A.k. 47 - Selections From The Works Of Alexandra Kollontai

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads part 2 of Chapter Two of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love.

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads part one of Chapter Two of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love.Mentioned in this episode are the following books:Amis, B.D. African American Radical: A Short Anthology of Writings and Speeches.Andrews, Gregg. Thyra J. Edwards: Black Activist in the Global Freedom Struggle.Davies, Carole Boyce. Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones.Davis, Angela. Women, Race & Class.De los Reyes Castillo Bueno, Maria. Reyita: The Life of a Black Cuban Woman in the Twentieth Century.Dudziak, Mary. Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.McDuffie, Erik S. Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism.

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads Chapter One of the 1927 English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love.

Kristen R. Ghodsee introduces Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 novella, Red Love (full text available at marxists.org) and reads the Foreword to the 1927 English language edition. Also mentioned in the episode is Sally Rooney's novel, Normal People._______"This novel is neither a study in “morals,” nor a picture of the standard of life in Soviet Russia. It is a purely psychological study of sex-relations in the post-war period."I have chosen the environment of my own country and made my own people protagonists, for I know them better and could give a more vivid picture of their inner life and characters. Many of the problems presented are not exclusively Soviet-Russian; they are world-wide facts, which can be noted in all countries. These silent psychological dramas, born of the change in the sexual relations; this evolution, especially, in the feelings of women, are well known to the younger generation of Europe."Do we ever judge a man for his conduct in love-affairs? Generally, if he does

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads a passage from Cathy Porter's excellent biography of Alexandra Kollontai about the events of the year 1922 when Kollontai turned 50. Her standing in the Party was at its worst and her marriage to Dubenko was falling apart. It was during this time that she wrote her "Letters to Working Youth," trying to share her experience and advice with the younger generations. On this episode, Ghodsee discusses generational politics with her daughter and why Millennials and members of Generation Z (the Zoomers) are so resentful toward the Baby Boomers and Gen X. Mentioned in this episode is Baz Luhrmann's 1999 song "Everyone is free to wear sunscreen."

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reads the third and final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters." The "Nepmen" in the story are Soviet revolutionaries that take advantage of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) to get rich and return to traditional gender roles. Kollontai herself was very critical of the NEP and especially its effects on Soviet women. 

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reads the second part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters." The "Nepmen" in the story are Soviet revolutionaries that take advantage of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) to get rich and return to traditional gender roles. Kollontai herself was very critical of the NEP and especially its effects on Soviet women. 

In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reflects on the coronavirus and begins to read Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "Sisters." Mentioned in this episode are the $2.99 e-book sale for the entire month of April for Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, as well as Ghodsee's April 6th appearance on the Quarantine Books Club. 

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee send greetings from New Zealand and shares some exciting news about various articles and interviews that were published in conjunction with International Women's Day and Women's History Month. Please find below a list of links mentioned in this podcast: three in English and two in German. There is also a link to a Spanish translation of the New York Times piece.“How the socialist behind paid child care and parental leave was erased from women's history, “ NBC Think, March 7, 2020“Women’s Unpaid Labor is Worth $10,900,000,000,000” with Gus Wezerek, New York Times, March 5, 2020 [en Español: "El trabajo no remunerado que realizan las mujeres tiene un valor de 10,900,000,000,000 dólares"]Kristen de Groot, "The history behind International Women’s Day," Penn Today, March 6, 2020Cornelia Meyer, “ “Der späte Erfolg des Sozialismus: Warum in Osteuropa mehr Frauen in Tech-Berufen arbeiten,” Business Insider Germany, March 8, 2020Juli Katz, „Care-Arbe

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee recounts the amazing story of how Alexandra Kollontai saved the lives of one of her colleague's parents in Sweden. After the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940, Hans Cerf and his wife needed to immediately get out of Europe through Moscow, but the clerk in the Soviet embassy in Stockholm said that it would take six weeks to issue them visas. Enter one "beautiful bosomy lady."

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses the fraught historical relationship between left movements and women's emancipation. As the case of Kollontai shows us, revolutionary men do not always remain committed to women's issues after the revolution has been accomplished. Mentioned in this essay is this article about August Bebel from Jacobin Magazine.

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee discusses Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.The key characters are:Maria Stepanovna - The grandmother (Olga's mother and a populist)Olga Sergeevna - The mother (the letter writer and a Marxist)Comrade Ryabkov (Andrei) - Olga's husband (who is 7 years younger than she) and Zhenya&apo

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads the final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.The key characters are:Maria Stepanovna - The grandmother (Olga's mother and a populist)Olga Sergeevna - The mother (the letter writer and a Marxist)Comrade Ryabkov (Andrei) - Olga's husband (who is 7 years younger than she)

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads the fourth part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.The key characters are:Maria Stepanovna - The grandmother (Olga's mother and a populist)Olga Sergeevna - The mother (the letter writer and a Marxist)Comrade Ryabkov (Andrei) - Olga's husband (who is 7 years younger than she)

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads the third part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.The key characters are:Maria Stepanovna - The grandmother (Olga's mother and a populist)Olga Sergeevna - The mother (the letter writer and a Marxist)Comrade Ryabkov (Andrei) - Olga's husband (who is 7 years younger than she)

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads the second part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.

In this episode, Kristen R. Ghodsee reads the first part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1923 short story, "The Loves of Three Generations," her most controversial piece of fiction and one that caused her terrible amounts of trouble with her Bolshevik colleagues. This story is written as a letter to Kollontai from a revolutionary comrade who is having personal problems and seeks Kollontai's advice. This colleague wants to know if her own feelings of betrayal and jealousy are remnants of the bourgeois past or whether she is justified in her indignation. This story reflects Kollonta's proposal that romantic love will come second to love for work and for the collective in the new socialist society to come. Most Russian readers were horrified by this story in 1923.

In this bonus episode, Kristen Ghodsee speaks once again with Angelina Eimannsberger, a doctoral student in Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, about Alexandra Kollontai and the usefulness of her theories today, particularly with regard to popular culture. Mentioned in this episode are Reese Witherspoon's production company, Hello Sunshine, and the political economy of feminist media today. Also discussed is Kollontai's hierarchy of life priorities for what she calls the "New Woman." First should come some form of meaningful work for the collective progress of society. Second should come friendships, and only third should come love and romance. Kollontai believes that too many women put love and romance in the first place and this undermines them as individual personalities. Eimannsberger also discusses Kollontai's critical review of fiction with strong female characters, and notes that most of the writer's who crafted these characters in Kollontai's ti

In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's short story, "Soon (In 48 years time)," written in 1922 about her imagination of the future of the Soviet Union. This is the first piece of Kollontai's fiction to appear on this podcast and it imagines a future "fir tree festival" on the 7th of January 1970 where the young people living on Commune 10 no longer know the words for "rich" and "poor." The story features a "Red Grandmother" who tells stories of the "Great Years" of the revolution and the long forgotten system called "capitalism." What is so interesting about this short story is the implicit hint that the future communards of the Soviet Union are committed environmentalists. They have special guardians of the plant kingdom and they now use reflected light rays instead of electricity. Kollontai also gives the reader a glimpse of what life on a commune is like in 1970, with everybody responsible for only two hou

Kristen R. Ghodsee reads and discusses part three of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "Theses on Communist Morality in the Sphere of Marital Relations." This essay is a precursor to "Make Way for Winged Eros" where Kollontai develops her Marxist understanding of marriage and the family as being part of the ideological superstructure, which is determined by the base of economic relations. Kollontai argues that the demise of capitalism will usher forth new definitions of the family. She argues that the end of capitalist economic relations will mean an end to the present definition of the family, but will produce a new definition of family more suitable to a collective and more cooperative society.In this episode, Ghodsee also discusses Kollontai's problematic views on sex work and eugenics, and the challenges of reading Kollontai's 1921 essay from the vantage of 2019. In particular, Kollontai's eugenicist views must be rejected even as contemporary readers grapple with t