Literary Website: John Steinbeck
Literary Website: John Steinbeck
Last month I highlighted one of my favorite Latin American poets, Pablo Neruda. This month I decided to focus on another Nobel Laureate, one of my favorite American authors, John Steinbeck. What got me back to Steinbeck the last few weeks is that I’ve been reading quite a bit on issues of globalization and the plight of workers. This reading, coupled with my fascination of the human dynamics in all types of relationship, led me to pick up The Grapes of Wrath. By the time I was done with the first chapter I remembered why I liked Steinbeck so much. Aside from the social message of his novels, few writers have the ability to put you as a reader in the setting where the action takes place. By the end of the first chapter you feel like coughing from all the dust.
It’s been years since I read Of Mice and Men and even longer since I read Tortilla Flat; both of which I plan to revisit soon. Meanwhile, if you want either a refresher on Steinbeck, or to familiarize yourself with him, here are a few websites that might help:
The National Steinbeck Center
A brief biography of Steinbeck written around the time he received his Nobel Prize for literature.
For a more extensive biography and review of his works try this entry in Wikipedia.
A rundown of characters and summary of plots of some of his major novels
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