Russian-American journalist, editor, and writer remembered for his work with an American Communist journal called The New Masses. He also edited a political publication called the Partisan Review.
At the age of seventeen, he became a member of the Socialist Party of America. Several years later, he graduated from Columbia University.
In the 1920s, he served as the American Civil Liberties Union's head of publicity.
He was born in the Ukraine to Jewish parents. He emigrated to America at the age of seven and became a United States citizen a decade and a half later.
His first wife, Ione Robinson, trained with renowned artist Diego Rivera. His second wife, Charmion von Wiegand, was also an artist.