Scheduled Performances, 2005

Sunday, September 11, 2:00 p.m., John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor
Saturday, April 2, 1:00 p.m., Hampton Bays Public Library
Monday, April 4, 7:00 p.m., Lindenhurst Public Library
Tuesday, April 5, 2:00 p.m., Lynbrook Public Library
Tuesday, April 5, 7:30 p.m., Garden City Public Library
Wednesday, April 6, 2:30 p.m. Half Hollow Hills Public Library
Thursday, April 7, 7:00 p.m., Patchogue Public Library
Friday, April 8, 12:15 p.m., Port Washington Public Library
Friday, April 8, 7:30 p.m., North Babylon Public Library
Saturday, April 9, 2:00 p.m., Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library
Sunday, April 10, 2:00 p.m., Bellmore Public Library
Monday, April 11, 7:30 p.m., Port Jefferson Free Library
Tuesday, April 12, 12:30 p.m., East Meadow Public Library
Tuesday, April 12, 7:00 p.m., Brentwood Public Library
Wednesday, April 13, 7:30 p.m., Sea Cliff Village Library
Thursday, April 14, 2:30 p.m., Freeport Memorial Library
Thursday, April 14, 7:30 p.m., Shelter Rock Public Library, Albertson
Saturday, April 16, 7:00 p.m., John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor
Sunday, April 17, 2:00 p.m., Longwood Public Library, Middle Island
Monday, April 18, 7:15 p.m., Middle Country Library, Centereach
Tuesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Northport-East Northport Library
Wednesday, April 20, 7:00 p.m., South Country Library, Bellport
Thursday, April 21, 7:00 p.m., Islip Public Library
Wednesday, April 27, 2:00 p.m., Long Beach Public Library
Thursday, April 28, 2:30 p.m., West Babylon Public Library
Saturday, April 30, 2:00 p.m., Copiague Public Library
    

Cover art from the Bantam paperback edition of
Travels with Charley

  
John Steinbeck, 1961

John Steinbeck in New York
by David Houston
for unrestricted use in publicity, for study groups,
and as a handout at public readings of Travels With Charley

Usually considered a California writer, John Steinbeck lived almost half of his life in New York, many of those in Sag Harbor, Long Island—where, he claimed, he was happiest.

He was born in Salinas, California, in 1902, the third of four children and the only son. His father was County Treasurer and his mother a former schoolteacher. Steinbeck studied writing at Stanford University.  A year before he might have graduated, he decided it was time to try making it as a writer in New York.  In 1926, the big City was unkind to the small-town boy.  While writing his first novel, he worked as a construction laborer.  He pushed 100-pound wheelbarrows of concrete at the construction site of Madison Square Garden.  He tried freelancing and for a short time was a reporter for the New York American—from which job he was fired for being inadequately prepared in journalism.  After a year, he decided to return to California.  He later wrote, “I didn’t leave the City in disgust, I left it with the respect plain unadulterated fear gives.” 

In California he married in 1930 and published his first important work in 1935.  The book was  Tortilla Flat—about the antics of rootless drifters who share a house in California. The novel became a financial and critical success.  Steinbeck’s next works, In Dubious Battle (1936) and Of Mice and Men (1937), were both successful.  In 1939, his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath, won the Pulitzer Prize.  He became interested in marine biology and published a non-fiction book The Sea of Cortez in 1941.  

In 1941 when he was in the midst of a tumultuous separation from his first wife Carol, he moved to New York City with singer Gwen Conger, who would become his second wife.  

In 1943, Steinbeck wrote an essay for the New York Times, called “The Making of a New Yorker,” in which he stated, “Every once in a while I go away for several months and always come back with a 'thank God I'm home' feeling. For New York is the world with every vice and blemish and beauty, and there's privacy thrown in. What more could you ask?"  But the pace of a small-town and life on the road seemed to be his more natural way of life. Upon his return from the war, Steinbeck was nostalgic for California but postponed moving back there until after the birth of his first son, Thom.  The publication of Cannery Row in 1945 made him nostalgic for the California of his youth, which he had used as a background for the novel.  The move was a mistake.  As he later explained in Travels With Charley, “My return caused only confusion and uneasiness. Tom Wolfe was right. You can't go home again because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory.”

The Steinbecks moved back to New York City in December 1945. June of 1946 brought the arrival of second son, John IV.  In 1947 he published two more novels: The Wayward Bus and The Pearl. In May of 1948, his life changed again when he learned that Gwyn was seeking a divorce.  The end of Steinbeck's second marriage set him wandering once more, through California, Mexico and eventually back to New York. In 1949 he met Elaine Scott, the woman who would become his third and final wife. They were married in 1950.

It was during Steinbeck's years with Elaine that he finally found a nest—in Sag Harbor. He and Elaine discovered the place in the summer of 1953. The couple loved the ocean and Sag Harbor was nearly surrounded by water. They purchased a two-acre wedge of land across from the water. John loved not only his home, but the village, too. He got to know most of the shop owners and regulars who hung out at the bars. In an Internet essay, Paige Grande writes: “He was paid the highest compliment by a shop owner in Sag Harbor who said, ‘He should have been born here and shouldn't have been famous.’”  And: “In 1958, Steinbeck described his love for Sag Harbor in a letter to John O'Hara, ‘I grow into this countryside with a lichen grip.’”

His 1961 travel memoir, Travels with Charley describes his trek across the U.S. in a camper. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize (Lifetime Achievement) in 1962, and the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1964. When asked by a reporter if he deserved the Nobel Prize, Steinbeck replied, "Frankly, no."  

John Steinbeck died of heart disease in Sag Harbor in 1968.

The Novels and Major Published Works of John Steinbeck

Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven (1932), The Red Pony (1933), To A God Unknown (1933), Tortilla Flat (1935), In Dubious Battle (1936), Nothing So Monstrous (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), The Long Valley (1938), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), The Forgotten Village (1941), The Sea of Cortez (1941), Bombs Away (1942), The Moon Is Down (1942), Cannery Row (1945), The Wayward Bus (1947), The Pearl (1948), A Russian Journal (1948), Burning Bright (1950), East of Eden (1952), Sweet Thursday (1954), The Short Reign of Pippin IV (1957), Once There Was A War (1958), The Winter of Our Discontent (1961), Travels With Charley (1962), The World of Li'l Abner (with Charles Chaplin) (1965).

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

The quintessential American composer was born in New York City. He studied there with Rubin Goldmark and in France with the famous pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Back in New York, he began the wide-ranging activities that would characterize his career: painstaking composition, piano performer, promotion of new music, and teaching. His first successes came from performances of his works by such noted conductors as Walter Damrosch, who premiered the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra (1925), and Serge Koussevitsky, who became a leading champion of the composer. He helped found organizations including the American Composers Alliance and Cos Cob Press, taught at schools including Tanglewood (1940-65), and wrote a series of books beginning with What to Listen for in Music (1939). After his early jazz-inspired works, including Music for the Theater (1925), his best-known works began with El Salón México (1936). This work and later pieces, among them the much-loved Appalachian Spring (1944), are marked by a warm and rhythmically lively style based on a sophisticated adaptation of American folk material. He largely retired from composing in the 1970s.

References and Comments

Travels With Charley

Millie Scott, Librarian, West Babylon Public Library: "The West Babylon Literary Club was looking forward to your presentation and again were not disappointed!  You gave an excellent program.  Thanks!"  Kate Horan, Adult Services Librarian, South Country Library : "I am so impressed with how you coordinated text selections with the music of Aaron Copland.  I'm sure you could tell by the audience's enthusiastic response that everyone loved the various voices you highlighted in our narrative journey across America.  Travels With Charley is probably Steinbeck's most accessible book, but you made it absolutely delightful!  I hope you'll come back to do more dramatic readings."  Pat Brandt, Program Director, John Jermain Library, Sag Harbor: Comments from the audience: "Excellent production . . .very well done . . . wonderful show . . . enjoyed it immensely . . . very entertaining."  Linda Kundla, Librarian, Sea Cliff Library: "My patrons enjoyed the performance thoroughly."  Fran Carey, Patron, Half Hollow Hills Community Library: "I loved Copland's music accompanying the lively and animated reading; this was a delightful and engaging performance." Barbara Minerd, Program Director, Shelter Rock Public Library: "Accents are wonderful and the selection of background music perfect; the audience was mesmerized."  Barbara Sussman, Program Director, Port Jefferson Free Library: "The reviews [from the audience] are in, and as always they are raves."  Tracey Simon, Program Coordinator, Lynbrook Public Library: "The feedback was quite positive and inspired a few members of the audience to read the book and join us for the book discussion the following week!"  Jessica Ley, Program Coordinator, Port Washington Public Library: "Another stellar interpretation of a literary work—very moving and impeccably presented."  Marie DiMonte, Patron, Hampton Bays Public Library: "Mr. Houston's presentation was simply wonderful.  The chosen excerpts were enthralling, and I felt I literally traveled the country with Charlie.  A delightful reading."  Carlton Welch, Reference Librarian, Longwood Public Library: "Although I did not view the entire performance, I found that the presenter was both professional and motivated.  The use of sound (music, FX, etc.) was quite effective."  Loretta Piscatella, Librarian, Middle Country Library: "We all enjoyed the reading; I especially enjoyed the addition of Copland's music."  Patti Paris, Adult Services Librarian, Bellmore Memorial Library: "Professionally presented to the great delight and enjoyment of the audience; one patron said upon leaving, 'Thank you for making the book come alive!'"