the Grapes
of Wrath
On June 16, 1954 John Steinbeck recorded a reading from The Grapes of Wrath for the United Nations Radio Division. This passage, which Steinbeck called "we are holding our own," is from chapter 8 of The Grapes of Wrath and describes the moment that Tom Joad, returning to the family after his early parole from prison, sees Ma for the first time. True to his style, Steinbeck begins with a physical description of Ma, and moves in slowly, painting an image of Ma as the "citadel of the family."
The Grapes of Wrath and Tortilla Flat are inspirations behind composer Franklin D. Ashdown's Steinbeck Suite for Organ. Visit Steinbeck Now to listen to recordings of the world premiere of Ashdown's suite played by renowned concert organist James Welch.
Astro, Richard. John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: The Shaping of a Novelist. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1973. Print.
Benson, Jackson. John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1990. Print.
Bloom, Harold, ed. The Grapes of Wrath: Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea, 2006. Print.
Ditsky, John, ed. Critical Essays on Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1989. Print.
French, Warren, ed. A Companion to The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1963. Print.
Heavilin, Barbara, ed. The Critical Response to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Print.
Johnson, Claudia Durst, ed. Understanding The Grapes of Wrath: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. Print.
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Grapes of Wrath: A Reconsideration. New York: Rodopi, 2009. Print.
Newlin, Keith, ed. Critical Insights: The Grapes of Wrath. Pasadena: Salem, 2010.
Owens, Lewis. The Grapes of Wrath: Trouble in the Promised Land. Boston: Twayne, 1989. Print.
Steinbeck, John. The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to The Grapes of Wrath. Berkeley: Heyday, 2002. Print.
---. Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath. Ed. Robert DeMott. New York: Penguin, 1989. Print.
Wartzman, Rick. Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. New York: PublicAffairs, 2008. Print.
Wyatt, David, ed. New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.
The American Library Associations’ list of banned books from the 20th Century includes two Steinbeck novels: The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.
The Monterey County Historical Society provides a chronology of Steinbeck's life.
Historic Route 66 and Legends of America offer detailed information about the "Mother Road."
The Modern American Poetry website has a timeline of the Dust Bowl era as well as a photo essay about the Great Depression and its effects.
The Library of Congress's Voices from the Dust Bowl collection includes a page discussing migrant workers' experiences in California.
Also from the Library of Congress is an overview of Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" photograph.
Pare Lorentz’s 1937 short documentary The Plow That Broke the Plains looks at some of the social and agricultural causes that created the Dust Bowl. A source of inspiration for Steinbeck.
"Dust Bowl Era," a report written by R. Louis Baumhardt for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) analyzes the causes, effects, and the lessons of the dust bowl.
A brief introduction to the dust bowl by the History Channel, "Dust Bowl" provides a few archival images and videos coupled with reenactments to illustrate the immense impact of the dust bowl.
"The Dust Bowl Migration: Poverty Stories, Race Stories" is an online version of "The Dust Bowl Migration" written by James N. Gregory and published in Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy.
"The Farmers' Plight" is an entry on the Digital History website. This article introduces the impact of the dust bowl on farmers and efforts under the New Deal to help farmers.
Astro, Richard. John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: The Shaping of a Novelist. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1973. Print.
Benson, Jackson. John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1990. Print.
Railsback, Brian. Parallel Expeditions: Charles Darwin and the Art of John Steinbeck. Moscow, ID: U of Idaho P, 1995. Print.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. 1939. Introd. Robert DeMott. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
Wartzman, Rick. Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. New York: PublicAffairs, 2008. Print.
