by Susan Keeping

Created on: July 05, 2008   Last Updated: February 19, 2011

"Perhaps the best conversationalist in the world is the man who helps others to talk."

The above is a quote from East of Eden by John Steinbeck.It aptly describes Steinbeck himself because the characters in his novels are amongst the most interesting in literature; he helps them talk about the American experience from all points of view. Not to mention, his novels get people talking about the American point of view and experience.

John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. He graduated from high school in 1919 at the age of seventeen. After attending Stanford University off and on for a few years, Steinbeck dropped out in 1925. He then moved to New York City to try and make it as a writer but he returned home when he was unsuccessful in that pursuit.

However, Steinbeck kept writing and his first novel Cup of Gold was published in 1929. From then to 1935, Steinbeck wrote several short novels, one of the better known being The Red Pony which was published in 1933. His first success came in 1935 with Tortilla Flats.

In the 1930s, Steinbeck wrote several novels which have been called the "California Novels." These included Grapes of Wrath in 1939 and Of Mice and Men in 1937. The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulizer Prize in 1940 and was later made into a classic film. Many of his novels were turned into films not long after they were published and Steinbeck worked with the screenwriters on the film versions.

One of his better works, and the one he thought was his best, was East of Eden which was published in 1952. The book was turned into a film starring James Dean and Raymond Massey in 1955.

Steinbeck's last novel was The Winter of our Discontent which was published in 1961. Steinbeck's works often make it on banned lists. His works that are most often banned are The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

In addition to the Pulitzer, John Steinbeck received many other honors and awards for his work. Two major awards he received were The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 and The United States Medal of Freedom in 1964. In 1979, the US Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Steinbeck.

Steinbeck was married three times and had two sons from his second marriage, Thomas and John. He married his third wife, Elaine Scott in 1950 and they were together until he died. John Steinbeck died on December 30, 1968 of an apparent heart attack. He was cremated and his ashes were buried in his family plot in Salinas, California.

Steinbeck's character and words live on 40 years after his death. Subsequent generations discover his work and are as transfixed by his words as they were when they were first written. John Steinbeck will definitely live on...

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