PRINT CULTURE
The Sociedades Hispanas Confederadas, or SHC, published the weekly antifascist periodicals Frente Popular (1936-1939) and España Libre (1939-1977) in New York.
Socialist exile Victoria Kent and Louise Crane published the monthly Ibérica (1953-1974) in New York.
Félix Martí Ibáñez published the semi-monthly Ariel (1938-1939) in Los Angeles.
Cultura Proletaria (New York) and El Antifascista (Los Angeles) were other antifascist periodicals.
En español
"Workers do not get published because their wages are so low, and they must work extremely long hours. They have no time to write, not even time to be with their families. Even when they do write, their work is not published. Besides, the public (who is very aware of class in Spain) would notice an unpleasant smell on the page: the sweat of workers; and the literati, raising their noses, would oppose the proletarianization of literature" (Aurelio Pego, Montse Feu (trans.) “Literature of Gentlemen,” España Libre, March 7, 1958)
Print culture was the primary form of communication among US and global antifascists, and it was built on historical networks of worker print culture. From 1880 to 1940, about 235 anarchist periodicals circulated in the United States and about 850 in Spain. These periodicals were ephemeral, while others lasted decades and published thousands of issues. Radical workers emphasized preserving and memorializing their history and culture, collective memories, and their organizations' educational practices. Despite these efforts, their records have often been destroyed, censured, deemed irrelevant, or unworthy of institutional care or research attention. Consequently, worker antifascist culture is not always widely available or accessible. Periodical research diversifies antifascist studies by including migrants and radical workers in the cultural and historical discourse.
Despite the irregularity inherent to the alternative press, workers’ periodicals constituted a reliable source of news, opinions, ideas, and practices. They also operated as connecting hubs for workers' networks in the United States, as their editors and staff became organic leaders. Workers' newspapers and magazines functioned as practical resources to contest elitism and repression while fostering grassroots solidarity and mutual aid.