In Dubious Battle

Review of:     In Dubious Battle  by John Steinbeck   

Steinbeck's intricately drawn descriptions of a labor

camp being whipped into a frenzy by organizers, Mac

and Jim, make it seem as though Steinbeck was an 

insider and knew exactly what went down.

The power and grit of this story depicting workers'

struggle to get a fair deal from owners/bosses is 

huge and universal as any fight for survival and to 

better one's lot.

Steinbeck's characters are so vivid and colorful,

it feels like the reader could cast the movie!

In Dubious Battle is like a prelude to The Grapes of

Wrath and yet it stands squarely on its own merit.

What a giant, caring heart John Steinbeck had. 

Even though this book was written in the 30s, it

resonates today; Cooperation and team work trump

competition every time.

The volume I borrowed from the Library truly is an

antique. It was published in 1936 by Random House

and sold for $1.95. Wow! An oldie, but goodie.

Remember to take advantage of and support local

libraries. Over and out,

Raintreepoet.

The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck

was published in 1942 in the heat of WW ll,

as European countries under occupation were tossed

 a rescue rope in the form of a

fable written by one of America’s greatest writers.

The Moon Is Down is a masterpiece against

war and oppression and for passive resistance.

We need more literature about peace and this novel

 especially highlights a blueprint for how to

 overcome bullies of any stripe.

Even as an English major I had not known

about this book and that is a crying shame.

The Moon Is Down should be in English and

History curriculums in high school and college

 because Steinbeck’s little novel (only 112 pages)

 became a worldwide phenomenon during the war.

The novel was attacked on its literary merit

and labeled propaganda, but that is moot

 considering the impact it had in European occupied countries.

The Moon Is Down gave them hope and the incentive to resist 

the Nazi evil despite the fact that Steinbeck never identified

 the little village it was set in or who the invaders were

 which made it magically universal.
One thought stood out as theme: "..  the herd men win battles and
the free men who win wars." That, in my humble opinion is why we
Americans have been able to smack down fascism over the last
several wars.

My respect for John Steinbeck and his work continues to grow. 

A writer who was once accused of being a communist and had

 his books burned endured and proved the power of art to heal.

  I highly recommend this little gem.

 I checked mine out from my local library.

Raintreepoet, reporting.

I Met the Devil Once

He had Nordic ice blue eyes

A silver tongue and fine

Bulging biceps and buttocks

And Lordie he could kiss

Of course I did not know

Who he was because he

gave me another name

His tone was so sultry &

sweet-he won my trust

immediately

What a beautiful creature

I thought, as I looked into

his magnetic ice blue eyes

Surely he must be an angel

He seemed to read my mind

as he caressed my ears

with dulcet tones:

I am a Christian, a Muslim,

A Mormon, a Jew

I am anybody you want me

to be- perhaps I am

your own true love

After awhile though

He began to shed scales

Of green and brown and

I asked; Who are you?

He replied, You let me in

Do you regret it?

His Nordic ice blue eyes

turned basalt grey, he said:

We had great sex,

I wouldn’t mind some again

only on my terms, though

When I cried, he cut me deep

with his glare, You’re no

Gloria Steinem are you?

You’re just a soft sniveling bitch
go away, I am done with you!

Devastated, I retreated

Glad to still have my soul

I met the Devil once

He was god-like on the outside,
 but inside he was a small, dark

hard turd… 

You, Me, the Kentucky Derby & the Yuma County Jail

 Every year at this time I cannot get this out of my mind...

It seems like a life time ago that you and I  took a

Handicapping course at

Central Washington University with

field trips to Yakima Meadows, we

learned how to read a racing form,

whether or not to bet on bloodlines,

the jockey or the trainer

Okay, I admit, now, that sometimes I broke rank

and bet purely on a clever name, English majors

are so irresistibly drawn to words…

Here I am listening to the “Run for the Roses”

lead in commentary with rambling

thoughts of how

it once was-the good times-for us

I look at my TV and see a muddy track

You and I know that some horses

actually run better on

a muddy track…I guess

I wasn’t one of them!

Those were crazy fun times

We drug our toddler along and I bet

at the window, with her on my hip

while you slurped suds with your buds

and inhaled those horse smells

all cowboys seem to savor…

The race will be a quick two minutes

But the show is three hours long

on a lazy Saturday afternoon

Suddenly, I am wondering if

you’re hanging out with other inmates

in the Yuma County Jail

enjoying the very same program

I imagine that you’re sharing

your knowledge of horses

and laughing about the  handicapping class

 we took together so many years ago

For a moment you may even mist up-

You never believed for an instant that

I would eventually leave,

you were shocked when

I finally did

You must’ve felt so betrayed

You thought you knew me

You predicted me as a Favorite

You didn’t really know me at all

You were my Long Shot-

when the race was run

and I lost my entire bank

the deal was done

You serving time for outstanding warrants-DUIs

finally my bet is right: I made a decision

to bail, nearly 30 years ago

Here I am-and

there you are, watching

The Kentucky Derby, televised

in different states

I called it, oh so long ago

Sadly, sometimes there is no

gratification in being on the money!

Ironically, Super Saver won,

Devil May Care did not even

Place or show!