John Steinbeck: A Short Biography

John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a twentieth century American writer and winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature. Born to modest means in the Salinas Valley California in 1902, Steinbeck attempted college at Stanford University, but did not finish. He moved to New York City to work as a free-lance writer, but was not very successful and returned to California. 


He first became well-known for his novel about Monterrey, California paisanos, Tortilla Flat in 1935. Of Mice and Men appeared in 1937. His most popular novel, The Grapes of Wrath, appeared in 1939 and won the Pulitzer Prize. Other significant novels are East of Eden (1952), The Winter of Our Discontent (1961) and Travels with Charley (1962).


John Steinbeck's novels are known for their social commentary and concern for the people at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. They also deal with problems of good and evil more generally, as in East of Eden. 


John Steinbeck died in New York City in 1968.


Click here for a review of Of Mice and Men


"John Steinbeck - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 16 Apr 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1962/steinbeck-bio.html