John Steinbeck's Novels

• Date: 1926 - 1950 & 1951 - 1975

• Location: USA & Europe

• Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

• Medium: Literature

• Artist/Author/Producer: Steinbeck, John (1902-1968)

• Confronting Bodies: St. Louis public library, towns in Oklahoma, The Associated Farmers of Ken County, the Gathings Committee, etc.

• Dates of action: 1939+

• Location: United States, Ireland

Description of the Art Work

"The Grapes of Wrath", 1939: novel about a dispossessed family's migration from Oklahoma Dust Bowl to California and their consequent exploitation under ruthless system of agricultural economics.

"The Wayward Bus", 1947: novel

Description of incident

1939 United States-St. Louis, MO: Seven months after publication of "The Grapes of Wrath", three copies were ordered burned by the public library because of the vulgar words employed by the characters.

1953 United States: "The Wayward Bus", although a Pulitzer Prize Winner, was placed on the list of books disapproved by the Gathings Committee (a House of Representatives select committee on indecent literature) and by censorship groups in many cities.

Results of incident

1939 United States-St. Louis, MO: After a protest by the National Council on Freedom from Censorship, the book was placed on a shelf "adults only."

Kansas City, MO: Banned in the town and in towns in Oklahoma.

New York City: The book was assigned reading in sociology classes at the Colleges of the City of New York. At this time, there were 360,000 copies in print.

California: The Associated Farmers of Ken County, whose policies had been attacked, mapped a statewide ban in schools and libraries against the book as being derogatory to the state.

1942-1943 Germany: By order of the Propaganda Administration, "The Grapes of Wrath" was issued in a German translation.

1953 Ireland: Works banned.

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Record no 269