In the deathbed issue of Manhattan's Communist New Masses last January, twelve Russian Communist writers addressed an open letter to their colleagues in the U.S. The gist of it: Whose side are you on? Last week, in the resurrected and rebaptized Masses & Mainstream, 32 U.S. writers, painters and musicians published their answer. Its gist: We're on your side, comrades.
Said the American "cultural workers": "We want to share responsibility with you . . . Our enemies will see that our international solidarity for peace and democracy stands firm against their frantic writhing and thrashing. On this May Day we...