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| Tribute to John Steinbeck |
The following talks were presented as part of a PEN Twentieth Century Masters Tribute to John Steinbeck, excerpts of which were printed in PEN America 4: Fact/Fiction.
Studs Terkel: The More Things Change
It’s Steinbeck’s prophetic touch, that touch of clairvoyance, which
makes his book so pertinent today. In 1989 I found myself on a farm in
Iowa, twenty-three miles southeast of Des Moines. Carl Nearmeyer,
fourth-generation farmer, was losing the farm. >> More
Peter Matthiessen: Story Lines
John Steinbeck’s admirable early work was an important part of my own
formative reading: the grit of his descriptions, his deceptive
simplicity, so free of the intrusive style that often bothered me in
Hemingway and even Faulkner. >> More
Michele Serros: Small-Town Tales
After my mother had a hectic day at work, she’d take some books and go
into her bedroom to escape. Her two favorite authors were Danielle
Steel and John Steinbeck. I remember her reading John Steinbeck in the
evening, and she’d carry the book with her to bed, and she’d be crying
or laughing, and my father was jealous. One time he said, “Who is this
Steinbeck my wife takes to bed every night, this man with big ears?” >> More
George Plimpton: Lonesome Animals
Many years ago, I met John Steinbeck at a party in Sag Harbor, and told
him that I had writer’s block. And he said something which I’ve always
remembered, and which works. He said, “Pretend that you’re writing not
to your editor or to an audience or to a readership, but to someone
close, like your sister, or your mother, or someone that you like.” >> More
Arthur Miller: A Suffering Conscience
A good writer helps to create other writers, and I can recall the first
time, in the ’30s, when I read John Steinbeck’s early books, and his
stories. To open those pages was like opening paintings. >> More
Dorothy Allison: Real People
Can you be personal about John Steinbeck? they asked me. Can you speak
personally? I was born into the kind of poverty that John Steinbeck
wrote about. I wanted to grow up to be a writer. Oh, I can speak
personally about John Steinbeck. >> More
William Kennedy: A Mighty Heart
In 1933 John Steinbeck was so poor he couldn't afford a dog. The
literary critic Lewis Gannett uncovered this fact in Steinbeck’s
correspondence with his agents during the time he was writing Tortilla Flat. >> More
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