A New Discovery of “Our America”: the Cultural Utopia of Waldo Frank in the Context of Early American Modernism

Abstract

The early stage of the work of the American modern writer Waldo Frank (1889-1967) is analyzed. The views, creativity and social and cultural projects of Frank are considered in the context of the search for American modernism in the 1910s. It is shown that during this period he actively participates in the public and literary life of the USA, since November 1916 he cooperated with the magazine “The Seven Arts” (1916-1917), around which young writers had united (J. Oppenheim, Van Wyck Brooks, S. Anderson etc.). Their project of national cultural construction aimed at self-affirmation of American culture in the face of the Old World is characterized. Particular attention is paid to Frank’s views on American society, which are reflected in his book “Our America” (1919): Frank exposed practicality, the consumer society and conformism and offered a utopian ideal of “true America”, which would have to be rediscovered. The article gives an overview of the reviews on the book “Our America”, traces the evolution of the concept of “our America” going back to Simón Bolívar and José Martí in Frank’s work during the 1920-1930s, a gradual movement towards the idea of the unity of the two Americas - the US and Latin America.