John Steinbeck

Monterey, Pacific Grove & Salinas, CALIFORNIA

  • Photo of Pastures of Heaven
    This is the real spot, in Corral de Tierra, upon which Steinbeck loosely based Pastures of Heaven.

    “Holy Mother!” he whispered.
    “Here are the green pastures of Heaven to which our Lord leadeth us.”
    John Steinbeck
    Pastures of Heaven, 1932
  • Photo of Steinbeck family house – Salinas, California
    Steinbeck family house — Salinas, California
  • Photo of Tidepool in Pacific Grove
    The Great Tidepool in Pacific Grove, a “quiet” and “lovely” little “water world.” – Monterey, California
  • Photo of Ed Ricketts’ lab — Monterey, California
    Ed Ricketts’ lab, 800 Cannery Row — Monterey, California
  • Photo of Cannery Row — Monterey, California
    Cannery Row — Monterey, California
  • Photo of Agricultural fields — Salinas, California
    “The vegetables grew crisp and green in their line-straight rows.”
    John Steinbeck
    Pastures of Heaven, 1932
  • Photo of old car in agricultural field —Salinas, California
    “The wants of the Okies were beside the roads, lying there to be seen and coveted: the good fields with water to be dug for, the good green fields, earth to crumble experimentally in the hand… A man might look at a fallow field and know, and see in his mind that his own bending back and his own straining arms would bring the cabbages into the light, and the golden eating corn, the turnips and carrots.”
    John Steinbeck
    The Grapes of Wrath, 1939
  • Photo of Point Pinos Lighthouse — Pacific Grove, California
    Point Pinos Lighthouse. For Steinbeck this outpost at the western tip of the continent was a moody spot that epitomized loneliness. — Pacific Grove, California

    “He put on his hat and walked out along the sea, clear out to the Lighthouse…. William thought dark and broody thoughts. No one loved him. No one cared about him….And then he thought how he had a right to live and be happy just like anyone else, by God he had.”
    John Steinbeck
    Cannery Row, 1932

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Appendix :: Literary Destinations

John Steinbeck

(1902-1968)

National Steinbeck Center
1 Main Street
Salinas, CA 93901
Phone: (831) 796-3833
Website: www.steinbeck.org


The Steinbeck House
132 Central Avenue
Salinas, CA 93901
Phone: (831) 424-2735
Website: steinbeckhouse.com

Steinbeck’s Pacific Grove Driving Tour (PDF)

  • Point Pinos Lighthouse
  • The Great Tidepool
  • Monarch Grove Sanctuary
  • The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
  • Jewell Park
  • Site of Ed Ricketts’ First Lab
  • Ricketts Row
  • Steinbeck Family Cottage
  • Ed Ricketts’ Home
  • John Steinbeck’s Cottage
  • Hopkins Marine Station
  • Cannery Row

Big Sur
Carmel Valley
Corral de Tierra
Fremont’s Peak
Point Lobos
Spreckels
Watsonville

A Journey Through Literary America

$35.00

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Description

Explore the fascinating stories of 26 great American authors with images of the places that inspired them to write. It’s the perfect gift for book lovers. With over 140 photographs throughout, the images add mood and dimension to the writing – and they are often shockingly close to what the featured authors described in their own words. Lushly illustrated, and beautifully designed, the book is as much of a pleasure to look at as it is to read.

This is a volume for the literary enthusiast, the armchair traveler or the intrepid reader. It is a handsome and beautifully illustrated companion for those who seek to learn more about authors they have read and those who wish to discover new writers.

Wallace Stegner
Robinson Jeffers