Reclaiming John Steinbeck
Writing for the Future of Humanity
- Author: Gavin Jones, Stanford University, California
- Date Published: June 2021
- availability: Available
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781108844123
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John Steinbeck is a towering figure in twentieth-century American literature; yet he remains one of our least understood writers. This major reevaluation of Steinbeck by Gavin Jones uncovers a timely thinker who confronted the fate of humanity as a species facing climate change, environmental crisis, and a growing divide between the powerful and the marginalized. Driven by insatiable curiosity, Steinbeck's work crossed a variety of borders – between the United States and the Global South, between human and nonhuman lifeforms, between science and the arts, and between literature and film – to explore the transformations in consciousness necessary for our survival on a precarious planet. Always seeking new forms to express his ecological and social vision of human interconnectedness and vulnerability, Steinbeck is a writer of urgent concern for the twenty-first century, even as he was haunted by the legacies of racism and injustice in the American West.
Read more- Places John Steinbeck's work in the context of timely issues such as climate change and other social and environmental challenges facing humanity
- Closely describes Steinbeck's writing across different genres and media, including literature, science, and film
- Relates Steinbeck to his historical times, particularly regarding problems of social and racial inequality and injustice
Reviews & endorsements
'No American writer is in greater need of reassessment than John Steinbeck. Widely read and as widely held in critical disrepute, Steinbeck has at last been rescued by Gavin Jones, whose deep and exacting scholarship is matched by his compassion and an eagerness to explore the connective tissues in Steinbeck's work. A deft and dazzling study of a complex and misunderstood writer's emergence – a term Steinbeck would appreciate – a half century after his passing.' William Souder, author of Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck (W. W. Norton, 2020)
See more reviews'Reclaiming John Steinbeck … introduces a whole new set of concepts not typically associated with this author – from marine life to animal life, from disability to global ecological crisis – turning Steinbeck into a thinker who is urgently relevant to contemporary ethical and philosophical debates, and transforming this book from a monograph to a rich meditation on some of our current concerns. This is a wonderful achievement.' Branka Arsić, Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
'Jones's crystalline prose guides readers lucidly through Steinbeck's complex engagements with nature and with science. Highly recommended for readers interested in the dynamics of narrative in the context of race relations and changing ecological conditions.' Ursula K. Heise, Marcia H. Howard Chair in Literary Studies, UCLA, and co-founder of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies
'Consistently fascinating and original … A book for anyone wishing to seriously engage with one of the twentieth century's most beloved, perplexing and underappreciated writers.' Susan Shillinglaw, Times Literary Supplement
'Careful, balanced, and well written, Jones's book is a pleasure to read … Highly recommended.' B. Diemert, Choice Magazine
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×Product details
- Date Published: June 2021
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781108844123
- length: 262 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 157 x 20 mm
- weight: 0.5kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Loving and Hating Steinbeck
1. Short Stories in School and Lab:'Tularecito' and 'The Snake'
2. Drought, Climate, and Race in the West: To a God Unknown
3. Race and Revision: 'The Vigilante' and 'Johnny Bear'
4. Becoming Animal: Theories of Mind in The Red Pony
5. What Is It Like to Be a Plant?: 'The Chrysanthemums' and 'The White Quail'
6. On Not Being a Modernist: Disability and Performance in Of Mice and Men
7. Emergence and Failure: The Middleness of The Grapes of Wrath
8. Borderlands: Extinction and the New World Outlook in Sea of Cortez
9. Mexican Revolutions: The Forgotten Village, The Pearl, and the Global South
Epilogue: The Aftertaste of Cannery Row
Notes
Index.
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