Farewell, Mrs. Santos

With a heavy heart, I relate the passing of Maria do Carmo da Cunha Santos, founder of the Centro Cultural John Dos Passos in Madeira. I was working on a political campaign and I missed it, but the rest of my family attended the grand opening of the Centro in 2004. My talented sister Lara… Read more »

Dos Passos Beans

My favorite news story all week: “The Provincetown Bean is actually from Spain. John Dos Passos, the author, picked up the seed when he was fighting in the Spanish Civil War and brought the seed to Provincetown where the beans are still grown, although Ford has been unable to corral them for the seed library.”… Read more »

A Lifeline Across the Scary Present

See the above still from a screening of Robles, Duelo al Sol in Spain. That’s me, trying to do my grandfather proud. He is so right: the past can be a lifeline across the scary present. “a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present.”—John Dos Passos… Read more »

Covert Art for U.S.A.

Never seen this cover art before. Pretty awesome. Very much in keeping with the monolithic societal forces at work in the novels. Consulting with a colleague, I’ve learned that this is probably the first British edition of U.S.A.  You’re never far from a friend of Dos Passos.

2 Week Notice – John Dos Passos Conference

2 week alert! The John Dos Passos Society invites papers for its second biennial conference, June 2-4, 2016, in Madrid, Spain. Any topic relative to Dos Passos is welcome. Please send an abstract of 250-300 words and a brief CV to jdpsociety@gmail.com by January 15th. Make note of any A/V requests in your abstract. The… Read more »

Hemingway and Dos Passos

The third volume of the new series of Hemingway’s collected letters is out, containing letters to John Dos Passos. I love reading the letters grandfather wrote to Hem. The letters JDP wrote to my Mom are my favorite.

Q and A: Victoria Bryan

The John Dos Passos Society, the American academic society devoted to study of his work, is busy preparing for its 2nd biennial conference, to be held in Madrid, Spain in June 2016. I talked recently to the current president of the Society, Victoria Bryan, about what this conference means for the Dos Passos legacy. Thanks… Read more »

Celebrating The Best Times

Dr. Miguel Oliveira of Portugal is one of the finest Dos Passos scholars working today. His commitment to the legacy is remarkable. Today he contributes his thoughts on The Best Times (1966), Dos Passos’ memoirs. The memoirs were recently given new life thanks to Open Road Media. Open Road did a terrific job renewing the… Read more »

2nd Biennial John Dos Passos Society Conference

The John Dos Passos Society invites papers for its second biennial conference, June 2-4, 2016, in Madrid, Spain. Any topic relative to Dos Passos is welcome. Please send an abstract of 250-300 words and a brief CV to jdpsociety@gmail.com by January 15th, 2016. Make note of any A/V requests in your abstract. The conference will… Read more »

My New Website

My literary website is here! Nowadays every writer has to tweet and hum and chirp on all frequencies to make a dime. Thanks to my grandfather whose sublime landscape of Palma de Mallorca graces my homepage. I’m following a wonderful wordsmithing tradition!

Alice Beja Publishes New Book on Dos Passos

French scholar Alice Béja has published a new book on my grandfather, Des Mots Pour Se Battre. Wonderful to see new JDP-related publishing! France was always a special place for my grandfather. I think it’s accurate to say that his knowledge of French was just a few shades below his English. And his culinary appetite… Read more »

The Best Times Return

The e-book format for The Best Times by John Dos Passos is here! Revitalizing this title has long been a goal of mine for the legacy. Down the road, I would love to see a major publisher re-release the title in hard copy with a new introduction. I think of a few wonderful JDP scholars… Read more »

Huffington Post

Friend and filmmaker Sonia Tercero Ramiro has written a wonderful entry in Spain’s Huffington Post. Sonia is director and producer of Robles, Duelo al Sol, the new Spanish documentary on John Dos Passos, Robles, and the Spanish Civil War. I am so proud to be a part of this project. I miss Spain. The exuberant… Read more »