Mehring Books officially launched its newest title, Art as the Cognition of Life, Selected Writings 1911-1936, by Aleksandr K. Voronsky, at book signings at two Borders Book Shops in New York City this past weekend.
Translator Frederick Choate presented the book at the Park Avenue Borders on Thursday, September 24 and at the World Trade Center Borders on Friday, September 25. Both events generated considerable interest among those in attendance as Choate outlined the significance of the publication of this volume.
Following Choate's opening remarks on Friday many questions were raised by those in attendance, including what influence Voronsky's writings would have on Western literary criticism and whether there was a significant following for Voronsky's views in Russia today. One person in the audience asked Choate why he had become interested in studying his writings. A number of people remained following the presentation to discuss informally with the translator.
Representatives from Mehring Books also participated in the 'New York Is Book Country' fair on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday. In its eighteenth year, the fair attracts thousands from New York and beyond. Many stopped at the Mehring Books booth to purchase literature and view the display entitled 'The Socialist Opposition to Stalinism.' Mehring's newest titles, Art as the Cognition of Life by A.K. Voronsky and 1937: Stalin's Year of Terror by Vadim Z. Rogovin were prominently featured. People stopping at the booth were eager to discuss questions of Russian history, art and literary criticism, the struggle between Stalinism and Trotskyism, and much more.
A wide selection of articles from the World Socialist Web Site was also distributed, provoking discussion on the Clinton crisis, the economy and international developments. Sales of literature were brisk, with particular interest in the pamphlet Anti-Semitism, Fascism and the Holocaust: A critical review of Daniel Goldhagen's 'Hitler's Willing Executioners,' other contemporary pamphlets, and the new Voronsky volume.
See also:
'By thinking in images the artist cognizes the world in order to change it'