A selective list of online literary criticism for John Steinbeck, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars, articles published in reviewed sources, and web sites that adhere to the MLA guidelines for web sites
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Dickstein, Morris. "Steinbeck and the Great Depression." First page of article only. South Atlantic Quarterly 2004 103(1)
Donohue, Cecilia. An introduction to John Steinbeck from the Literary Encyclopedia, 18 July 2003 On Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962)
Halverson, Cathryn. "John Steinbeck's Sweetheart: the cosmic American bus." Halverson's discussion of "The Wayward Bus" notes that "Whereas road books and movies featuring car travel are legion, dedicated "bus books" like Steinbeck's are scarce." College Literature, 01-JAN-08
Morsberger. "(W)hen The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939, there was an intense effort to ban the novel and its film version and to vilify, discredit, and damage the author. Steinbeck is still one of the chief targets of censors, but in addition to attacks for political and allegedly moral reasons, he is also discredited by part of the literary establishment that wants to eliminate him from canonical literature." The Cal Poly Pomona Journal Of Interdisciplinary Studies, Volume 16, Fall 2003
Pirofski, Kira Isak. "Sir Thomas Malory: Muse and Mentor of John Steinbeck," on the influence of Sir Thomas Malory on John Steinbeck, in Arbutus Online Literary Journal (taken offline at http://www.arbutus.net/reviews/steinbeck.htm)
Windschuttle, Keith. "Steinbeck's myth of the Okies" [Great Depression]. The New Criterion, June 2002
A lesson plan for teaching Of Mice and Men to high school students. From the British Broadcasting Company.
Men and Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia, John Steinbeck entry. Preview at Google Books.
Background on Steinbeck's period and concerns, from Voices from the Dustbowl, by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress
Feature on Grapes of Wrath from National Public Radio, Feb. 2002
Nobel Prize web page for John Steinbeck, winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in literature, at the Nobel Prize web site
A brief Teacher's Guide to John Steinbeck's "Flight," from textbook publisher Heath
An extended (4 page) guide to Cannery Row, from publisher Penguin
An extended (6 page) guide to The Grapes of Wrath, from publisher Penguin
Discussion questions on East of Eden, from the Center for Steinbeck Studies, San Jose State Universi (moved or taken offline)
On Oprah's selection of East of Eden for her book club. Yale Review of Books, Spring, 2004.
About the John Steinbeck manuscripts and other rare documents in Stanford Library's John Steinbeck Collections
Movies and TV versions of John Steinbeck's books, including actors and directors, from the Internet Movie Database
News article about his heirs' unseemly dispute for control of Steinbeck's estate. NY Times, 8/2/04
Teachers resources for John Steinbeck from C-Span, created for their 2002 American Writers series
Discussion questions on John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and The Pearl, from the Great Books Foundation (moved or taken offline from http://www.greatbooks.org/library/guides/steinbeck.shtml)
Lesson plan for teaching Grapes of Wrath in connection with Woodie Guthrie's music. One suggestion, for example, asks students to write the dialogue for a meeting between Woodie and Tom Joad. From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (moved or taken offline from http://www.rockhall.com/programs/plandetail.asp?id=529")
A project on The Grapes of Wrath provides links to information about the cultural and historical context of the novel, including The Dust Bowl, The Great Depression, The New Deal, Route 66, Oklahoma, Agricultural Laborers, Hoovervilles. From The Librarians' Index to the Internet (moved or taken offline from http://lii.org/TGOW)
Web site from the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State College contains a biography of Steinbeck, photos of his homes and locations, and details about his California settings (taken offline at http://www2.sjsu.edu/steinbeck)
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