MacKinlay Kantor

MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was a prolific and acclaimed American author. Originally a journalist by trade, he would begin publishing his first works of fiction for various popular genre magazines in the Old United States (commonly called 'pulp' magazines), primarily those centered around crime fiction and thrillers. Later, he would submit stories to the 'slick' magazines of mainstream literature, and gain international acclaim for his historical novels.

Born from a family of Swedish Jews in Iowa, Kantor had always lived with the sense of an outsider looking in. Growing up, though he considered himself a patriotic American, he also felt a sense of exclusion and 'otherness' to those around him. This sense of discontent translated into the company he kept: Kantor was among the new generation of authors and artists who aligned themselves with the burgeoning American socialist movement, and among his first submissions were to magazines like Inkwell (a popular literary publication of Vanguard Press, itself the publishing arm of the Worker's Communist Party) as well as the crime fiction periodical Streetlight (also a Vanguard Press publication). Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Kantor would live in various Intentional Communities throughout the old US, such as Free Acres, New Jersey. In 1930, a recommendation from a fellow author (Dalton Trumbo) would see him begin work in the various production collectives of Hollywood, where he would write scripts for such popular films as Gun Crazy (a film noir, based on his short story of the same name, noted for its then controversial eroticism and distinctly subversive stance on crime and economics).

Kantor's life, like American society, would face upheaval in 1933. A longtime supporter of the Democratic-Farmer-Labour Party, and a fellow traveler for the Worker's Communist Party, Kantor voted for the Popular Front in the 1932 election, along with many of his fellow colleagues. Early the following year, Douglas MacArthur and his conspirators would initiate the MacArthur Putsch, the spark that would ignite the Second American Civil War( also called the Second American Revolution). The chaos and bloodshed that was wrought upon the old United States would scar many of Kantor's generation, and for Kantor himself it would forever alter the way he saw the old United States and it's history. This would have a significant impact on the historical novels that he would build his reputation upon.

After the foundation of the Union of American Socialist Republics, Kantor would continue his burgeoning writing career while also taking part in various artistic and literary committees. He also continued his work as a journalist, reporting on such events as the effects of the First Cultural Revolution in the Midwest, and the events that would become known as the Revolt of the Cadres. He would also correspond with fellow Comintern reporters on the rise of Fascism in Europe. He would continue his work as a correspondent during the Global Antifascist Struggle (aka World War II), and the events he witnessed would influence his later works.

He died peacefully in his sleep in 1977. His last published novel was based on a defining moment in the Old United States' history, Valley Forge.

Outside of his literary work, Kantor was an amateur musician whose hobbies included playing the guitar (a constant sight was Kantor playing and singing at various literary conferences). He was also a wilderness enthusiast, and a conservationist. Throughout his life, he was a constant presence at his local Soviet, arguing for the preservation of various historical and wilderness sights.

Literary Works and Reputation
Kantor was a prolific author in many fields. His output included numerous pieces of journalism, political and autobiographical essays, screenplays, works for the theater, poetry, song lyrics, short stories, novellas, and of course novels. His fictional work was also numerous in its subjects: He was at home writing narratives of contemporary life as he was in writing tales of criminals, activists, and the downtrodden (where the bulk of his early crime fiction resides), as well as stories of soldiers and workers in faraway lands. Novels such as Signal Thirty-Two would see him return to the crime themes of his early writing, combined with a literary eye on the nature of police work both before and after the Second Revolution.

However, it was his works of historical fiction that he built his national (and international) reputation. Kantor was among the first generation of post-Second Revolution authors to reach a global audience thanks both to publishing collectives in the TCI, as well as various publishing houses in the AFS. This prestige meant that his historical works not only resurrected interests in the history of the old United States, but would also color it's popular imagining.

In particular, Kantor would become most famous for his works taking place in the Slavers' War (the First American Civil War). Having grown up listening to stories told by elderly Slavers' War veterans, he would harbor a long fascination with the often contradictory history of his native country, which he found was best represented by this conflict. Although his first Slaver's War-related publication would be early in his career, it was his later books such as Long Remember (set at the Battle of Gettysburg) and Silent Grow The Guns (a 'novel in stories' about Bleeding Kansas). Kantor would become known for his ability to tell historically authentic stories of the Old United States' history, while at the same time managing to underpin all of the contradictions and violence that were inherent in the old system. "Even in It's finest hours, the Old Republic could never escape the contradictions of it's structure, and the sins of bourgeois society would always ferment underneath", he would be quoted as saying.

He would not solidify his international reputation until the 1955 publication of his masterpiece, Andersonville. This novel, which largely takes place in the eponymous Slavers' prison camp, was a national and international smash hit. Literary critics marveled at the 'journalistic eye' of the narrative towards the everyday cruelties of a concentration camp, while never descending into 'unneeded luridness'. This was not purely out of thin air; Kantor had been present at the liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 19XX, and the things he saw could be directly reflected in this novel. International readers were shocked at the sheer brutality on display in the text, helping to stifle the idealized view of the Confederacy that had been somewhat present in the FBU. In fact, Kantor is credited with helping to resurrect popular interest in the conflict, leading to the creation of various historical re-enactment communities in the FBU and abroad.

The book would be banned from American Havana until the 1970s, shortly before Kantor's death.