Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-13DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.8.2.0086
Kathleen Hicks
{"title":"Steinbeck Today","authors":"Kathleen Hicks","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.8.2.0086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.8.2.0086","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:“Steinbeck Today” covers newsworthy notes and contemporary events related to Steinbeck in popular culture and scholarship. This edition features connections between Steinbeck’s work and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, updates on efforts to preserve his historic property in Sag Harbor, and work by recent winner of the John Steinbeck Award, Jacqueline Woodson.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"51 20","pages":"117 - 121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138976793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0239
Samantha Covais
{"title":"“A Guy Needs Somebody”: A Study of Philia in Of Mice and Men","authors":"Samantha Covais","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0239","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0239","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the significance of Aristotle’s concept of philia in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, arguing for its crucial role in keeping the characters of George Milton and Lennie Small whole and stable. Because of their close relationship and despite their social and economic desperation, George and Lennie maintain a higher quality of life than the ranch men around them. This article draws on developments in queer and gender studies to analyze how Steinbeck’s representations of men’s friendships in Of Mice and Men explores and expands the definition of manhood during the 1930s.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"2018 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139192787","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0183
John Castiglione
{"title":"All Hail, King Pippin!","authors":"John Castiglione","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0183","url":null,"abstract":"Since shortly after its publication in 1957, The Short Reign of Pippin IV has been considered Steinbeck’s least characteristic work and is universally viewed as standing squarely at the bottom of his canon of fiction. This article argues for a reevaluation of the consensus view, arguing that Pippin is a crucial part of Steinbeck’s artistic oeuvre not only on its own merits but more importantly when viewed in literary sequence as his penultimate novel. Before his fictional work draws to a dissonant close in 1961, in Pippin Steinbeck draws a comparison to a musical coda that achieves an artistic effect of finality by altering the main themes of a movement through changes in tone, tempo, or key. Pippin is the last time Steinbeck expresses in fiction a fundamentally optimistic orientation toward the human condition,","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"296 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139195465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0256
Nikolai Wansart
{"title":"Dismantling the American Sublime: Crisis in John Steinbeck’s Sublime West","authors":"Nikolai Wansart","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0256","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines John Steinbeck’s transformation of the aesthetics of the American Sublime in twentieth-century America. In To a God Unknown (1933), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), East of Eden (1952), and Travels with Charley (1962), Steinbeck taps into the tradition of the sublime that Transcendentalism and the Hudson River School had adapted for American literature. The American Sublime functions in three dimensions, all of which Steinbeck uses: first, in the connotation that the natural space of the continent is nationalistically American; second, in socioeconomic developments that realize the nation’s potential in agricultural economy; and third, in visual tradition. Steinbeck’s sensitivity for this complex of ideas is evidenced in his reception of Emerson’s works in the 1930s. For his descriptions of Steinbeck country closely resemble the visual perspectives in which the Hudson River School portrayed the American Sublime. Steinbeck’s dismantling of this aesthetic is related to his ecological monism: It emphasizes the ultimate dependence of the American Sublime on natural realities and contradicts the economic rationalizations of Steinbeck country, which eventually divide into economic and social fragments in The Grapes of Wrath. By echoing the visual presentations and ideological directives of the most comprehensively conceptualized sublime in America from the nineteenth century and illustrating its defeat at the hands of a capitalized, displaced nation, Steinbeck’s treatment of the sublime also anticipates its discussion in postmodernism.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"21 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139189922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0305
Kathleen Hicks
{"title":"Greetings from the New President of the International Steinbeck Society of Scholars","authors":"Kathleen Hicks","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0305","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"64 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139189989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0149
Charles Etheridge, Barbara A. Heavilin
{"title":"A Retrospective of Steinbeck Biographies","authors":"Charles Etheridge, Barbara A. Heavilin","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0149","url":null,"abstract":"John Steinbeck has been the subject of seven biographies. After a brief definition of what constitutes a “literary biography,” these seven biographies are here divided into three classes: non-literary biographies, full-length biographies (which treat Steinbeck’s life as a whole), and books that chronicle an important relationship between Steinbeck and a person who influenced his artistic development. Each biography is discussed in this order. Non-literary biographies include John Steinbeck, Knight Errant: An Intimate Biography of His California Years by Nelson Valjean (1975) and The Intricate Music: A Biography of John Steinbeck by Thomas Kiernan (1979). Full-length biographies include The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer by Jackson J. Benson (1984), John Steinbeck: A Life by Jay Parini (1995), and Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck by William Souder (2020). Biographies that highlight one of Steinbeck’s important relationships include John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: The Shaping of a Novelist by Richard Astro (1973), and Carol and John Steinbeck: Portrait of a Marriage by Susan Shillinglaw (2013).","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"167 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139189433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0276
M. Gladstein
{"title":"Soldiering with Steinbeck","authors":"M. Gladstein","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0276","url":null,"abstract":"“Soldiering with Steinbeck” was delivered as a talk at the 2023 International Steinbeck Conference at San Jose State University. The talk recounts Steinbeck’s varied experiences as a war correspondent and witness across various theaters in World War II and the Vietnam War. Never an enlisted soldier himself, through his writings, Steinbeck provides unique insight into conflict, his own observations on the horrors of war, the life and ways of soldiers, and even his relationship with his own son, John Steinbeck IV, who was drafted into the Vietnam War and served there at the same time his father was working as a war correspondent.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"23 33","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139193893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0199
Qicai Zhang
{"title":"Old Men’s Quests and Westering in John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony","authors":"Qicai Zhang","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0199","url":null,"abstract":"In John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony, two elderly men, the paisano Gitano and Jody’s grandfather, experience marginalization in old age. Their different approaches to aging, which are respectively in accordance with “gerotranscendence” and “positive aging,” lead to their different end-of-life quests, which are both closely related to westering and pioneer values in American history. Grandfather tries, but fails, in his performance of the pioneers’ masculine ideals, and his behaviors and storytelling manifest strong signs of fascism. Gitano’s return to the valley and his proclamation, “I am Gitano, and I have come back,” show his sense of entitlement to and sense of belonging to the land and the surrounding ecological community. The different outcomes of the two men’s experiences show on the one hand Steinbeck’s critical reflection upon the pioneers and the westering in American history and on the other hand his advocacy for a renewed close bond between humans and land to replace land colonization for capital expansion.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"6 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139196414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0218
Daniel Lanza Rivers, with Students in ENGL 167
{"title":"Reflections from the Classroom: Students Engage Steinbeck’s Work with the Arts at San José State University","authors":"Daniel Lanza Rivers, with Students in ENGL 167","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0218","url":null,"abstract":"This article offers a showcase of students’ work from the class “ENGL 167: Steinbeck” at San José State University. At the end of the term, students were presented with three options: they could compose a traditional research-based, analytical essay; they could create a series of lesson plans for a high school unit on Steinbeck’s work; or they could craft a creative response. All students were required to submit an initial prospectus and a research summary, and students who submitted a creative project were also asked to submit an artist’s statement that connected their project to the semester’s readings and their external research. The projects shared here use visual art, crafts, collage, creative writing, music, and a crossword to reflect on the author, his work, and his enduring legacy.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"22 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139195230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Steinbeck ReviewPub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0282
Jon Falsarella Dawson
{"title":"Steinbeck Today","authors":"Jon Falsarella Dawson","doi":"10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/steinbeckreview.20.2.0282","url":null,"abstract":"“Steinbeck Today” includes contemporary notes and mentions of John Steinbeck’s works and legacy of interest to scholars, fans, and general-interest readers. In 2022 and early 2023, Steinbeck’s fiction has continued to cause controversy, most notably in popular discourse regarding banned books, while also inspiring adaptations in range of mediums, including performances of Of Mice and Men as ballet and an opera. Further, this period has seen efforts to preserve sites that are significant to Steinbeck’s life and work.","PeriodicalId":40417,"journal":{"name":"Steinbeck Review","volume":"154 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139195273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}