Goldsborough (novel)
Encyclopedia
Goldsborough is a proletarian novel
by the German-American writer Stefan Heym
.
It depicts a coal miners’ strike during 1949-1950 set in the fictional Goldsborough, Pennsylvania
, a company town near Pittsburgh. The protagonist is Carlisle Kennedy, head of a large family and himself a miner. When the local union chief fails to take action against the company, Kennedy leads a wildcat pit strike.
Stefan Heym, a refuge from Hitler’s Germany and a naturalized American, began this novel in the United States after doing site visits with coal miners in Western Pennsylvania
, but McCarthyism
drove him to East Germany, where he finished writing it in 1952. The book was written and first published in English, in Leipzig
, and released by an American publisher a year later, as well as in a German translation.
Heym renounced his American citizenship in response to the beginning of the Korean War
and lived in East Germany until his death.
Proletarian literature
Proletarian literature refers to the literature created by working-class writers for the class-conscious proletariat, published by the communist parties. It was a literature without literary pretensions....
by the German-American writer Stefan Heym
Stefan Heym
Helmut Flieg was a German-Jewish writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States between 1935 and 1952, before moving back to the part of his native Germany which was, from 1949–1990, German Democratic Republic...
.
It depicts a coal miners’ strike during 1949-1950 set in the fictional Goldsborough, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, a company town near Pittsburgh. The protagonist is Carlisle Kennedy, head of a large family and himself a miner. When the local union chief fails to take action against the company, Kennedy leads a wildcat pit strike.
Stefan Heym, a refuge from Hitler’s Germany and a naturalized American, began this novel in the United States after doing site visits with coal miners in Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
, but McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
drove him to East Germany, where he finished writing it in 1952. The book was written and first published in English, in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, and released by an American publisher a year later, as well as in a German translation.
Heym renounced his American citizenship in response to the beginning of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and lived in East Germany until his death.