[Appel] Communism and Poetry

CFP. Communism and Poetry, a special issue of Twentieth-century Communism: a journal of international history

Submissions due May 1st, 2023

Poetry mattered to international twentieth-century communist movements. Party presses, newspapers and periodicals published poetry. Communists, including party leaders, wrote poetry. The form and function of poetry, past and present, was widely analysed. At various points across twentieth-century communist movements, poets were discovered, supported, celebrated, censored and purged.

A follow-up to ‘Communism and the written word’ (issue 12), this special issue recovers and analyses the lost world of communist poetry. Topics covered may include:

• The presses, journals and networks that commissioned, published and analysed poetry in international communist movements;
• Case studies of individual poets who identified with or were appropriated by twentieth-century communist movements;
• Communist-led initiatives to stimulate and promote ‘proletarian’ poetry;
• Communist debates on poetry and aesthetics;
• Poetry anthologies produced by communist presses;
• Poetry and ideas of revolution;
• Communism, poetry, and national tradition;
• Poetry as a means of forging international communist connections;
• The legacies of communist poetry across different national contexts.

250-word abstracts should be submitted to the special issue editor, Ben Harker, by May 1^st, 2023. The final submission of articles selected (8000 words maximum, including notes) to be submitted by January 31^st, 2024. The issue will be published in late 2024 or early 2025. Any enquiries, please get in touch: ben.harker@manchester.ac.uk