In March of 2006, scholars from around the world gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho for a conference devoted to not only John Steinbeck but also to the authors whose work influenced, informs, or illuminates his writings. This volume represents the many unique papers delivered at that conference by scholars from around the world. This collection includes studies on authors who influenced Steinbeck's work, discussions of writers whose work is in dialogue with Steinbeck, and examinations of Steinbeck's contemporaries, whose individual works invite comparisons with those of the Nobel-prize winning author. Revealing Steinbeck's penchant for culling 'all old books,' the first section focuses on Steinbeck's European forebears, particularly Sir Thomas Malory's retelling of the legend of King Arthur, Le Morte d'Arthur, and Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones. This section also includes articles on his American forebears: Walt Whitman and Sarah Orne Jewett. The second part, 'Steinbeck, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Cather' includes a personal reminiscence by Ernest Hemingway's daughter-in-law, Valerie, as well as comparisons of Steinbeck with other great American authors of the 20th century. The third section includes an essay by National Book Award winner Charles Johnson (Middle Passage), as well as articles that compare Steinbeck's work with Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison. Further articles are concerned with Steinbeck's moral philosophy and strong sense of social justice, eliciting comparisons with Sinclair Lewis, Tom Kristensen, and Charles Johnson. The fourth section, 'Steinbeck, the Arts, and the World' includes articles on the film adaptation of The Moon Is Down, on Steinbeck and Mexican Modernism, on the American experience as portrayed in The Grapes of Wrath and Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, and on Steinbeck and ecocriticism. The book fittingly concludes with John Ditsky's keynote address, 'In Search of a Language: Steinbeck and Others,' which was delivered at the conference shortly before Ditsky's death. John Steinbeck and His Contemporaries not only provides a rich array of new insights and new voices, it also points Steinbeck studies in new and varied directions. Containing more than thirty essays, this volume is not only a valuable addition to Steinbeck studies but to literary criticism in general.

The final novel of one of America’s most beloved writers—a tale of degeneration, corruption, and spiritual crisis A Penguin Classic In awarding John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with The Winter of Our Discontent, he had “resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American.” Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of Steinbeck’s last novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With Ethan no longer a member of Long Island’s aristocratic class, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards. Set in Steinbeck’s contemporary 1960 America, the novel explores the tenuous line between private and public honesty, and today ranks alongside his most acclaimed works of penetrating insight into the American condition. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction and notes by leading Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Celebrating the all-too-brief life of a young scholar dedicated to Steinbeck studies, A John Steinbeck Reader: Essays in Honor of Stephen K. George gathers essays from various vantage points including aesthetic, feminist, ethical, and comparative perspectives. Under the direction of Barbara A. Heavilin, George's coeditor of The Steinbeck Review journal and the book, John Steinbeck and His Contemporaries, the authors of these articles have come together both to pay tribute to Stephen and to widen the range of Steinbeck scholarship. Included in this volume are works by two acclaimed poets, as well as insightful readings of a little known early short story and an unsuccessful novel by Steinbeck. In addition to George, who is represented here with an essay on societal ethics, and Heavilin, who writes about Travels with Charley, the contributors to this volume include: Mary Brown, Danica Cerce, Mimi Gladstein, Charlotte Hadella, Tetsumaro Hayashi, Luchen Li, Michael J. Meyer, Kyoshi Nakayama, Brian Railsback, Thom Satterlee, Stephen L. Tanner, and John H. Timmerman. Designed for both a general and a professional audience, this collection will delight the Steinbeck buff, enlighten the Steinbeck student, and provides an array of topics, views, and approaches for Steinbeck scholars and teachers. While acknowledging one of its most devoted scholars, A John Steinbeck Reader will also be a welcome addition to the wealth of Steinbeck studies.

In Steinbeck’s Imaginarium, Robert DeMott delves into the imaginative, creative, and sometimes neglected aspects of John Steinbeck’s writing. DeMott positions Steinbeck as a prophetic voice for today as much as he was for the Depression-era 1930s as the essays explore the often unknown or unacknowledged elements of Steinbeck’s artistic career that deserve closer attention. He writes about the determining scientific influences, such as quantum physics and ecology, in Cannery Row and considers Steinbeck’s addiction to writing through the lens of the extensive, obsessive full-length journals that he kept while writing three of his best-known novels—The Grapes of Wrath, The Wayward Bus, and East of Eden. DeMott insists that these monumental works of fiction all comprise important statements on his creative process and his theory of fiction writing. DeMott further blends his personal experience as a lifelong angler with a reading of several neglected fishing episodes in Steinbeck’s work. Collectively, the chapters illuminate John Steinbeck as a fully conscious, self-aware, literate, experimental novelist whose talents will continue to warrant study and admiration for years to come.

Though a highly regarded American writer, John Steinbeck's appeal and influence extend far beyond North American borders. In John Steinbeck's Global Dimensions, editors Kyoko Ariki, Luchen Li, and Scott Pugh have assembled some of the best in current critical analysis of the Nobel Prize-winner's work. A compilation of papers by scholars from the U.S., Japan, China, Korea, India, and Slovenia, this work provides a window into the critical reception of Steinbeck's works around the globe. In doing so, this volume incorporates diverse approaches, including cultural studies, film analysis, gender studies, and--most especially--comparative studies of sociopolitical, philosophical, and religious motifs in Steinbeck's fiction. This collection includes four parts, each considering a broad dimension of Steinbeck's work. The cultural and social dimensions of his fiction are considered with essays by prominent scholars on moral philosophy, dysfunctional families, Ayn Rand's possible influence, and other topics. The second section focuses on aesthetic dimensions, including considerations of Steinbeck's theatrical vision and postmodern aspects of his work. The third section considers reader reception issues and--in particular--surveys Islamic, Buddhist, and Indian philosophy echoed in the author's works. The final section of the book is an essay considering the global possibilities for future Steinbeck studies. A convenient casebook of the latest in Steinbeck studies, this volume documents the breadth of current international interest in his fiction, his films, and his philosophy. The included essays are particularly useful for showing critical readings from various cultural standpoints, readings that often stand in sharp, interesting contrast to each other. Overall, this collection of essays gives an unmatched sense of how John Steinbeck's work continues to reach readers and scholars around the world.