Steinbeck's Landscapes

Where Story Meets Place

De: Susan Shillinglaw

Steinbeck’s vision is grounded in place—first in Central California, where he was born and lived until he was 41, and in his later life when he became a troubadour of the Americas, traversing the U.S. and Mexico. Throughout his long writing life—his work spans the years 1929 to 1966—his vision as a writer was fundamentally holistic and ecological: he believed that to understand people, you had to know something about the places they occupied, their landscapes, their histories, their spirits. This is what Steinbeck's America reveals and celebrates.

While Steinbeck’s work has been at the core of the American canon for many years, of course, his work seems more relevant than ever as we continue to struggle as a nation with issues including migrant labor, the plight of the poorest and industry’s role in keeping them from ever truly getting ahead no matter how hard they work, and the human effect on the environment and ways we degrade it.

©2026 Susan Shillinglaw (P)2026