Description
Book SynopsisIn this first study of all Dos Passos' writing, Linda W. Wagner examines his fiction, poetry, drama, travel essays, and history—a body of work that evokes a vivid image of America meant to be neither judgmental nor moralistic.
Trade Review. . . a first-rate evocation of the man-as-artist... * New York Times Book Review *
Linda Wagner remains one of the more lucid and perceptive of our literary critics, so it should come as no surprise that her study of the career of John Dos Passos offers a thorough, sympathetic treatment of that writer's evolution into a crucial innovative artist . . . * Booklist *
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: The Americanization of John Dos Passos
- Part I. The Development of the Artist
- 1. Reaching Past Poetry
- 2. History as Autobiography: Dos Passos’ Early Protagonists
- 3. History as Travel: Dos Passos on the Road to America
- Part II. The Mature Artist: Dos Passos as American Chronicler
- 4. Manhattan Transfer: The Beginning of the Chronicles
- 5. “Politics” and the New Drama
- 6. Dos Passos’ Search for U. S. A.
- Part III. The Late Artist: Dos Passos as American Interpreter
- 7. District of Columbia: Mecca or Dis?
- 8. The Search for an American Hero
- 9. The End of the Search
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
