Leftward Ho!: V. F. Calverton and American Radicalism (Contributions in Political Science) - Hardcover

Abbott, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313285683 ISBN 13: 9780313285684

Publisher: Praeger, 1993

Synopsis

This first biography of V.F. Calverton gives an intellectual history of the American radical movement from 1920 to 1940 and shows how he and his Modern Quarterly led the forefront in wars of ideas about sex, lit, and party. This lively study of the career and times of Calverton examines basic questions about the relationships between literature and politics, feminist agendas, and political theory in ways that are still relevant. Students of political thought, American history, and American literature will find this biography a provocative one that brings the period alive in new ways.

A short introduction shows how Calverton yearned to be an American Lenin-Cassanova-Pericles. Philip Abbott then follows Calverton's participation in a series of intellectual wars fought in the 1920s and the 1930s. Thus does Abbott reassess American radicalism and the development of American bohemia and socialism. Calverton was the central figure in two efforts to found an American radical republic, both of which were rejected by his colleagues--famous writers and thinkers of his time. One attempt sought to create a republic of being in which participants explored the capacities of sexual liberation as an agent for change. Another involved the creation of a republic of doing in which radical citizens acted out revolutionary roles. This biography of a neglected theorist reevaluates radical projects in politics, psychology, and the arts in America in a seminal period in their development.

About this title

Book Description:

This first biography of V.F. Calverton gives a provocative intellectual history of the development of American bohemia and radicalism and wars about sex, lit, and party.

About the Author:

PHILIP ABBOTT, Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University, specializes in the history of American political thought and culture. His many books include Political Thought in America: Conversations and Debates (1991), The Exemplary Presidency: FDR and the American Political Tradition (1990), The Liberal Future in America (co-editor, Greenwood, 1985) and Furious Fancies: American Political Thought in the Post-Liberal Era (Greenwood, 1980).

About this edition

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0313285683
• ISBN 13: 9780313285684
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248