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EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
A
cumulative index of
Partisan Review
is similar to a
Who'.s Who
in
American letters of the twentieth century: started in 1934, it has
been the most long-lived and influential American literary cul–
tural journal. Just leafing through this volume will convince the reader of
its centrality. Also, by glancing at the topics of essays and names of their
essayists, at the prominent reviewers and the books they reviewed, and at
the fiction writers and poets, readers are bound to verify what has been
written about
Partisan Review
over and over again: that it has served as a
guide to the best of intellectual life since its beginnings. But far from pub–
lishing well- known writers, the founding editors William Phillips and
Philip Rahv, along with their co-editors, discovered unrecognized talents
and thus helped the careers of many a young author. From the very begin–
ning, to be printed in
Partisan Review
has meant to become renowned- a
boost to one's career. And it soon became a forum for experimental writ–
ing, and for many who had the courage to go against the grain.
Throughout,
Partisan Review's
circulation has been small. But opinion–
makers and leading intellectuals in both America and Europe have read it
all along, and so have many academics; it never was financially safe, but has
continued to survive; it stayed away from all party affiliations, but has been
perused, however reluctantly, by pundits of all stripes; it has eschewed
trendy politics, but has been scrutinized by partisans of both the left and
the right. Although the magazine never has focused on everyday politics,
the editors have always considered politics in its deepest, theoretical sense.
William Phillips and Philip Rahv founded the magazine shortly after
getting to know each other at the offices of New York's John Reed Club,
where they had gone to meet other writers. This organization was under
the umbrella of the Communist Party, though independent of it, and they
soon realized that it aimed to enlist young artists and writers in furthering
the cause. Like others during the depression, Phillips and Rahv were upset
by America's economic conditions and the general drift of the country.
They were in favor of drastic economic, social, and political reforms; and
they set out to explore and advance the movement of radical practices by
means of modern literature. Thus they raised the necessary funds to launch
CUMULATIVE INDEX
I
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