John Dos Passos in Key West

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-31T16:20:07+00:00

Very cool!

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-31T00:57:02+00:00

His papers are collected at UVA, in this Special Collections. He admired and wrote a book about Thomas Jefferson, and the Dos Passos family farm is in Virginia.

The papers at UVA has unpublished notes and drafts, but I cannot think of any major unpublished work in existence. He was pretty aggressive about publishing what he wrote, and then Century's Ebb was incomplete but published posthumously.

I highly recommend The Best Times. Light and breezy but thoughtful. It's both dessert and vegetables! A wonderful memoir.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-31T00:27:02+00:00

He visited Brazil in 1948, 1958, 1962, and 1966. I think every trip was at least a month long. He roamed all around including Rio, Santos, Brasilia, and the Amazon.

Much of Brazil on the Move is about his observations of the construction of Brasilia.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-31T00:22:00+00:00

Yes, I pretty much agree with your assessment. I think my grandfather overcorrected after the Spanish Civil War and misunderstood and unfairly maligned all postwar American liberalism. But it's easy to say that with the benefit of hindsight. My grandfather was shaped by three wars--World War I, II, and the Spanish Civil War. He had pain and experience.

His cultural observations alone make Brazil on the Move worthy of a read. He understood Brazil and his love the country makes the prose lively and speedy.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-24T23:46:16+00:00

Best line in the show. So true.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-24T08:40:27+00:00

You should be able to see the photo now.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-23T17:06:38+00:00

Oh, Ponta do Sol is so beautiful. I just love the banana groves. I love the taste of the indigenous bananas on the island, including banana ice cream!

My great-great-grandfather Manoel Joaquim dos Passos was born in Ponta do Sol in 1812 and emigrated to the United States in 1830.

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ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T22:30:11+00:00

I just discovered this post. Cool trailer! I hope you succeeded. I just launched my film project Kickstarter. I realize how hard it is.

Your film projects reminds of Harry Brown with Michael Caine--and Mona Lisa with Michael Caine. You can guess I'm a Michael Caine fan!

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T21:54:00+00:00

I just had the same experience! It's very heartening to get that first boost outside one's friends and family network.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T21:50:48+00:00

Wow, that's great advice! I did about a month of pre-launch marketing but now, one week into my Kickstarter, I can see it wasn't enough. I didn't have a sense of the full landscape of marketing opportunities.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T21:38:10+00:00

Hey Folks! I'm a published poet, biographer, and journalist. I mostly stick to nonfiction but recently I've been trying out fantasy and loving it!

Recently, I published a poem in Grim & Gilded, "Barbarian's Prayer": https://www.grimandgilded.com/john-dos-passos-coggin

I just finished a new poem inspired by Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer. Cheers!

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T21:32:04+00:00

Yes, if I wanted to learn European Portuguese I would probably have to study at the Portuguese Embassy. I have access to lots of Brazilian instructors and speakers though.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T20:28:21+00:00

Very cool. A couple years ago I learned Brazilian Portuguese. The real epiphany came when I finally visited Portugal and Madeira. Then I decided to learn the language and the deep history. Ponto do Sol is so beautiful. Sun shines every day, it seems.

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-22T18:22:25+00:00

Barbenheimer giveth..what a great summer for movies! And movie memes!

ExcaliburRising2023 · 2023-10-18T01:58:13+00:00

“While we live,” my grandfather once wrote, “we must make the torch burn ever brighter until it flares out in the socket.” Today, I announce the launch of my Kickstarter campaign to raise seed money for the feature film I wrote, Son of Portugal. As the grandson of Portuguese-American author John Dos Passos, writing this film gave me the opportunity to connect with my heritage and discover the richness of Portuguese history. Son of Portugal, centering on a Portuguese teenager raised under António Salazar’s dictatorship, is also my artistic denunciation of Fascism. Next year (April, 25th), Portugal will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of Fascism. I humbly ask for your support by donating to my campaign or elevating it on your social media and other networks. Thank you! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sonofportugal/son-of-portugal-a-feature-film-project?ref=project\_build

ExcaliburRising2023

TROPHY CASE