The Arts in Social Change reveals significant patterns in the dynamic relations between artists and activists in movements for change. From the early 20th century Greenwich Village rebellion to today’s theatre of social justice, the writers, artists and agitators of social unrest are here—John Reed to Tom Hayden, Emma Goldman to Angela Davis, Tristan Tzara to Abbie Hoffman, James T. Farrell to Jack Kerouac.

Professor Starr’s volume not only reveals the personalities and organizations that were part of America’s rich radical tradition, but it approaches the problem of social transformation through the prism of culture, color and aesthetics. Provocative and insightful, this collection represents an important achievement in the reinterpretation of America’s pluralistic past.

Dr. Manning Marable,
Professor of History and African American Studies
Columbia University