Many on the Central Coast remember John Steinbeck on his 120th birthday
On Sunday, many remembered the Nobel Prize-winning novelist and Salinas local John Steinbeck on his 120th birthday. Steinbeck's stories are so steeped into Central Coast communities, some say you can experience him just by walking down the street. The city of Salinas made its mark on him, as he did on the city.
“He wrote about us. He wrote about his community. He wrote about what he knew. So, he knew Salinas and he knew the people of Salinas and so that's what he wrote about,” said Downtown Book and Sound store owner, Trish Triumpho Sullivan.
His work was ingrained in people of different generations and all walks of life. On Sunday at the Steinbeck Center, Chris Drier was just one of many taking a walk down memory lane with Steinbeck. From his childhood to his early career and of course, revisiting some of Steinbeck’s masterpieces.
Books like “The Red Pony” and “Grapes of Wrath” and other books that people say are important to what’s going on in today’s climate, as war rises in eastern Europe. “Steinbeck wrote this book during World War Two, "The Moon is Down" and it's kinds of an important book because it became the Bible for resistance during World War Two,” said Triumpho Sullivan.
The novelist, who is now a draw for tourism on the Central Coast and one of America’s most beloved and honored writers, was born 120 years ago and today his legacy still lives on.
“Steinbeck really told it like it is and he had some insights into people’s motivations. Their hearts, their souls, that we can all benefit from reading about,” Triumpho Sullivan said.