as John Cornford, Caudwell volunteered for the International Brigades in Spain. Caudwell was killed in the fighting on the first day of the Battle of Jarama, 12th February 1937
Much of his work was published posthumously including his best known book Illusion and Reality.
Poetry Corner: Trotsky Visits the Far East by Mao
Mao Tse-Tung is a man who needs little introduction, especially to members of the Young Communist League. However, despite being a remarkable leader and philosopher, his poetry is often overlooked. This is partly because many pass it off as ‘poetic politics’, namely just a fruity disguise of his politics. Others simply ignore it because he was ‘authoritarian’, so they would not demean themselves by pandering to it.
Poetry Corner: To Whom It May Concern (Tell me lies about Vietnam)
Adrian Mitchell, 1932 – 2008, first performed his stirring denunciation of the Vietnam War, To Whom It May Concern (Tell me lies about Vietnam), at an anti war protest in Trafalgar Square, London, in 1964.
This video features a performance on 11 June 1965 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, at the height of the Vietnam War.
