Synopses & Reviews
Exciting new essays provide an important model for ecological criticism and an enriched appreciation of the Steinbeck canon.
This interdisciplinary collection of essays explores in-depth a topic previously neglected by scholars: John Steinbeck's early and continuing preoccupation with ecology and marine biology and the effect of that interest on his writings. Written by scholars from various disciplines -- marine biology, the social and physical sciences, environmental studies, feminist theory, history, and philosophy, as well as American literature -- the essays offer a dynamic contribution to the study of John Steinbeck by considering his writings from an environmental perspective. They reveal Steinbeck as a prophet -- an author ahead of his time and supremely relevant to our own.
"A wonderful, readable, very significant book. It was long past time that we have a solid collection, by experts in literature and science, on the very central question of Steinbeck's relationship to the environment". -- Jackson J. Benson, San Diego State University
"Steinbeck and the Environment offers a significant contribution to the study of John Steinbeck. How 'green' was John Steinbeck? asks a pivotal essay in the volume. The answers are as diverse as the contributors themselves"
R. S. Hughes, author of Beyond the Red Pony and John Steinbeck: A Study of the Short Fiction
Review
"Few American literary figures have elicited so much response from the scientific communityand extremely lucid commentary at thatas Steinbeck. What is accomplished is a sharper definition of Steinbeck as environmentalist, a description previously used all too nebulously, an aspect of Steinbecks political awareness that has not been given its fair share of attention. . . . A most necessary addition."Choice
Review
"What has been needed for some time has been an approach to Steinbeck on his own terms, valuing him for what he did say, rather than what he should have said. . . . It has taken three decades since his death for a collection of essays on the writer and his relationship to the natural world to appear. Each of the editors writes an introduction to the book, from the perspective of a literary scholar who is new to Steinbeck (Beegel), from the perspective of a Steinbeck specialist (Shillinglaw), and from the perspective of a field scientist (Tiffney). This pattern is carried out throughout the collection by the various contributors who are also non-specialist literary scholars, Steinbeck specialists, or scientists. The essays are well done and some are exceptional, but what raises this book above so many anthologies of criticism on a single author is once again the rich variety of approaches, which are, nevertheless, brought together into a unified whole."South
Synopsis
John Steinbeck, intellectual soulmate of pioneering ecologist Edward F. Ricketts, developed a literary vision unique for its biological holism. From his exploration of the environmental disaster in the Dust Bowl region described in The Grapes of Wrath to his voyage of scientific and spiritual discovery among near-pristine marine ecosystems recounted in Log from the Sea of Cortez, Steinbeck's entire canon probes the multiple and interlocked dimensions of his outstanding theme - that human beings and their environment are an inseparable unit. Written by scholars from various disciplines - marine biology, the social and physical sciences, environmental studies, feminist theory, history, and philosophy, as well as American literature - these essays offer a dynamic contribution to the study of Steinbeck by considering his writings from an environmental perspective. And although these writers come from different backgrounds, they find a common theme - Steinbeck blended his literary vision with a unique understanding and appreciation of the environment.
Synopsis
Exciting new essays provide an important model for ecological criticism and an enriched appreciation of the Steinbeck canon.
Synopsis
This interdisciplinary collection of essays explores in-depth a topic previously neglected by scholars: John Steinbeck's early continuing preoccupation with ecology and marine biology and the effect of that interest on his writings. Written by scholars from various disciplines, the essays offer a dynamic contribution to the study of John Steinbeck by considering his writings from an environmental perspective. They reveal Steinbeck as a prophet that was ahead of his time and supremely relevant to our own.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [335]-348) and index.
About the Author
Susan F. Beegel is the editor of The Hemingway Review and Visiting Assistant Professor of English at the University of Idaho. Susan Shillinglaw is Director of the Steinbeck Research center and Associate Professor of English at San Jose Sttae Univesity. Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr., is Director of the University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station and a field biologist specializing in human land use history and ecology.