V. J. Jerome
Encyclopedia
Victor Jeremy Jerome was a Polish-American communist writer and editor. He is best remembered as a Marxist cultural essayist and as the long-time editor of the theoretical
journal of the Communist Party USA
.
"Victor Jeremy Jerome," was born in Strykov, Poland
in 1896. Romain immigrated to New York City
in 1915, and attended City College of New York
.
Following graduation, Jerome worked was a bookkeeper for the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union in the early 1920s.
. After Stoke's death in 1933, Jerome moved to Hollywood for a year to raise money for the Spanish Loyalists. Returning to New York in 1935, Jerome became editor of The Communist which later became Political Affairs, and served in that position until 1955. In 1937, he married Alice Hamburger.
Jerome was among the cultural spokesmen of the Communist Party, and rose in the party hierarchy during the mid-1930s .
Between 1935 and 1965 Jerome wrote constantly. He wrote two autobiographical novels, A Lantern for Jeremy (released during the "Foley Square Trials" in 1952), and its sequel, The Paper Bridge (published posthumously in 1966). He also published a collection of vignettes entitled Unstill Waters (1964). A prolific writer, he turned out short stories, plays, and literary and art criticism. Victor Jerome is best known, however, for his political and cultural essays. Among these are "The Intellectuals and the War" (1940), "The Negro in Hollywood Films" (1950), and "Culture in a Changing World" (1948).
Victor Jerome was prosecuted and convicted under the Smith Act
for committing the "overt act
" of writing a pamphlet "Grasp the Weapon of Culture" that Jerome presented as a report to the Communist Party. He was indicted with sixteen other Communist leaders in 1951. Following a nine month trial in New York's Foley Square Courthouse Jerome passed the long hours in court writing poetry and reading page proofs of "A Lantern for Jeremy" Jerome was convicted and sentenced in 1953 to three years at Lewisburg Penitentiary, that he served between 1954 and 1957.
Following his release from prison he began writing a novel based on the life of Spinoza.
Theoretician (Marxism)
A theoretician is a term from the vernacular of Marxism relating to an individual who observes and writes about the condition or dynamics of society, history, or economics, making use of the main principles of Marxian socialism in the analysis....
journal of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
.
Early years
Jerome Isaac Romain, better known by the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Victor Jeremy Jerome," was born in Strykov, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1896. Romain immigrated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1915, and attended City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
.
Following graduation, Jerome worked was a bookkeeper for the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union in the early 1920s.
Political career
In 1924, Jerome joined the Communist Party, and in the following year married Rose Pastor Stokes. He returned to college and in 1930 received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. After Stoke's death in 1933, Jerome moved to Hollywood for a year to raise money for the Spanish Loyalists. Returning to New York in 1935, Jerome became editor of The Communist which later became Political Affairs, and served in that position until 1955. In 1937, he married Alice Hamburger.
Jerome was among the cultural spokesmen of the Communist Party, and rose in the party hierarchy during the mid-1930s .
Between 1935 and 1965 Jerome wrote constantly. He wrote two autobiographical novels, A Lantern for Jeremy (released during the "Foley Square Trials" in 1952), and its sequel, The Paper Bridge (published posthumously in 1966). He also published a collection of vignettes entitled Unstill Waters (1964). A prolific writer, he turned out short stories, plays, and literary and art criticism. Victor Jerome is best known, however, for his political and cultural essays. Among these are "The Intellectuals and the War" (1940), "The Negro in Hollywood Films" (1950), and "Culture in a Changing World" (1948).
Victor Jerome was prosecuted and convicted under the Smith Act
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act or Smith Act of 1940 is a United States federal statute that set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S...
for committing the "overt act
Overt Act
In criminal law, an overt act , an open act, one that can be clearly proved by evidence, and from which criminal intent can be inferred, as opposed to a mere intention in the mind to commit a crime...
" of writing a pamphlet "Grasp the Weapon of Culture" that Jerome presented as a report to the Communist Party. He was indicted with sixteen other Communist leaders in 1951. Following a nine month trial in New York's Foley Square Courthouse Jerome passed the long hours in court writing poetry and reading page proofs of "A Lantern for Jeremy" Jerome was convicted and sentenced in 1953 to three years at Lewisburg Penitentiary, that he served between 1954 and 1957.
Following his release from prison he began writing a novel based on the life of Spinoza.
Works
- Leninism, the only Marxism Today: A Discussion of the Characteristics of Declining Capitalism. With Alexander BittelmanAlexander BittelmanAlexander "Alex" Bittelman was a Russian-born Jewish-American communist political activist, Marxist theorist , contributed a more complex analysis , and writer. A founding member of the Communist Party of America, Bittelman is best remembered as the chief factional lieutenant of William Z...
. New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1934. - Social-Democracy and the War. New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1940.
- Intellectuals and the War. New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1940.
- The Path Dimitroff Charted New York, Workers Library Publishers, 1943.
- The Treatment of Defeated Germany. New York: New Century Publishers, 1945.
- A World "Christian Front"? What is Behind the Alliance between the Vatican and Finance Capital? The Anti-Social Ethics of Red-Baiters: A Reply to Clare Boothe Luce. New York: New Masses, 1947.
- Culture in a changing world, a Marxist approach. New York: New Century Publishers, 1947.
- The Negro in Hollywood films. New York: Masses & Mainstream, 1950.
- Grasp the Weapon of Culture! New York: New Century Publishers, 1951.
- A lantern for Jeremy: A Novel. New York: New Century Publishers, 1952. (Juvenile audience)
- The Paper Bridge: A Novel. New York: Citadel Press, 1966.