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The second phase includes the three periods that [Emma Goldman] resided in Canada: from 15 October 1926 to 20 February 1928, from 10 December 1933 to 3 May 1935, and from 19 April 1939 to 14 May 1940, when she died after experiencing a paralyzing stroke. Moritz and Moritz demonstrate that wherever in the world Emma Goldman lived and worked she attempted to involve herself in local affairs and local organization. Canada was no exception. She was intimate with anarchists and radicals in Montreal and especially Toronto where she lived. She worked on local and international campaigns, lectured extensively, and wrote. But her Canadian years also saw Goldman confronting many deeply personal and political issues attendant with aging. In this period more than any other the maturing Goldman was dealing with such personal issues as growing older and being past her peak of influence. She was feeling the need for personal and monetary security. Her idealism was sometimes diminishing and the incremental gains that might be made through compromise with authority were becoming more palatable. She was increasingly inclined to work within, or at least use, the system for her and her comrades' advantage. She was also witness to the waning influence and importance of anarchism in the labour and radical movements that occurred after the Russian Revolution. Most difficult was that defections from anarchism included some of her closest associates. Her anti-authoritarian opposition to state communism was unpopular and contentious in labour/radical circles. Despite these difficulties, however, she struggled in the name of her cause until her death. This period of Goldman's life is portrayed in a particularly human way that is at times both joyful and tragic.
Albert Moritz and Theresa Moritz, (Vancouver: Subway Books, 2001)
PERHAPS THE MOST NOTORIOUS anarchist in North America, a mere echo of the name Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was at one time enough to provoke fear and condemnation from sectors of the capitalist and elite establishment. It was also the cause of acute consternation and vigorous denunciation from various socialist and communist organizations. "Red Emma," as she was sometimes known, was thought to be "the most dangerous woman in America." She was schooled in the anarchist-communist philosophy of the Russian-born Peter Kropotkin and in the street-corner labour-hall agitation of the late 19th century. She was a free-love advocate, champion of birth control, supporter of libertarian education, defender of political prisoners, and "enemy of all government."
Biographically, Goldman is commonly portrayed as possessing a militant self-assurance, indefatigable endurance, unfaltering enthusiasm, and boundless dedication to her cause: nothing less than "total human emancipation." By many accounts she possessed these traits in abundance, but in a letter dated 5 January 1935 she wrote from her residence in Toronto to her comrade Alexander Berkman: "Fact is dearest, we are fools. We cling to an ideal nobody wants or cares about. And I am the greater fool of the two of us. I go eating my heart out and poisoning every moment of my life in the attempt to rouse people's sensibilities. At least if I could do it with closed eyes. The irony is I see the futility of my efforts and yet I can't let go."
If previous biographies have generally downplayed such moments of self-doubt and disillusionment, they have also paid scant attention to Goldman's activities and three extended periods of residence in Canada. According to Moritz and Moritz, this neglect can be partially explained by previous biographers' Americentric emphasis and reliance on her 1931 autobiography. The later years of her life were thereby neglected. This new portrait is in part an attempt to correct these deficiencies. It treats her experience in Canada as constituting a central and unique period of her career deserving greater elucidation. It also situates these later years within the context of her entire life. Previously ignored private papers both in Europe and the US, as well as a wealth of unknown or undervalued Canadian resources, were utilized in the research prepared for this book. The result is an illuminating and well-documented new study that clearly focuses on the multiple concerns and activities of an aging Emma Goldman against the backdrop of the small Canadian anarchist milieu.
There are two distinct phases of Emma Goldman's activities in Canada. The first spans the years 1906-1908 when she made several incursions into the "northern monarchy" on lecture and fundraising tours for her journal Mother Earth. Destinations over the three years included Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, London, and Vancouver. Upon the invitation of various radical clubs and labour associations she spoke largely to working people on such topics as: misconceptions of anarchism, the revolutionary influence of modern drama, women's emancipation, direct action vs. legislation, crimes of parents and educators, the position of Jews in Russia, and trade unionism's relation to anarchism. She found willing audiences deeply concerned with the Social Question. The Canadian authorities seemed to be more tolerant than their American counterparts and the press coverage of her engagements seemed relatively balanced.
The second phase includes the three periods that Emma Goldman resided in Canada: from 15 October 1926 to 20 February 1928, from 10 December 1933 to 3 May 1935, and from 19 April 1939 to 14 May 1940, when she died after experiencing a paralyzing stroke. Moritz and Moritz demonstrate that wherever in the world Emma Goldman lived and worked she attempted to involve herself in local affairs and local organization. Canada was no exception. She was intimate with anarchists and radicals in Montreal and especially Toronto where she lived. She worked on local and international campaigns, lectured extensively, and wrote. But her Canadian years also saw Goldman confronting many deeply personal and political issues attendant with aging. In this period more than any other the maturing Goldman was dealing with such personal issues as growing older and being past her peak of influence. She was feeling the need for personal and monetary security. Her idealism was sometimes diminishing and the incremental gains that might be made through compromise with authority were becoming more palatable. She was increasingly inclined to work within, or at least use, the system for her and her comrades' advantage. She was also witness to the waning influence and importance of anarchism in the labour and radical movements that occurred after the Russian Revolution. Most difficult was that defections from anarchism included some of her closest associates. Her anti-authoritarian opposition to state communism was unpopular and contentious in labour/radical circles. Despite these difficulties, however, she struggled in the name of her cause until her death. This period of Goldman's life is portrayed in a particularly human way that is at times both joyful and tragic.
As well as further developing the biographical account of Emma Goldman, this new volume is also an important contribution to the history of anarchism in Canada. There is very little scholarly historical work on anarchism and anarchists in this country and no full-length historical studies yet exist. Although it never attained the important position it had elsewhere, anarchism did exert some influence on Canadian labour and cultural organizations before World War II. The history of anarchism deserves greater attention from Canadian working-class and radical historians. This new biography makes a significant contribution to this nascent project and opens up intriguing possibilities for further elaboration.
Marc Bernhard
University of Guelph
Copyright Canadian Committee on Labour History Fall 2002