The Communist and the Communist's Daughter: A Memoir

Jane Lazarre

Published by Duke University Press 2017

The Communist and the Communist's Daughter

A Memoir

Jane Lazarre

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822372387

Overview
Contents

About this book

In this poignant memoir Jane Lazarre tells the fascinating history of her father Bill, a radical activist who, as part of his tireless efforts to create a better world for his family, held leadership positions in the American Communist Party, fought in the Spanish Civil War, and organized labor unions.

Author / Editor information

Jane Lazarre is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including the memoirs Beyond the Whiteness of Whiteness: Memoir of a White Mother of Black Sons, Wet Earth and Dreams: A Narrative of Grief and Recovery, and The Mother Knot, all also published by Duke University Press, as well as the novels Inheritance and Some Place Quite Unknown. She has won awards for her fiction from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Lazarre founded and directed the undergraduate writing program at Eugene Lang College at the New School for ten years and taught creative writing and literature there for twenty years. She has also taught at the City College of New York and Yale University. Lazarre lives in New York City.

Reviews

"Reflective and intelligent, her narrative not only chronicles the life of a complex man; it also celebrates the power of memory and love. A poignantly lyrical memoir of family and politics."

-- Kirkus Reviews

"The Communist and the Communist’s Daughter tells the story of a family, of the struggle between old and new homelands, and of a man trying to balance his idealism with a reality that falls short of it."

-- Jeff Fleischer Foreword Reviews

"[A] collection of materials, insights, incidents, and imagery formed into a brilliant whole by Jane Lazarre's skill and patience. It ought to be a classic of twentieth century American life."

-- Meredith Sue Willis Books for Readers

"This is a memoir rich in intelligent reflection of an aspect of US political history that receives little airing. It's an elegantly written and moving account."

-- John Green Morning Star

"Jane Lazare has written a fascinating, intensely personal book about history, family, and the Communist Party in the United States."

-- Esther Cohen Monthly Review

"Making an account of one's self through memoir is hard enough, why would anyone want to tackle combining their own with that of another's? Lazarre does so to pay tribute to her father, to show herself and the world his noble intentions even though he was a flawed human being, as we all are. Ultimately, she has learned through the writing, he is so much a part of her, and she a part of him, whether that's in their living or their passing on."

-- Tomie Anne Bitton American Book Review

"This is one of those books that deserves many audiences. And for that I am grateful, as I believe its appeal, like that of Lazarre’s earlier memoirs, makes an important contribution to understanding aspects of American history and social consciousness that are not explored nearly enough."

-- Emily E. LB. Twarog Labor

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Author’s Note Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Prologue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Beginnings
Chapter 1 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
Chapter 2 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
Part II. An American
Chapter 3 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter 4 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
Part III: Spain
Chapter 5 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
Chapter 6 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
Chapter 7 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
Chapter 8 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
Chapter 9 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
Part IV: A Bad Wind
Chapter 10 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
Chapter 11 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
Chapter 12 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
Chapter 13 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
Chapter 14 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
Chapter 15 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
Part V: The Un-Americans
Chapter 16 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Chapter 17 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
Chapter 18 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
Part VI: The Mutilated World
Chapter 19 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Chapter 20 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
Part VII: Endings
Chapter 21 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Chapter 22 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
Chapter 23 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	202
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211

Language: English
Publisher: Duke University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Illustrations
- Other: 6 illustrations

eBook

Published: August 15, 2017
ISBN: 9780822372387