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Trees Became Torches: Selected Poems
"Rolfe's voice is one that many of us feared was buried forever.
. . . He stands in the forefront of an entire 'lost generation' of left-wing
writers who fused artistic craft with irrepressible political commitment."
-- Alan Wald, author of The Responsibility of Selected
Essays on Marxist Traditions in Cultural Commitment
"[Rolfe's] Spanish Civil War poems may be the best written by an
American writer, and his McCarthy era poems brilliantly counteract the
often apolitical, rather socially aseptic poetry of their time."
-- Reginald Gibbons, editor of TriQuarterly
The radical journalist and poet Edwin Rolfe wrote eloquently of the hardships
of the Great Depression, the experience of war, and McCarthy era witch-hunts.
More than fifty of his best poems--some beautifully lyrical and some devastatingly
satiric--are included in Trees Became Torches. Rolfe was widely
known as the poet laureate of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the Americans
who volunteered to help defend the elected Spanish government during the
1936-39 civil war.
. . . He stands in the forefront of an entire 'lost generation' of left-wing
writers who fused artistic craft with irrepressible political commitment."
-- Alan Wald, author of The Responsibility of Selected
Essays on Marxist Traditions in Cultural Commitment
"[Rolfe's] Spanish Civil War poems may be the best written by an
American writer, and his McCarthy era poems brilliantly counteract the
often apolitical, rather socially aseptic poetry of their time."
-- Reginald Gibbons, editor of TriQuarterly
The radical journalist and poet Edwin Rolfe wrote eloquently of the hardships
of the Great Depression, the experience of war, and McCarthy era witch-hunts.
More than fifty of his best poems--some beautifully lyrical and some devastatingly
satiric--are included in Trees Became Torches. Rolfe was widely
known as the poet laureate of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the Americans
who volunteered to help defend the elected Spanish government during the
1936-39 civil war.
- GenresPoetry
168 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 1994
8 people want to read
About the author
Edwin Rolfe
23 books1 followerEdwin Rolfe (September 7, 1909 – May 24, 1954) was an American poet and journalist.
He was born Solomon Fishman in Philadelphia in 1909, the first of three sons. His parents were immigrants from Russia, and had married the year before, having met through a marriage broker. Both of his parents were politically active, with his mother involved in the suffrage and birth control movements, and his father a labor organizer and union officer. In 1915 the family moved to New York. Rolfe attended New Utrecht High School and contributed to the school magazine, The Comet and eventually became its editor, following Leo Hurwitz, who was a close friend of Rolfe in his early years. During this period Rolfe (then Fishman) began to use pseudonyms, and eventually settled on "Edwin Rolfe".
Rolfe married in 1936, and both he and his wife traveled to Spain in 1937.
Rolfe served in the Spanish Civil War with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was conscripted into the US Army, in 1943. After the war he returned to work as a writer, co-writing the mystery novel, The Glass Room. He was commissioned to write a history of American volunteers during the Spanish Civil War. He went to Hollywood to develop a script for The Glass Room. Jacket magazine wrote that he was blacklisted following the House UnAmerican Activities Committee's investigation into Communists in Hollywood. Since this moment he became one of the most prominent anti-McCarthy activist.
Rolfe met Ernest Hemingway when they were both in Spain, and, according to Jacket magazine their friendship and correspondence lasted the rest of his life
He was born Solomon Fishman in Philadelphia in 1909, the first of three sons. His parents were immigrants from Russia, and had married the year before, having met through a marriage broker. Both of his parents were politically active, with his mother involved in the suffrage and birth control movements, and his father a labor organizer and union officer. In 1915 the family moved to New York. Rolfe attended New Utrecht High School and contributed to the school magazine, The Comet and eventually became its editor, following Leo Hurwitz, who was a close friend of Rolfe in his early years. During this period Rolfe (then Fishman) began to use pseudonyms, and eventually settled on "Edwin Rolfe".
Rolfe married in 1936, and both he and his wife traveled to Spain in 1937.
Rolfe served in the Spanish Civil War with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He was conscripted into the US Army, in 1943. After the war he returned to work as a writer, co-writing the mystery novel, The Glass Room. He was commissioned to write a history of American volunteers during the Spanish Civil War. He went to Hollywood to develop a script for The Glass Room. Jacket magazine wrote that he was blacklisted following the House UnAmerican Activities Committee's investigation into Communists in Hollywood. Since this moment he became one of the most prominent anti-McCarthy activist.
Rolfe met Ernest Hemingway when they were both in Spain, and, according to Jacket magazine their friendship and correspondence lasted the rest of his life
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August 27, 2022💫great companion read to roads to dominion
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