The Blast (magazine)
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| Categories | Political Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Semi-monthly |
| Publisher | Alexander Berkman |
| First issue | January 15, 1916 |
| Final issue — Number |
June 1, 1917 Vol. 2 No. 5 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Based in | San Francisco, California |
| Language | English |
The Blast was a semi-monthly anarchist periodical published by Alexander Berkman in San Francisco, California, USA from 1916 through 1917. The publication had roots in Emma Goldman's magazine Mother Earth, having been launched when her former consort Berkman left his editorial position at that publication.
Mother Earth was an anarchist magazine established in New York City in March 1906 by Russian-Jewish émigré Emma Goldman (1869-1940) and Max Baginski (1864-1943). Beginning in March 1907, the editorial staff was joined by Alexander Berkman (1870-1936), a consort of Goldman's since 1886.
Berkman had gained fame (or infamy) for his part in the July 1892 attempted assassination of Henry Clay Frick, the manager of the Carnegie Steel Company who in the previous month had emerged victorious in the bitter and violent Homestead Strike of the company's steel works at Homestead, Pennsylvania. Jailed for his failed attempt at political murder, Berkman was only released in May 1906, having served 14 years in prison for his crime. Berkman's joining of the editorial staff of Mother Earth was thus in the nature of a reunion.
In September 1914 Berkman and Goldman split, with Berkman hitting the road in an attempt to organize "Anti-Militarist Leagues" in opposition to World War I and to federate the dispersed array of local anarchist groups into a unified organization. He arrived in California in the spring of 1915 where he became involved in the defense of Mathew Schmidt and David Caplan, anarchists recently arrested following years living underground in connection with the October 1910 fatal bombing of the newspaper plant of the conservative Los Angeles Times. Berkman became a primary organizer of the Caplan-Schmidt Defense League in the summer of 1915 and henceforth devoted the bulk of his time to this legal fight, ending his formal editorial connection with Mother Earth.
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