Dos Passos and Steinbeck in Tokyo

“September 1, 1957, Dos Passos boarded a plane with John Steinbeck and John Hersey to fly to Tokyo as America’s official representatives at the twenty-ninth International PEN Congress. The trio–billed as ‘the three Johns: Dos Passos, Steinbeck, and Hersey’–was given a thunderous ovation when introduced, but Dos Passos was the obvious star of the American delegation and a popular favorite of the entire body. Steinbeck wrote his wife, Elaine, that Dos Passos was being ‘fawned over.’…Steinbeck reported later that both Dos Passos and Hersey were ‘wonderful traveling companions,’ and that Dos Passos was ‘an angel.'” (Dos Passos: A Life, Virginia Spencer Carr, paperback, Page 513-514)