William Morris on Socialism

Presents the first extended collection of new William Morris essays in several decades William Morris's socialist essays remain uncannily relevant for our time, as he addresses issues of inequality, precarity, and the need for pleasure and creative fulfilment in work and life. This scholarly edition traces Morris's opinions from his early insistence that all must have access to art in its broadest sense, through his years as a leader and theorist of the nascent British socialist movement. Finally, as Morris became the elder statesman of the socialist/labour cause, these writings demonstrate his efforts to reconcile competing factions in the service of common aims. Gathered from manuscripts, newspapers and elsewhere, these hitherto less-available writings illuminate Morris's skill and tact in appealing to differing audiences in the interests of an egalitarian red-green creative future. Florence S. Boos is Professor of English at the University of Iowa and the founder and general editor of the William Morris Archive.