During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many artists, writers, and dramatists joined the Communist Party of Canada and its cultural wing, the Progressive Arts Club. They produced plays, and contributed articles, poems and stories to socialist magazines, such as Masses and New Frontier. As the depression deepened and radical politics became less sectarian, women played a more prominent role in the cultural realm of radical politics. Their increased participation changed the way women were represented in art and literature; women's roles became less stereotypical, and women artists and writers combined both socialist and feminist concerns in their work. The journal New Frontier, founded by Jean "Jim" Watts and edited by two women and two men, provides numerous examples of socialist-feminist writing. Dorothy Livesay, one of the editors and a member of the Communist Party from 1932 to 1937, deserves special attention for her contribution to Canadian literature of social protest.

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