John Dos Passos, 1933 - 1958
Scope and Contents
A small collection of correspondence related to American novelist John Dos Passos. The earliest, dated 1933, is a typed letter from Funk & Wagnalls editor Frank Horace Vizetelly (1864-1938) asking for confirmation of the pronunciation of Dos Passos’ name for a column in “The Literary Digest” – which Dos Passos has dutifully annotated and initialed. The second letter is dated 1945, and contains a note on Hotel Lafayette letterhead responding to a request for an autograph from a Mr. Campbell. The third letter, typed, signed, and dated 1958, is addressed to a Mr. Mayes and contains a sarcastic response to the idea of writing a new national anthem: “The patriotic ardor isn’t there. Better stick to the old one written at a time when Americans knew what their mission was in the world.” This final letter hints toward the change in political mood that characterized Dos Passos in his later years.
Dates
- 1933 - 1958
Conditions Governing Access
Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.
Biographical / Historical
John Dos Passos (1896-1970) was an American novelist considered to be part of the so-called Lost Generation. A social radical and sometime Communist, Dos Passos is most well-known for his U.S.A. trilogy (1930-1936), a series of experimental novels characterized by their indictment of Capitalism during the early industrial age in America. By the 1950s, Dos Passos had undergone a dramatic political transformation, moving precipitously to the right, and he campaigned for Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s.
Extent
From the Collection: 30 Cubic Feet (68 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
From the Collection: French
From the Collection: Italian
From the Collection: Welsh
From the Collection: Danish
From the Collection: Swedish
From the Collection: Spanish
From the Collection: German
From the Collection: Norwegian
From the Collection: Persian
From the Collection: Japanese
From the Collection: Russian
From the Collection: Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
Creator
- From the Collection: Scheetz, Nicholas B., 1952-2016 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu