An Engaged Mass Audience?: The Provocations of a Popular Front Slick, Direction (1937–1945)

Exploding the bounds of the little journal in light of the emerging mass market, Direction (1937–45) used lush design and high production values to synthesize both the radical communities of the early thirties and the foundational magazines of American modernism—the Masses, Little Review, and Poetry. A glossy, Popular Front magazine with iconic visuals by Paul Rand, Direction helped to launch American graphic design and to define the distinctive style of midcentury modernism. Inspired by the federal New Deal programs, Direction sought to decouple literature from the market, foster emerging artists, and empower readers as writers.