A poem by Whittaker Chambers now appears here, thanks to Marxists.org: “Elm Grove, W.Va., 1925” from the July 1931 issue of the The New Masses.

(If you know the event referenced in the title of this poem, please email to info at whittakerchambers dot org.)

The Miners Are Marching by Hugo Gellert - New Masses - July 1931

1931 marked more than a decade of coal mine wars of West Virginia that started with the Matewan Massacre (1920) and the Battle of Blair Mountain (1921). William Z. Foster, leader of the American faction that won Stalin’s support in 1929, was a major proponent of CPUSA alignment with the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). This background no doubt formed part of Chambers’s thoughts when writing this poem.

 

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