America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction

by John Steinbeck

  It is in the American negation of these symptoms of extinction that my hope and confidence lie. We are not satisfied. Our restlessness, perhaps inherited from the hungry immigrants of our ancestry, is still with us. Young Americans are rebellious, angry, searching like terriers near a rat’s nest. The energy pours out in rumbles, in strikes and causes, even in crime; but it is energy. Wasted energy is only a little problem, compared to its lack.

  If the world were walled and boundaried as it once was in feudal towns, we could destroy the irritant of creative restlessness, punish the lively guilty—and subside. But the world is open as it has never been before, and the skies are open, and for the first time in human experience we have the tools to work with. Three-fifths of the world and perhaps four-fifths of the world’s wealth lie under the sea, and we can get to it. The sky is open at last, and we have the means to rise into it. Revolt against what is is in the air—in the violence of the long, hot summer; in the resentment against injustice and inequality, and against imperceptible or cynical cruelty. There is blind anger against delay, against the long preparation for the long journey—perhaps the longest, darkest journey of all, with the greatest light at the end of it.

  In our prehistory—only now beginning to open its cloak a little—we have set a guard of secrecy and holiness on the unknown. The forest, the sky—the unconceivable large, the unseeable small—we once placed beyond our reach in mystery; taboo to approach, forbidden to inspect. Our dreams we gave to ancestors, cantankerous and selfish and dead, while our closest and most precious possession we gave into the hands of God or gods, not kindly or wise, but vain and jealous and greedy—in the image not of ourselves but of the ugly things, precarious and usurped, that power makes of us. Here is a world or a universe unknown, even un-conceived of, and perhaps at last open for exploration: the great and mysterious mind and soul of man, a land full of marvels.

  Americans do not lack places to go and new things to find. We have cut ourselves off from the self-abuse of war by raising it from a sin to an extinction. Far larger experiences are open to our restlessness—the fascinating unknown is everywhere. How will the Americans act and react to a new set of circumstances for which new rules must be made? We know from our past some of the things we will do. We will make many mistakes; we always have. We are in the perplexing period of change. We seem to be running in all directions at once—but we are running. And I believe that our history, our experience in America, has endowed us for the change that is coming. We have never sat still for long; we have never been content with a place, a building—or with ourselves.

  Afterword

  THE PICTURES in this book are of our land, wide open, fruitful, and incredibly dear and beautiful. It is ours and we will make of it what we are—no more, no less.

  Something happened in America to create the Americans. Perhaps it was the grandeur of the land—the lordly mountains, the mystery of deserts, the ache of storms, cyclones—the enormous sweetness and violence of the country which, acting on restless, driven peoples from the outside world, made them taller than their ancestors, stronger than their fathers—and made them all Americans.

  Maybe the challenge was in the land; or it might be that the people made the challenge. There have been other strange and sudden emergences in well-remembered and documented history. A village on the Tiber spread its fluid force and techniques through the known world. A blaze from Mongolia spread like a grass fire over most of Asia and Europe. These explosions of will and direction have occurred again and again, and they have petered out, have burned up their material, smoked awhile, and been extinguished. Now we face the danger which in the past has been most destructive to the human: success—plenty, comfort, and ever-increasing leisure. No dynamic people has ever survived these dangers. If the anaesthetic of satisfaction were added to our hazards, we would not have a chance of survival—as Americans.

  From our beginning, in hindsight at least, our social direction is clear. We have moved to become one people out of many. At intervals, men or groups, through fear of people or the desire to use them, have tried to change our direction, to arrest our growth, or to stampede the Americans. This will happen again and again. The impulses which for a time enforced the Alien and Sedition Laws, which have used fear and illicit emotion to interfere with and put a stop to our continuing revolution, will rise again, and they will serve us in the future as they have in the past to clarify and to strengthen our process. We have failed sometimes, taken wrong paths, paused for renewal, filled our bellies and licked our wounds; but we have never slipped back—never.

  WORKS CITED

  Abbreviations used for Steinbeck works are in parentheses.

  Benchley, Nathaniel. “The Art of Fiction, XLV.” Paris Review, Fall 1969: 161-88.

  Benson, Jackson. The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer. New York: Penguin, 1984.

  Brinkley, Douglas. “The Other Vietnam Generation.” New York Times Book Review, 28 Feb. 1999: 27.

  Cousins, Norman. Present Tense: An American Editor’s Odyssey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.

  Crèvecoeur, J. Hector St. John de. Letters from an American Farmer. New York: Signet Classics, 1963.

  DeMott, Robert. Working Days: The Journals of “The Grapes of Wrath.” New York: Penguin, 1989. (Cited as WD.)

  Fench, Thomas, ed. Conversations with John Steinbeck. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988.

  French, Warren. John Steinbeck’s Nonfiction Revisited. New York: Twayne, 1996.

  Guggenheim, Harry, correspondence. Library of Congress. (Cited by date of letter.)

  Kaplan, Justin. Lincoln Steffens: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974.

  Kluger, Richard. The Paper: The Life and Death of the New York Herald Tribune. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.

  Lopez, Barry. Crossing Open Ground. New York: Random House, 1989.

  McElrath, Joseph, Jesse Crisler, Susan Shillinglaw, eds. John Steinbeck: The Contemporary Reviews. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

  Parini, Jay. John Steinbeck: A Biography. New York: Henry Holt, 1995.

  Shillinglaw, Susan. Introduction to Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1994.

  Simmonds, Roy. John Steinbeck: The War Years, 1939-1945. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1996.

  Steinbeck, Elaine, and Robert Wallsten. Steinbeck: A Life in Letters. New York: Viking, 1978. (SLL)

  Steinbeck, John. The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976. (Acts)

  ————. Foreword to Between Pacific Tides, by Edward Ricketts and Jack Calvin. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1939.

  ————. In memoriam. Pascal Covici, 1888-1964. Meriden Gravure Company, 1964: 19-20.

  ————. Journal of a Novel: The “East of Eden” Letters. New York: Penguin, 1969. (JN)

  ————. Once There Was a War. New York: Penguin, 1994. (OWW)

  ————. Preface to Story Writing, by Edith Ronald Mirrielees. New York: Viking, 1962.

  ————. Sea of Cortez. New York: Viking, 1941. (SOC)

  ————. “Some Thoughts on Juvenile Delinquency.” The Saturday Review, 28 May 1955: 22.

  Street, Toby. Interview with Jackson Benson. Benson papers, Special Collections at Stanford University.

  SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF STEINBECK’S NONFICTION

  Only the first appearance of magazine and newspaper articles is noted, with a few exceptions where reprints are cited: Their Blood Is Strong (articles that originally ran in the San Francisco News in October 1936 with “Starvation Under the Orange Trees”), Once There Was a War (a selection of Steinbeck’s World War II journalism that ran in the New York Herald Tribune in 1943), and known English-language versions of pieces first published in French in Le Figaro in 1954. Newspaper series are cited as series, not by individual pieces.

  BOOKS

  Their Blood Is Strong. San Francisco: Simon J. Lubin Society, 1938. Reprinted as The Harvest Gypsies. Berkeley, CA: Heyda
y Press, 1989.

  A Letter Written in Reply to a Request for a Statement About His Ancestry. Stamford, CT: Overbrook Press, 1940. 350 copies.

  Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research, with Edward F. Ricketts. New York: Viking, 1941.

  Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team. Photographs by John Swope. New York: Viking, 1942.

  Vanderbilt Clinic. Photographs by Victor Kepler. New York: Presbyterian Hospital, 1947.

  The First Watch. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press, 1947. 60 numbered copies.

  A Russian Journal. Photographs by Robert Capa. New York: Viking, 1948.

  The Log from the “Sea of Cortez.” New York: Viking, 1951.

  Un Américain à New-York et à Paris. French translation by Jean-François Rozan. Paris: René Julliard, 14 May 1956.

  Once There Was a War. New York: Viking, 1958.

  Travels with Charley in Search of America. New York: Viking, 1962.

  Speech Accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature. New York: Viking, 1962.

  A Letter from John Steinbeck. San Francisco and Los Angeles: Roxburghe and Zamorano Clubs, 1964. 150 copies.

  America and Americans. New York: Viking, 1966.

  Journal of a Novel: The “East of Eden” Letters. New York: Viking, 1969.

  John Steinbeck, His Language. Introduction by James B. Hart. Aptos, CA: Roxburge and Zamorano Clubs, 1970.

  Steinbeck: A Life in Letters. Edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten. New York: Viking, 1975.

  Letters to Elizabeth. Edited by Florian J. Shasky and Susan F. Riggs. San Francisco: Book Club of California, 1978. 500 copies.

  Your Only Weapon Is Your Work: A Letter by John Steinbeck to Dennis Murphy. Introduction by Robert DeMott. San Jose, CA: Steinbeck Research Center, 1985. 500 copies.

  Working Days: The Journals of “The Grapes of Wrath,” 1938-1941. Edited by Robert DeMott. New York: Viking, 1989.

  FILMSCRIPTS

  The Forgotten Village. New York: Viking, 1941.

  Viva Zapata! Edited by Robert Morsberger. New York: Viking, 1975.

  Zapata: A Narrative in Dramatic Form on the Life of Emiliano Zapata. Wood-cuts by Karin Wickstrom. Covelo, CA: Yolla Bolly Press, 1991. 257 numbered copies. Reprint edited by Robert Morsberger. New York: Penguin, 1993.

  INTRODUCTIONS, FOREWORDS ,AND MISCELLANY

  “The How, When and Where of the High School.” El Gabilan (Salinas High School yearbook), 1919: 19.

  “Class Will.” El Gabilan, 1919: 36.

  “Student Body.” El Gabilan, 1919: 43.

  “Woodwork.” El Gabilan, 1919: 50.

  “Tortilla Flat.” Famous Recipes by Famous People, Hotel Del Monte. Compiled and commented upon by Herbert Cerwin. Del Monte, CA: Hotel Del Monte, 1936: 18. Reprinted as “Of Beef and Men” in Famous Recipes by Famous People. San Francisco: Lane Publishing Co., 1940: 11.

  “Steinbeck’s Letter.” Writers Take Sides: Letters About the War in Spain from 418 American Authors. New York: League of American Writers, 1938: 56-57.

  Foreword to Between Pacific Tides, by Edward Ricketts and Jack Calvin. Revised edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1948: v-vi. Reprinted as Foreword to “Between Pacific Tides.” Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press for Nathan Van Patten, 1948. 10 copies.

  Foreword to Burning Bright. New York: Viking, 1950: 9-13.

  “The ‘Inside’ on the Inside.” The Iron Gate of Jack & Charlie’s “21.” Edited by Francis T. Hunter. New York: Jack Kriendler Memorial Foundation, 1950: 27.

  “About Ed Ricketts.” Preface to The Log from the “Sea of Cortez.” New York: Viking, 1951: vii-xvii.

  “Un Grand Romancier de Notre Temps.” Hommage à André Gide, 1869-1951. Paris: La Nouvelle Revue Française, 1951: 30. Tribute to Gide.

  Foreword to Speeches of Adlai Stevenson. New York: Random House, 1952: 5-8.

  Introduction to The World of Li’l Abner, by Al Capp. New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1953: np.

  “An Appreciation.” Elia Kazan’s Production of John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden.” Warner Brothers, 1955. Souvenir booklet for the world premiere presentation of the film at the Astor Theater in New York City.

  Foreword to Much Ado About Me, by Fred Allen. Boston: Little, Brown, 1956: np.

  “A Postscript from Steinbeck.” Steinbeck and His Critics: A Record of Twenty-five Years. Edited by Ernest W. Tedlock and C. V. Wicker. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1957: 307-8.

  “Rationale.” Steinbeck and His Critics: 308-9.

  Preface to Story Writing, by Edith Ronald Mirrielees. New York: Viking, 1962: vii-viii.

  Letter of tribute to Oscar Hammerstein II. Program for the Oscar Hammerstein II Memorial Festival, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 8 April 1962.

  Letter of appreciation for publication of a Greek translation of East of Eden. John Steinbeck: An Exhibition of American and Foreign Editions. Austin: Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, 1963: 23. Reprint from Antolica Tis Edhem. Thessaloníki: Syropoulos, 1955.

  “On Learning Writing.” Writer’s Yearbook. Cincinnati: F & W Publications, 1963.

  “Robert Capa: An Appreciation by John Steinbeck.” Images of War by Robert Capa. Assembled by Cornell Capa. New York: Grossman, 1964: 7.

  “A Letter from Steinbeck.” The Thinking Man’s Dog. Edited by Ted Patrick. New York: Random House, 1964: 3-10.

  “A President—Not a Candidate.” 1964 Democratic National Convention. 1964: 94-97.

  In memoriam. Pascal Covici, 1888-1964. [New York:] Meriden Gravure Company, 1964: 19-20.

  “John Emery.” John Emery. Zachary Scott. Privately printed, 1964. 200 copies. A tribute.

  Foreword to Hard Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People. Compiled by Alan Lomax. New York: Oak Publications, 1967: 8-9.

  Foreword to The Eddie Condon Scrapbook of Jazz, by Eddie Condon and Hank O’Neal. New York: Galahad Books, 1973: np.

  Foreword to Bringing in the Sheaves, by Windsor Drake (Thomas A. Collins). Journal of Modern Literature, April 1976: 211-13.

  CONTRIBUTIONS TO MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS

  1936

  “A Depiction of Mexico by an Author with No Pattern to Vindicate.” San Francisco Chronicle, 31 May 1936: D4.

  “Dubious Battle in California.” Nation, 12 Sept. 1936: 302-4.

  “The Harvest Gypsies.” San Francisco News, 5-12 Oct. 1936.

  “The Way It Seems to John Steinbeck.” The Occident 29 (1936): 5.

  1938

  “The novel might benefit by the discipline, the terseness of the drama . . .” Stage 15 (Jan. 1938): 50-51.

  “Starvation Under the Orange Trees.” Monterey Trader, 15 Apr. 1938.

  “A Letter to the Inmates of the Connecticut State Prison.” Monthly Record (Connecticut State Prison), June 1938: 3.

  “The Stars Point to Shafter.” Progressive Weekly, 24 Dec. 1938: 2.

  1941

  “Steinbeck Lashes Out at Bungled Goodwill Drive in Latin States: A Reply to American Censorship.” Carmel Cymbal 15, no. 10 (4 Sept. 1941): 3.

  1942

  “ ‘Our Best’—Our Fliers.” New York Times Magazine, 22 Nov. 1942: 16-17, 29. Excerpt from Bombs Away.

  1943

  86 war dispatches. New York Herald Tribune, 21 June-15 Dec. 1943. Available through interlibrary loan from Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University, in Robert B. Harmon, John Steinbeck, World War II Correspondent: An Annotated Reference Guide. San Jose, CA: Dibco Press, 1997.

  “John Steinbeck Writes Appeal for Third War Loan Drive.” Monterey Peninsula Herald, 17 Sept. 1943.

  1946

  “This Is the Monterey We Love.”Monterey Peninsula Herald, 3 July 1946: Sec. 3: 1.

  1947

  “The GI’s War in a Book Far from Brass.” New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review, 18 May 1947: 1.

  1948

  “A Russian Journal.” New York Herald Tribune, 14-31 Jan. 1948.

  “Women and Children in the USSR.” Ladies Home J
ournal, Feb. 1948: 44-59.

  “Journey into Russia: People of the Soviet.” Illustrated, 1 May 1948: 5-22.

  1950

  “My Ideal Woman.” Flair, July 1950:30-33.

  “Critics, Critics Burning Bright.” Saturday Review, 11 Nov. 1950: 20-21.

  1951

  “Do You Like Yourself?” New York Herald Tribune, 21 Jan. 1951: Sec. 7: 2.

  “The Naked Book.” Vogue, 15 Nov. 1951: 119, 161.

  “The Farmer’s Hotel.” Letter to the editor. New York Times Book Review, 2 Dec. 1951: 40.

  1952

  “Who Said the Old Lady Was Dying?” Evening Standard (London), 1 Aug. 1952.

  “Your Audiences Are Wonderful.” Sunday Times (London), 10 Aug. 1952.

  “Duel Without Pistols.” Collier’s, 23 Aug. 1952: 13-15.

  “The Soul and Guts of France.” Collier’s, 30 Aug. 1952: 26-30.

  “For Stevenson: Rivals Contrasted.” Letter to the editor. New York Times, 26 Oct. 1952: Sec. 4: 9.