Newsletter #9: John Steinbeck
I’ve made a few changes to the newsletter. Instead of collecting sentences and quotes from random writers, I decided to dedicate each newsletter to one writer. Now each newsletter will feature three sentences, two quotes, and one cool thing all focused on one writer.
I’ve added a few writing and journaling prompts throughout to help you study great sentences and reflect on your writing. The newsletter ends with a question and a link to my latest short story (or essay) on my website. Feel free to email me your responses to the question. I’d love to know what you’re thinking.
Three Sentences by Steinbeck to Imitate and Study
I.
And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.
from East of Eden
Notice: Each of the first three sentences start with “And this I believe/would fight for/must fight against” followed by a list of words and phrases that describe those actions. The three sentences and actions culminate in the last sentence “This is what I am and what I’m about.”
Practice: What are you and what are you about? Write three sentences that start with “And this I believe/would fight for/must fight against” followed by a list of words and phrases the describe those actions and thus describe you.
II.
It has always seemed strange to me...The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.
from Cannery Row
Notice: The first sentence makes a statement about something being strange. Then the following two sentences explore opposite characteristics “things we admire” and “those traits we detest” and each contains an observation - admiration leads to “failure in our system” and detestation leads to success. The final sentence provides insight into the “truth” the proceeding two sentences describe.
Practice: What seems strange to you about human behavior or cultural norms and expectations? Write two sentences - one starts “The things we admire…” and the other starts “And those traits we detest…” What do we admire but ultimately leads to something negative and vice versa for what we detest?
III.
A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.
from Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Notice: The first sentence is a simile of “journey” being compared to “marriage.” The second sentence explains the comparison by revealing an insight into marriage.
Practice: Complete this sentence “A journey is like ____” Then, write a second sentence in which you reveal an insight about whatever you’re comparing a journey to.
Two Quotes by Steinbeck on Writing and Purpose
I.
“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
II.
“Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.”
Journal Prompt: What do you think Steinbeck meant when he states writers “must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true?”
One Cool Thing - Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize Speech
John Steinbeck's speech at the Nobel Banquet at the City Hall in Stockholm, December 10, 1962
In 1962 John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." It was Steinbeck’s 11th nomination - his first was in 1943. At the time the Nobel committee was criticized for their selection of Steinbeck. And the Nobel archives show that Steinbeck wasn’t the committee’s desired choice. When Steinbeck was asked if he felt he should receive the award he answered, “Frankly, no.”
Regardless of whether Steinbeck deserved the award, he delivered a fantastic speech about the role and responsibility of literature in society. Steinbeck extolls the virtue and importance of storytelling on human nature and society before discussing man’s place in the post-World War, nuclear age.
My favorite part of the speech is when Steinbeck seemingly foreshadows our current social climate when he writes of a “universal fear” because of “a forward surge in our knowledge and manipulation of certain dangerous factors in the physical world.” Steinbeck was writing at a time when technological advancements were propelling society forward quicker than human understanding could comprehend. We were becoming gods as Steinbeck would later state in the speech. The choice for the future was ours. Steinbeck believed it would be the “writer’s responsibility” to help society usher forward with a reverence for nature and peace.
Question
Let’s say you won the Nobel Prize in Literature (anything’s possible, right?), what would you talk about in your speech?
Post your response in the Comments section below.
Spread the Word
If you like what you’re reading, please help me grow this newsletter by sharing it via text, social media, or email.
Use this link: https://www.imfrank.blog/newsletter-archive/newsletter-9
