The Beauty of John Steinbeck
Nobel Prize in Literature-1962 (Link to Video)
The 1962 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm(1 minute)
The 1962 Nobel Prizes were delivered on 10 December 1962, in a glittering
ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, to four British scientists, an American
professor and an American novelist. The 80-year old Swedish King Gustaf VI Adolf
presented each recipient with a Nobel Medal and Diploma: for Chemistry to Max F.
Perutz and John C. Kendrew; for Physiology or Medicine to Francis Crick, James
Watson and Maurice Wilkins; and for Literature to John Steinbeck.
Copyright © ITN Archive/Reuters 2004
The 1962 Nobel Prizes were delivered on 10 December 1962, in a glittering
ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall, to four British scientists, an American
professor and an American novelist. The 80-year old Swedish King Gustaf VI Adolf
presented each recipient with a Nobel Medal and Diploma: for Chemistry to Max F.
Perutz and John C. Kendrew; for Physiology or Medicine to Francis Crick, James
Watson and Maurice Wilkins; and for Literature to John Steinbeck.
Copyright © ITN Archive/Reuters 2004
(1902- 1968)
John Steinbeck was of German and Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, Johann Adolf Großsteinbeck, shortened the family name to "Steinbeck" when he immigrated to America. However, the family farm in Germany is still named "Großsteinbeck."
It could be possible that Steinbeck inherited his deep passion for writing and reading from his mother, Olive Hamilton. She was a former school teacher. John Ernst Steinbeck, his father, served as Monterey County treasurer. Steinbeck was exposed to culture early on in life when his parents realized that he had a gift. He was taken to plays, concerts, lectures, discussions, and literature. This all shaped his writing style, as did his setting. Many of his story plots take place in California; Salinas, California. The lifestyle of the early thirties was also used frequently.
In 1915, Steinbeck started attending high school. He kept a high grade point average while being known for his athletic talents and his strong opinions. He was widely liked, was even elected to be his senior class president as well as Associate Editor of his school's newspaper. He graduated in 1919.
Despite such a wonderful high school career, he was not as successful in college. Steinbeck attended Stanford University, worked his way through with various jobs. He never graduated and was without a degree. After leaving Stanford Steinbeck traveled to New York. He took odd jobs while trying to write. When he was unable to find anyone willing to publish his work he moved back to California. In 1928 he was a tour guide and caretaker at the fish hatchery in Tahoe City. While there he met his first wife, Carol Henning. They married in January 1930. During their marriage- which was in the Great Depression- they lived in a cottage owned by his father in Pacific Grove, California, on the Monterey Peninsula. His parents were greatly supportive. They allowed him free housing, paper for his manuscripts, and in the beginning of 1928, loans that gave him the ability to quit a job he had at a warehouse in San Francisco, and focus on writing.
Steinbeck and Henning divorced in 1943. He married twice more- to Gwyndolyn Conger in 1943 and Elaine Anderson in 1950. When he was married to his second wife, Gwyndolyn "Gwyn" Conger he had his two boys, his only children- Thomas "Thom" Myles Steinbeck (born in 1944) and John Steinbeck IV (born in 1946).
With a good friend-Ed Ricketts- in 1940, Steinbeck traveled around the Gulf of California to collect biological specimens- described in The Log from the Sea of Cortez .
In 1943, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent for the Herald Tribune of New York in World War II. He accompanied the commando raids of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr's Beach Jumpers program, which launched small-unit diversion missions against German-captured islands in the Mediterranean. He was later wounded by a munition explosion in 1944, in North Africa. He returned home.
Steinbeck made his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1947. He was with the renowned photographer Robert Capa. Together, they saw Moscow, Kiev, Tbilisi, Batumi, and Stalingrad. His book, A Russian Journal, accompanied by Capa's photos illustrated their experience. The book was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1948, the year it was published.
His novel, Travels with Charley, was inspired by the 1960s cross-country trip he made over 40 states with his poodle.
In 1966, Steinbeck traveled to Tel Aviv to visit the site of Mount Hope, a farm community established in Israel by his grandfather, whose brother was murdered by Arab marauders in 1858.
John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, while in New York, of heart disease and congestive heart failure. He was 66, and had been a life-long smoker. An autopsy showed nearly complete occlusion of the main coronary arteries. Before his death, he had written to his doctor that he felt deeply "in his flesh" that he would not survive his physical end, and that the biological death of his life was the final end of it all.
Another link used- Critical studies.
John Steinbeck was of German and Irish descent. His paternal grandfather, Johann Adolf Großsteinbeck, shortened the family name to "Steinbeck" when he immigrated to America. However, the family farm in Germany is still named "Großsteinbeck."
It could be possible that Steinbeck inherited his deep passion for writing and reading from his mother, Olive Hamilton. She was a former school teacher. John Ernst Steinbeck, his father, served as Monterey County treasurer. Steinbeck was exposed to culture early on in life when his parents realized that he had a gift. He was taken to plays, concerts, lectures, discussions, and literature. This all shaped his writing style, as did his setting. Many of his story plots take place in California; Salinas, California. The lifestyle of the early thirties was also used frequently.
In 1915, Steinbeck started attending high school. He kept a high grade point average while being known for his athletic talents and his strong opinions. He was widely liked, was even elected to be his senior class president as well as Associate Editor of his school's newspaper. He graduated in 1919.
Despite such a wonderful high school career, he was not as successful in college. Steinbeck attended Stanford University, worked his way through with various jobs. He never graduated and was without a degree. After leaving Stanford Steinbeck traveled to New York. He took odd jobs while trying to write. When he was unable to find anyone willing to publish his work he moved back to California. In 1928 he was a tour guide and caretaker at the fish hatchery in Tahoe City. While there he met his first wife, Carol Henning. They married in January 1930. During their marriage- which was in the Great Depression- they lived in a cottage owned by his father in Pacific Grove, California, on the Monterey Peninsula. His parents were greatly supportive. They allowed him free housing, paper for his manuscripts, and in the beginning of 1928, loans that gave him the ability to quit a job he had at a warehouse in San Francisco, and focus on writing.
Steinbeck and Henning divorced in 1943. He married twice more- to Gwyndolyn Conger in 1943 and Elaine Anderson in 1950. When he was married to his second wife, Gwyndolyn "Gwyn" Conger he had his two boys, his only children- Thomas "Thom" Myles Steinbeck (born in 1944) and John Steinbeck IV (born in 1946).
With a good friend-Ed Ricketts- in 1940, Steinbeck traveled around the Gulf of California to collect biological specimens- described in The Log from the Sea of Cortez .
In 1943, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent for the Herald Tribune of New York in World War II. He accompanied the commando raids of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr's Beach Jumpers program, which launched small-unit diversion missions against German-captured islands in the Mediterranean. He was later wounded by a munition explosion in 1944, in North Africa. He returned home.
Steinbeck made his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1947. He was with the renowned photographer Robert Capa. Together, they saw Moscow, Kiev, Tbilisi, Batumi, and Stalingrad. His book, A Russian Journal, accompanied by Capa's photos illustrated their experience. The book was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1948, the year it was published.
His novel, Travels with Charley, was inspired by the 1960s cross-country trip he made over 40 states with his poodle.
In 1966, Steinbeck traveled to Tel Aviv to visit the site of Mount Hope, a farm community established in Israel by his grandfather, whose brother was murdered by Arab marauders in 1858.
John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, while in New York, of heart disease and congestive heart failure. He was 66, and had been a life-long smoker. An autopsy showed nearly complete occlusion of the main coronary arteries. Before his death, he had written to his doctor that he felt deeply "in his flesh" that he would not survive his physical end, and that the biological death of his life was the final end of it all.
Another link used- Critical studies.
If you have the time-
Sunday, April 3, 2011
John Steinbeck and the Modernism Literary Movement
Portion:
"Although certain elements of John Steinbeck's writing fit characteristics of a
variety of literary movements, he will, without doubt, go down in history as a
great modernist. Modernism is viewed as a literary movement based on
intelligence, free will, investigation of the human consciousness, and as a
stark comparison to realism as well as the values of tradition. ..."
Sunday, April 3, 2011
John Steinbeck and the Modernism Literary Movement
Portion:
"Although certain elements of John Steinbeck's writing fit characteristics of a
variety of literary movements, he will, without doubt, go down in history as a
great modernist. Modernism is viewed as a literary movement based on
intelligence, free will, investigation of the human consciousness, and as a
stark comparison to realism as well as the values of tradition. ..."
Salinas High School
"John Steinbeck with 19 year-old son John (left), visits Steinbeck's friend President Johnson in the Oval Office, May 16, 1966. John jr. is shortly to leave for active duty in Vietnam"
Awards and Honors
1935 - Commonwealth Club of California
Gold Medal for Best Book by a Californian (Tortilla Flat)
1936 - The Novel of
1936 Prize (InDubious Battle)
1938 - New York Drama Critics' Circle
Award (Of Mice and Men)
1939 - Member National Institute of Arts and
Letters
American Booksellers' Award
1940 - Pulitzer Prize Fiction Award (The
Grapes of Wrath)
1946 - King Haakon Liberty Cross (The Moon is
Down)
1948 - Member
American Academy of Arts and Letters
1962 - Nobel Prize for
Literature
1963 - Honorary Consultant in American Literature to the
Library of Congress
1964 - United States Medal Of Freedom
Trustee
of John F. Kennedy Memorial Library
Annual Paperback of the Year
Award
Press Medal of Freedom
1966 - Member National Arts
Council
1979 - U.S. Postal Service Issued a John
Steinbeck Commemorative Stamp
1984 - American Arts Gold
Medallion
Gold Medal for Best Book by a Californian (Tortilla Flat)
1936 - The Novel of
1936 Prize (InDubious Battle)
1938 - New York Drama Critics' Circle
Award (Of Mice and Men)
1939 - Member National Institute of Arts and
Letters
American Booksellers' Award
1940 - Pulitzer Prize Fiction Award (The
Grapes of Wrath)
1946 - King Haakon Liberty Cross (The Moon is
Down)
1948 - Member
American Academy of Arts and Letters
1962 - Nobel Prize for
Literature
1963 - Honorary Consultant in American Literature to the
Library of Congress
1964 - United States Medal Of Freedom
Trustee
of John F. Kennedy Memorial Library
Annual Paperback of the Year
Award
Press Medal of Freedom
1966 - Member National Arts
Council
1979 - U.S. Postal Service Issued a John
Steinbeck Commemorative Stamp
1984 - American Arts Gold
Medallion
Books: The overachiever
Cup of Gold (1929)
The Pastures of Heaven (1932)
To a God Unknown (1933)
The Long Valley (1938)
Tortilla Flat (1935)
In Dubious Battle (1936)
Of Mice and Men (1937)
The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
The Forgotten Village (1941)
Sea of Cortez (1941)
Bombs Away (1942)
The Moon is Down (1942)
Cannery Row (1945)
The Wayward Bus (1947)
The Pearl (1947)
A Russian Journal (1948)
Burning Bright (1950)
The Log from The Sea of Cortez (1951)
East of Eden (1952)
Sweet Thursday (1954)
The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication (1957)
Once There Was a War (1958)
The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)
Travels With Charley in Search of America (1962)
America and Americans (1966)
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (1969)
Viva Zapata! (1975)
The Acts of King Arthur and His Nobel Knights (1976)
Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath (1989)
Critical Studies
Moore, Harry Thornton, John Steinbeck and His Novels : an
Appreciation. – London : Heinemann, 1939
Benson, Jackson J., The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer : a
Biography. – New York : Viking., 1984
French, Warren, John Steinbeck's Fiction Revisited. – New York : Twayne,
1994
Parini, Jay., John Steinbeck : a Biography. – New York : Holt,
1995
French, Warren, John Steinbeck's Nonfiction Revisited. – New York :
Twayne, 1996
Ditsky, John, John Steinbeck and the Critics. – Rochester, NY: Camden
House, 2000
Heavilin, Barbara A., John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath : a
Reference Guide. – Westport, CT : Greenwood, 2002
The Pastures of Heaven (1932)
To a God Unknown (1933)
The Long Valley (1938)
Tortilla Flat (1935)
In Dubious Battle (1936)
Of Mice and Men (1937)
The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
The Forgotten Village (1941)
Sea of Cortez (1941)
Bombs Away (1942)
The Moon is Down (1942)
Cannery Row (1945)
The Wayward Bus (1947)
The Pearl (1947)
A Russian Journal (1948)
Burning Bright (1950)
The Log from The Sea of Cortez (1951)
East of Eden (1952)
Sweet Thursday (1954)
The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication (1957)
Once There Was a War (1958)
The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)
Travels With Charley in Search of America (1962)
America and Americans (1966)
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (1969)
Viva Zapata! (1975)
The Acts of King Arthur and His Nobel Knights (1976)
Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath (1989)
Critical Studies
Moore, Harry Thornton, John Steinbeck and His Novels : an
Appreciation. – London : Heinemann, 1939
Benson, Jackson J., The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer : a
Biography. – New York : Viking., 1984
French, Warren, John Steinbeck's Fiction Revisited. – New York : Twayne,
1994
Parini, Jay., John Steinbeck : a Biography. – New York : Holt,
1995
French, Warren, John Steinbeck's Nonfiction Revisited. – New York :
Twayne, 1996
Ditsky, John, John Steinbeck and the Critics. – Rochester, NY: Camden
House, 2000
Heavilin, Barbara A., John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath : a
Reference Guide. – Westport, CT : Greenwood, 2002