Walter Stiern Library

The following are selected editions of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings, 1936-1941. New York: Library of America, 1996.

The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992.

 Includes an introduction by Robert DeMott.

The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1989.

        Includes an introduction by Studs Terkel.

The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism. Edited by Peter Lisca. New York: Penguin, 1977.

Arnold, Murray.  “Steinbeck Hits Big Time Because of Kern.”  Bakersfield Californian 1978 April 9: ?

Barry, John D.  “Ways of the World—The Grapes of Wrath.”  San Francisco News 1939 June: ??.

Benson, Jackson J.  “An Afternoon and an Introduction.”  Journal of Modern Literature 2(2): 194-210.

_____.  “To Tom, Who Lived It: John Steinbeck and the Man from Weedpatch.”  Journal of Modern Literature 5(2) 1976 April: 151-210.

Benson contends that the background for much of Steinbeck’s depiction of migrant life in The Grapes of Wrath, came not only from Collins’ camp reports, but also from the influence and friendship of Tom Collins, to whom the second part of the novel is dedicated.  Hired in 1935 by the Resettlement Administration (later called the Farm Security Administration), Collins served as manager of the first migrant camp program in California.  By 1936, Collins’ contributions to the camp program were becoming legend.  When Steinbeck went to the Division of Information offices for help with a series of articles on the migrants, he was directed to Tom Collins at the Weedpatch camp.  Benson credits Collins with the most important contribution to The Grapes of Wrath; that is, “the spirit at the heart of the novel, rather than…the details and color of its surface.”

“Board Holds Hearings on Grapes of Wrath Ban.”  Bakersfield Californian August 28, 1939: 1.

Boren, Lyle H. "The Grapes of Wrath." Congressional Record, 76th Cong., 3d Sess., pt. 13, 1940, 139-1940. Reprinted in: A Casebook on The Grapes of Wrath,  27-29. Edited by Agnes McNeill Donohue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968.

Boren, Congressman from Oklahoma, condemns Steinbeck's novel, describing it as a "dirty, lying, filthy manuscript."

Bristol, Horace. "Documenting The Grapes of Wrath." The Californians  Jan/Feb 1988: 40-47.

Photographer Bristol recounts his travels with John Steinbeck through the Central Valley, interviewing and photographing migrants. The article includes several of Bristol's photographs.

French, Warren, ed. A Companion to The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1963.

 “Grapes Back.”  Bakersfield Californian  January 27, 1941: 1.

 “Grapes of Joy—‘Okies’ Forge Ahead.”  Current History Forum  51 (March 1940): 48-9.

 “The Grapes of Wrath and Factories in the Fields.”  Kern County Union Labor Journal  August 1, 1939: 1.

“‘Grapes of Wrath’ Ban Ends.”  Library Journal  March 1, 1941: ??.

“Harty Explains Stand on Novel.”  Bakersfield Californian  August 28, 1939: 1.

“I Wonder Where We Can Go Now.”  Fortune  April 19, 1939: 90-94, 112-119. Reprinted in: French, Warren, ed. A Companion to The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1963;The Grapes of Wrath. Edited by Peter Lisca. New York: Penguin, 1977.

Harvey, Jean.  “Tom Collins Hasn’t Read ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.” Kern Herald  August 24, 1939: 1.

Kappel, Tim. "Trampling Out the Vineyards: Kern County's Ban on The Grapes of Wrath. California History 61 (3) Fall 1982: 211+.

Lingo, Marci. "Forbidden Fruit: The Banning of  The Grapes of Wrath in the Kern County Free Library." Libraries & Culture 38 (4) (Fall 2003): 351-377.

McWilliams, Carey.  “California Pastoral.”  The Antioch Review  March 1942: 103-21. Reprinted in: A Casebook on The Grapes of Wrath,  52-62. Edited by Agnes McNeill Donohue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968;The Grapes of Wrath. Edited by Peter Lisca. New York: Penguin, 1977.

Shindo, Charles J.  Dust Bowl Migrants in the American Imagination.  Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1997.  

Shindo shows how artists and reformers have dominated the public memory of the Dust Bowl migration.  His study is a fine example of the ways in which artists use “aesthetics and politics to make a personal statement about the human condition.”  book explores the impact of the Great Depression on the lives of ordinary people in California through professional observers like economist Paul Taylor, photographer Dorothea Lange, journalist Carey McWilliams, and novelist John Steinbeck.

Shockley, Martin Staples. "The Reception of  The Grapes of Wrath  in Oklahoma." American Literature 15 (4) January 1944: 351-361. Reprinted in: A Casebook on The Grapes of Wrath.  Edited by Agnes McNeill Donohue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968; The Grapes of Wrath. Edited by Peter Lisca. New York: Penguin, 1977.

Sillen, Samuel. "Censoring The Grapes of Wrath." New Masses  September 12, 1939: 23-24. Reprinted in: A Casebook on The Grapes of Wrath.  Edited by Agnes McNeill Donohue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968.

Simon, Bryant and William Deverell. "Come Back, Tom Joad: Thoughts on a California Dreamer." California History 79 (4) Winter 2000/2001: 181-191.

Discusses how the character of Tom Joad, protagonist in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, has been interpreted in literature, film, and music. Focuses on musicians Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen.

“Steinbeck Answers.”  Oildale Press  August 31, 1939: 1.

“Steinbeck in Answer to R. Levin.”  Kern Herald  September 5, 1939: 1.

“Steinbeck Novel Reinstated at Kern Library.”  Bakersfield Californian  January 28, 1941: 1.

Steinbeck, John.  “The Harvest Gypsies.”  The San Francisco News  October 5, 1936: 1. Reprinted in: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings, 1936-1941. New York: Library of America, 1996.

____."Starvation Under the Orange Trees." Monterey Trader April 15 1938: 1, 4. Reprinted in: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings, 1936-1941. New York: Library of America, 1996.

_____. Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath. Ed. by Robert Demott. New York: Viking, 1989.

_____.  Steinbeck: A Life in Letters.  Eds. Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten.  New York: Viking Press, 1975.

Steinbeck's writes about the  public reaction to The Grapes of Wrath. For example, in one letter he says, "The vilification of me out here from the large landowners and bankers is pretty bad. The latest is a rumor started by them that the Okies hate me and have threatened to kill me for lying about them. This made all the papers. Tom Collins [FSA labor camp manager] says that when his Okies read this smear they were so mad they wanted to burn something down." [see pp. 180-190 for letters related to The Grapes of Wrath.]

_____.   Their Blood is Strong.  San Francisco: Simon J. Lubin Society of California, 1938. Reprinted in: French, Warren, ed. A Companion to The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1963.

Includes Steinbeck's journalistic pieces,  "The Harvest Gypsies," and "Starvation Under the Orange Trees."

Suburu, Cindy.  The Grapes of Wrath Revisited.  Thesis (B.A.), California Polytechnic State University, 1972.

Synon, John.  “The Grapes of Wrath Sequel.”  South Carolina News and Courier  November 20, 1962.

_____. "California's Grapes of Wrath. Forum  November 1939: 232-238. Reprinted in: A Casebook on The Grapes of Wrath. Edited by Agnes McNeill Donohue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968; The Grapes of Wrath. Edited by Peter Lisca. New York: Penguin, 1977.