“If
there is a special ‘Hell’ for writers it would probably be the forced contemplation
of their own works.” – John Dos Passos
Born on this date in 1896, Dos Passos is another of the great Chicago writers from the first half of the last century. His mark in literature came primarily in the area of writing about issues of social justice even though he was a member of what today would be called “The 1%.”
Well-educated (private schools and a
university degree from Harvard) and well-traveled, he visited Europe and the
Middle East where he learned about literature, art and architecture. Those experiences, though, were balanced against his
experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I and shaped the views and his
writing about “fairness and justice.”
John Dos Passos
The author of many books and also a
gifted artist (he did covers for Life
magazine, for example) he is best known for his USA Trilogy, which consists of The
42nd Parallel, 1919,
and The Big Money – a trio of novels
that has been rated in the top 25 of The 100 Best English Language novels of
the 20th Century.
Near the end of his long life – he died
at age 84 in 1970 – Dos Passos reflected on his life’s work and said: “The
creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an
individual, but we, each of us, for better or worse, add our brick to the
edifice.”
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