Despite the pandemic, I’ve been busy at work. Lots of writing. Recently, I published two poems–“Pandemic on St. Patrick’s Day” and “Madrid Tertulia”–at the Spanish online magazine Zenda. Both poems appear in English and Spanish, side-by-side. I think the poems profit from the juxtaposition. “Madrid Tertulia” evokes life before the pandemic in intellectually vibrant Madrid. It is inspired by my journey Madrid in 2014 to work on a documentary about my grandfather, John Dos Passos, and his friendship with Spanish academic José Robles.”Pandemic on St. Patrick’s Day” is about finding joy in Irish culture despite quarantine. It’s also about the high anxiety that came on quarantine week 1.

Also, I published a poem, “A Fish Porter at Billingsgate,” in The Blue Mountain Review‘s spring 2020 issue (Page 37). I’ve always loved Michael Caine’s films and when reading Caine’s memoirs and biographies of Caine I was struck by his father’s hard-working courage. Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Sr. of Britain–another icon of the greatest generation. I was also struck by Billingsgate fish market itself as a symbol of London’s rich maritime heritage. I’ve always felt at home by the sea.