A couple months ago John Steinbeck
eddied up from my subconscious
and I found myself in a mad dash for
Powell’s City of Books in Portland,
Oregon where I knew I could glut on used
Steinbeck within my budget.
I acquired two travelogues:
A Journey into Steinbeck’s California by Susan Shillinglaw with photographs
by Nancy Burnett &
Steinbeck Country photographed and written by Steve Couch.
Between the two books I salivated for
more. Later I would go online to
discover that the John Steinbeck
Festival in Salinas, California (his hometown)
is upcoming in May. Since it is only
every other year, I decide I have to go.
Next I looked for biographies and there
were several. I decided on the one
by Nelson Valjean: John Steinbeck, the
Errant Knight (An Intimate biography
of his California years) because they were friends growing up.
Usually an odd book sticks out and that
was: John Steinbeck, a Journal of a novel
(The East of Eden Letters)
Steinbeck wrote to his editor, Pascal Covici to warm up
before each days writing. He began with:
Dear Pat:______________
Then of course I had to re-read East
of Eden which was already on my bookshelf.
This time it was a richer experience
because of the new information in John Stein-
beck’s letters to his editor: The
Hamiltons in the story were his mother’s forebears.
The story was semi-autobiographical to
hand down family history to his sons.
The Trask family was created as their
foil. If you read EOE again knowing this,
the story simply feels more real.
The Steinbeck stories that made him one of
my favorite authors early on were
The Pearl, The Red Pony and Of Mice and Men.
As I looked for a volume of his short
stories, I found The Long Valley and was de-
lighted that The Red Pony was
included. Reading it again after reading of Steinbeck’s
own childhood pony experience gave it a
special resonance I had not perceived
the first time.
All of this inspired me to visit the
Library and see what else I wanted to read before
my literary pilgrimage to the John
Steinbeck Festival in May. I reserved
Cup of Gold,
his first novel and Tortilla Flat
his second novel and also the breakthrough novel.
TF is a place shared by a group of “paisanos”
led by Danny, who luckily inherits a
small piece of land with two houses.
They drink gallons of wine, wander about,
exhibit lots of libido behaviors and are
essentially bums with a home thanks to
Danny’s generosity. Steinbeck shapes the
story into one of love and loyalty and
despite the flaws, made his characters
endearing and wholly human.
It was, however, not a story that I
would have been assigned in high school for
all the moral reasons schools usually
deem necessary. I enjoyed it immensely!
I was so busy reading EOE, I had to
return Cup of Gold unread. I’ll read it later.
I have momentum to consider.
Next I got a craving to re-read Travels
with Charlie. After reading the
biography,
I felt I had a closer understanding of
Steinbeck as a character and he certainly
was all of that! The TWC non-fiction travelogue
stoked my excitement for my
journey to Salinas in May.
Cannery Row has been a longtime favorite, too. After reading about
Steinbeck’s
real life friendship with Monterey
biologist Ed Ricketts, I really wanted to read it
again. At the Library, I ordered Cannery
Row and Sweet Thursday, its sequel I
hadn’t read. A retired biologist friend of mine told me
that reading Sweet Thursday
set him on his path to study biology.
During my research I also discovered
that Steinbeck kept a journal as he wrote
The Grapes of Wrath. The Librarian put in a request for an interlibrary
loan for it.
I have started reading TGOW again as
well.
I remember wondering why Hemingway got
more attention as a writer in our
Literature department at college.
Steinbeck seemed to me to be a much better
writer. Then when I read that he was
accused of being a “communist” for sticking
up for the poor & disenfranchised,
it became clearer.
Also, “Papa” Hemingway was romanticized
with good photographs and Steinbeck
was usually shown in ugly mutt
photography.
As a grown up woman in my 60s, I have a
new appreciation of Steinbeck as his
words unwrap a unique, sexier, caring
psyche. I began missing him realizing there
is no chance I’ll ever meet him since he
died in 1968 at the age of 66-his heart
finally wore out from a lifetime of
smoking and he enjoyed spirits too.
Steinbeck left a legacy of literature,
much honored, especially with a Pulitzer
and a Nobel prize.
It makes me sad that he died too soon.
If he had lived to be 100, just think of
the further literary contributions he
could have made! As it is, he left a treasure
trove.
Good-bye, John Steinbeck. Thank you for
all your great stories. I still think that
you are a cut above Hemingway.
Raintreepoet, reporting.
April 2016
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