Becomes contributing editor of New Masses magazine
Poet involved
What happened
Orrick Johns served as a contributing editor for New Masses, a prominent Marxist political and literary magazine published in New York City. His editorial work placed him at the center of the American leftist literary scene during the 1930s, alongside figures such as Michael Gold and Langston Hughes.
Literary impact
Editing New Masses connected Johns to a network of radical writers and artists and deepened his engagement with proletarian literature, which emphasized the experiences of the working class. The experience sharpened his critical faculties and influenced his own writing, which became more direct and politically engaged, while also expanding his readership among leftist intellectuals.
Source: Marxists.org
