Eastman, Max

Hide Profile

Max Eastman (1883-1969) was a well-known radical whose journal, the Liberator, voiced support for controversial issues such as restrictions on liberty during World War I and the Red Scare. Eastman was arrested twice under the Espionage Act, each trial resulting in a hung jury. He visited Soviet Russia in the 1920's and became a follower of Trotsky, acting as his translator and literary agent. He became critical of the Soviet government after 1924 and opposed Stalin through the release of "Lenin's Testament" warning the party of Stalin's aims. William O'Neill writes that: "In 1939 when Moscow betrayed the anti-fascists by signing a pact with Berlin, opening the way for Germany's invasion of Poland and World War II, Max was prepared. Within a year, he brought out two big books, his most penetrating and finished critiques of Soviet politics and ideology. In Stalin's Russia and the Crisis of Socialism he reviewed Soviet history, exposed the Moscow Purge Trials as fraudulent, and disproved Russian claims to social and economic virtue. In Marxism: is it Science? Max showed that it was not" (O'Neill, 1991).

Eastman authored twenty-six books, including poetry and fiction. He edited the Masses, a socialist journal, which covered art and opinion. In an article written upon Eastman's death, The New York Times (26 March 1969) noted: "Mr. Eastman will probably be best remembered by those who date back to World War I as editor of the left-wing Masses as well as for his later exposure of the Bolshevik tyranny. He himself considered his two major contributions to be his theory on metaphor and simile in poetry, as outlined his first book, "The Enjoyment of Poetry," and his theory on wit and humor, discussed in another book, "Enjoyment of Laughter."

Edna Davis Romig (b. 1889) was a professor of English for 36 years, most of them spent at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She published several volumes of poetry and a book on Walt Whitman. Friends with Robert and Elinor Frost, Romig was asked by the couple to write their biography, a project that was researched but never completed. She retired from teaching in 1961 and moved to Estes Park, Colorado.

From the guide to the Max Eastman Letter to Edna Davis Romig (MS 148), 1943, (University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Gannett, Lewis, 1891-1966. Papers, 1681-1966 (bulk 1900-1960) Houghton Library
referencedIn Learned Hand papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Jane Burr Papers MS 25., circa 1860s-1958 Sophia Smith Collection
referencedIn Ehrmann, Herbert B. (Herbert Brutus), 1891-1970. Papers, 1906-1970 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn John Reed papers, 1903-1967. Houghton Library
referencedIn Yaddo records, 1870-1980 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Century Company records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Hudson, Manley Ottmer, 1886-1960. Papers, 1894-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers of Doris Stevens, 1884-1983 (inclusive), 1920-1960 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Max Eastman Letter to Edna Davis Romig (MS 148), 1943 University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept.
referencedIn Boris Souvarine papers, 1915-1984 (inclusive), 1940-1984 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959. Papers, 1876-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Burlingham, Charles Culp, 1858-1959 person
correspondedWith Burr, Jane, 1882-1958 person
correspondedWith Century Company corporateBody
correspondedWith Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel, 1853-1935 person
correspondedWith Doris Stevens person
associatedWith Ehrmann, Herbert B. (Herbert Brutus), b. 1891 person
correspondedWith Gannett, Lewis, 1891-1966 person
associatedWith Hand, Learned, 1872-1961 person
associatedWith Hudson, Manley Ottmer, 1886- person
correspondedWith Matthews, J. B. (Joseph Brown), 1894-1966 person
correspondedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
associatedWith Reed, John, 1887-1920 person
associatedWith Souvarine, Boris. person
associatedWith Yaddo (Artist's colony) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Occupation
Activity

Person

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6235n98

Ark ID: w6235n98

SNAC ID: 7754968