What did New York City look like in 1911?

An extraordinary piece of film modernization–check out this footage of New York City in 1911, originally shot by a Swedish film crew. It’s been adjusted in various ways to give a modern feel. Beyond the general historical value, it provides a deep sensory experience of the time period covered by John Dos Passos’s Manhattan Transfer… Read more »

Centennial of One Man’s Initiation

On the 100th anniversary of the publication of John Dos Passos’s first published novel, One Man’s Initiation, scholar par excellence Lisa Nanney writes about the novel’s significance at the Liverpool University Press blog. Included in the blog post is a rare pastel crayon sketch of my grandfather’s. It’s eerie and evocative.

Dos Passos in The New Yorker

What a splendid way to end the year! Yesterday, The New Yorker published a re-appraisal of John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy. These “second reads” of his books are rare indeed and this one makes great points about JDP’s relevance today. “The line for which Dos Passos is best known comes from his anguished account, in… Read more »

Boston ALA

Successful meeting of the John Dos Passos Society last week at the annual conference of the American Literature Association in Boston, MA. Presenters and representatives from Spain, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. Dos Passos led an international, multicultural life, and scholars regularly fly from around the world to seek fellowship in JDP studies. The… Read more »

Apollo 11

Except for Midcentury (1961), my grandfather John Dos Passos had great trouble selling books and earning critical acclaim with his books after the U.S.A trilogy (1938). Yet, contrary to the critical consensus that still damages his legacy, his pen did not suddenly and irrevocably become inert from 1938-1970. Some of his last works were his… Read more »

Portuguese Surnames in America: dos Passos and Pereira

Again, per Miguel Oliveira‘s book on John Dos Passos as immigrant, many Portuguese-American immigrants change their surnames to assimilate into American culture. “dos Passos” became “Dos Passos” (a relatively small change) and, in other families, “Pereira” became “Perry.” Super-famous American singer, Steve Perry, the voice of Journey and “Don’t Stop Believin’,” was born in Hanford,… Read more »

Portuguese-Americans in New England

Traditionally, many Portuguese coming to the United States have settled in New England, in Massachusetts or Maine, along the coast. My grandfather in fact lived many years, happily, in Provincetown, among the seamen and artists. Reading portions of Miguel Oliveira’s wonderful book, From a Man without a Country to an American by Choice: John Dos… Read more »

Happy New Year

To fête the New Year, enjoy this remarkable 1969 interview with John Dos Passos in Argentina, recently reprinted by Los Andes. One of the last press interviews of his life, when he was scrambling across South America to see special places before succumbing to heart disease. The photo is never-before-seen by the Dos Passos family.

Dos Passos and E.E. Cummings

Once again, a sweet recollection from Virginia Spencer Carr’s biography of Dos Passos, paperback, page 547: 1962, Dos Passos reacts to E.E. Cummings’ death. “I can hardly believe it yet. Though I didn’t see him very often, it leaves a great hole in my life. I had grown fonder of him through the years. As… Read more »

Dos and Hem

Quite sure this the last time my grandfather wrote Hemingway. It’s noted in Virginia Spencer Carr’s biography of Dos Passos, which is really worth a close read. “In the spring of 1961 when Dos Passos read that Hemingway had almost walked into the spinning blades of an airplane propeller, he dropped him a note, saying… Read more »

Dos Passos and Steinbeck in Tokyo

“September 1, 1957, Dos Passos boarded a plane with John Steinbeck and John Hersey to fly to Tokyo as America’s official representatives at the twenty-ninth International PEN Congress. The trio–billed as ‘the three Johns: Dos Passos, Steinbeck, and Hersey’–was given a thunderous ovation when introduced, but Dos Passos was the obvious star of the American… Read more »

The Book That Never Was

More intriguing history from the Dos Passos biography written by Virginia Spencer Carr. “Dodd, Mead had proposed another book they wanted Dos Passos to write, but he said that it would take an advance of at least twenty-five thousand dollars for him to research and write it. The book was to be a broad study… Read more »

Dos Passos, Sandburg, Lincoln, Jefferson

Per Virginia Spencer Carr’s biography of John Dos Passos, “Dos Passos sent Carl Sandburg an advance copy of The Head and Heart of Thomas Jefferson, saying: ‘Ever since you rescued Lincoln from the embalmers I’ve had a notion of doing something similar with Jefferson. I haven’t the faintest notion whether I have succeeded or failed,… Read more »