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John Steinbeck
BIO
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, and lived the early part of his life in Monterey
County, California. It was here that Steinbeck developed a knowledge and love of the
natural world and the diverse cultures that figure so prominently in his works.
In 1930, Steinbeck met marine naturalist Edward F. Ricketts, and a close friendship
developed. During the early to mid 1930s, Steinbeck lived with his wife Carol in the
family cottage on 11th Street in Pacific Grove. He produced works including THE RED PONY, PASTURES OF HEAVEN, TORTILLA FLAT, IN DUBIOUS BATTLE, and OF MICE AND MEN. They moved to Los Gatos in the later half of the decade. THE GRAPES OF WRATH earned Steinbeck a Pulitzer Prize.
In the 1940s, Steinbeck spent most of his time living in New York and traveling abroad. By then he was an internationally acclaimed author.
While he hobnobbed with the N.Y. elite, he wrote nostalgically of life on the Monterey
waterfront. Steinbeck’s old friend Ed Ricketts became the inspiration for
"Doc" of CANNERY ROW and SWEET THURSDAY. Although Steinbeck wrote CANNERY ROW in N.Y., he returned briefly to Monterey in 1944 with his second wife, Gwen, and son Thom --- living in the Lara-Soto adobe on Pierce Street.
In 1948, after his second marriage ended and the death of his friend Ed Ricketts, he
returned to the family cottage on 11th Street in Pacific Grove for several months.
In the 1960s, Steinbeck briefly passed through the area several times, once while working on TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
On December 20, 1968, Steinbeck died in Sag Harbor, N.Y. His ashes were returned to
California by his widow, Elaine and his younger son, John. The ashes rested for two nights in the P.G. cottage garden before being buried in the family plot in Salinas.
STATS
- His first novel was published in 1929 (CUP OF GOLD) and his last in 1961 (THE WINTER OF
OUR DISCONTENT).
- He won the Pulitzer Prize for THE GRAPES OF WRATH.
- He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
- 29 Academy Award nominations and 4 Academy Awards were given for adaptations of John
Steinbeck stories.
ARTICLE
What defines a great writer?
We suspect there are as many definitions of "great writers" as there are
readers.
But it seems to us that great writers are authors whose work informs and enlarges our
vision. Great writers illustrate and define the times in which they live; they find new
ways to use language; and their novels and stories become part and parcel of the current
cultures.
The work of these writers resonates, their characters linger, long after we have finished
reading their short stories or novels. Who can forget John Steinbeck's Tom
Joad, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby or John Updike's Rabbit
Angstrom? For the millions who have read THE COLOR PURPLE, the strength and
courage of Celie lingers forever.
This week we will begin to explore some of these writers in our new feature --- Writers of
the Century. We will be writing about a diverse group of authors whose work has defined
this millenium. We plan to keep those chosen a surprise, unveiling one a week from now
until the end of the year. We assure you that their stories and their writing will be the
work which has touched our hearts and expanded our perspective.
We begin with John Steinbeck, an author who looms large on the literary
landscape. "The writer," he once said, "is delegated to declare
and to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit --- for gallantry
in defeat, for courage, compassion and love." In novel after novel, Steinbeck
celebrates the human condition, with all its flaws and foibles, in a clear, distinctive
voice.
John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. He lived and worked in that part
of the country for most of his life. As a young man, he worked as a hired hand on nearby
ranches, and these experiences affected him deeply.
His writing focused on the "have-nots," little people trying to survive in a
world of harsh realities. He wrote about migrant workers in THE GRAPES OF WRATH, misfits
in TORTILLA FLAT, a retarded man in OF MICE AND MEN, and factory workers in CANNERY
ROW. EAST OF EDEN traces the history of two families at the beginning of the
century. Near the end of his life, he traveled from Maine to California with his French
poodle, Charlie, and wrote about the America he discovered along the way in TRAVELS WITH
CHARLIE. If you want to get all your Steinbeck in one shot, the Library of America
recently published a two-volume set, STEINBECK: The Grapes of Wrath & Other Writings
1936-1941 STEINBECK: Novels And Stories 1932-1937.
His novels depicted a country and a people that few knew about until he told us about
them. His writing was social commentary as much as it was literature. When he was awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, the Swedish Academy commended him for his
"realistic as well as imaginative writings distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a
keen social perception."
We hope you will enjoy our exploration of 20th Century American writing. If there are
writers you would like to see as part of this feature, please drop us a note
at Bookpage.
--- Judith Handschuh
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