In 1936, a reporter named John Steinbeck wrote a series of articles for the San Francisco News about the struggles of California migrant farmworkers. Three years later, the Salinas native published “The Grapes of Wrath,” a novel based in part on those investigations. The best-selling book sparked literary and political controversy, but went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and has long been recognized as an American classic. We talk with leading Steinbeck scholars about the book’s enduring impact and legacy.
'The Grapes of Wrath' Turns 75
(Wikimedia Commons)
Guests:
Susan Shillinglaw, English professor at San Jose State University, scholar in residence at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas and author of "On Reading the Grapes of Wrath"
Robert DeMott, Edwin and Ruth Kennedy Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus, Ohio University, author of the introduction to the 2006 Penguin Classics edition of "The Grapes of Wrath" and editor of the four-volume Library of America Steinbeck project
Kevin Hearle, author, poet, revision editor for the "The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism" and co-editor of "Beyond Boundaries: Rereading John Steinbeck"
Thomas Steinbeck, author and son of John Steinbeck
Sponsored