Who Was John Steinbeck?:

 

Born: February 27,1902; 132 Central Avenue, Salinas, CA

Graduated: from Salinas High School--June 1919

Attended: Stanford University--1919-1925

Died: in New York, December 20,1968

Buried: in the Garden of Memories Cemetery family plot in Salinas

Father: John Ernst Steinbeck,1863-1935, County Treasurer

Mother: Olive Hamilton Steinbeck,1867-1934, Teacher

Sisters:

                 -Esther Steinbeck Rodgers, April 14,1892 - May 9,1986; lived in Watsonville, CA

     -Elizabeth Steinbeck Ainsworth, May 25,1894 - Oct. 20, 1992, lived in Pacific      Grove, CA

 Wives:

-Carol Henning Steinbeck Brown, married 1930 and divorced1942; lived in Carmel Valley, CA, died February 8, 1983, Monterey, CA

-Gwyndolyn Conger Steinbeck, married 1943 and divorced 1948 died on December 30,1975, Colorado

-Elaine Anderson Scott Steinbeck, married 1950, lives in New York

 Sons:

-Thomas Steinbeck, August 2,1944

             -John Steinbeck IV, June 12, 1946 - February 7,1991

               (mother of Thomas and John IV is Gwyndolyn)

 

 

One of the most important American authors of the 20th century, John Steinbeck has had many of his novels adapted into films. He also wrote a few screenplays and stories especially for films.

 

John Steinbeck was one of the best-known American novelists of the mid-20th century. His frequent topic was the plight of the misfits, the homeless and the hopeless in a fast-changing America. (Those themes sometimes earned him comparisons with his contemporary William Faulkner.) Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929. His most celebrated book remains The Grapes of Wrath: the story of the Joads, impoverished farmers who migrate to California after losing their Oklahoma land. Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. (Henry Fonda played Tom Joad in the 1940 film of the novel.) Steinbeck's other books include Of Mice and Men (1937), Cannery Row (1945) and East of Eden (1952, later made into a film starring James Dean). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. 

 

"John Steinbeck's writing style evolved from a period of realist naturalism, to a more sentimental tone. He evokes both the good and bad of mankind in his stories through the use of symbolism and nature. John Steinbeck's writing was not just a product of the imagination, but also a reflection of his friendships and other life experiences. Although he is widely recognized by critics for his early years of writing, most would say that it is his later years that show his greatest achievement as a writer. His ability to transform with time and allow his writing to grow and develop into other stages and styles are what make him a true pioneer of American literature." (eprentice)

 

 

Other Books: 

1929 - Cup of Gold

1932 - Pastures of Heaven

1933 - The Red Pony

1933 - To A God Unknown

1935 - Tortilla Flat

1936 - In Dubious Battle

1937 - Of Mice And Men

1938 - The Long Valley

1939 - The Grapes of Wrath

1941 - The Sea of Cortez

1941 - Forgotten Village

1942 - The Moon is Down

1942 - Bombs Away

1945 - Cannery Row

1947 - The Pearl

1947 - The Wayward Bus

1948 - A Russian Journal

1950 - Burning Light

1951 - The Log From The Sea Of Cortez

1952 - East of Eden

1954 - Sweet Thursday

1956 - UN American a New York ET A Paris

1957 - The Short Reign Of Pippin IV

1958 - Once There Was A War

1961 - The Winter Of Our Discontent

1962 - Travels With Charley

1966 - America And Americans

1969 - Journal Of A Novel

1976 - The Acts Of King Arthur and His Nobel Knights

1989 - Working Days

 

 

Awards and Honors:

 

1936 - Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian (Tortilla Flat)

1937 - Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian (In Dubious Battle)

1938 - New York Drama Critics' Circle Award (Of Mice & Men)

1939 - Member of 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 of 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 of the National Arts Council

1979 - US Postal Service issued a John Steinbeck Commemorative Stamp

1983 - Steinbeck Center Foundation started in Salinas, CA

1984 - American Arts Gold Medallion of Steinbeck issued by the US Mint 

1993 - Steinbeck Center Foundation opens interim head quarters

1997 - National Steinbeck Center groundbreaking

1998 - National Steinbeck Center Grand Opening (June 27, 1998)

 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.answers.com/topic/john-steinbeck

http://www.steinbeck.org/FactsAwards.html

 http://pics2.city-data.com/city/maps/fr140.png

 http://eprentice.sdsu.edu/F044/agarrett/Steinbeck.html