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John Steinbeck Award

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For the fiction award, see John Steinbeck Award for Fiction. For the similarly-named Steinbeck Awards night, see National Historic Route 66 Federation.

The John Steinbeck Award: "In The Souls of the People" (also called the John Steinbeck "In the Souls of the People" Award, or just the John Steinbeck Award), is a near-annual award given to an individual or group that has contributed to society in the spirit of John Steinbeck. The award is given to artists who capture "Steinbeck’s empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of people who by circumstance are pushed to the fringes."[1] The award is presented by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University, with the sanction of the Steinbeck Estate.

Steinbeck's legacy

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The phrase "in the souls of the people" comes from Chapter 25 of The Grapes of Wrath and captures the writer's enduring legacy as an engaged and socially aware artist. From the 1930s on Steinbeck wrote about "the people," his heart open to the longing, loneliness, despair and triumph of those on the edges. Americans were his people, and his last book, America and Americans (1966) expresses his enduring love for a democratic nation. Thomas Steinbeck wrote that the awardee is a "planetary patriot," which means, a person who, in keeping with Maurice Steinbeck's understanding of the highest aspirations of an artist, "stands up against the stones of condemnation, and speaks for those who are given no real voice in the halls of justice, or the halls of government. By doing so these people will naturally become the enemies of the political status quo."[2]

History of the Award

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The Steinbeck Award was first presented in 1996 to Bruce Springsteen in a sold-out event at the Event Center of San Jose State University.[3] Ted Cady, the chair of the Martha Heasley Cox Center's award selection committee and former Event Director for the Student Union, has organized all of the Award presentations. John Steinbeck's elder son, Thomas Steinbeck, participated in several of the award ceremonies, including those honoring Sean Penn and Rachel Maddow.

Past recipients

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No recipients were awarded in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, or 2021.

Year Recipient Citation
1996 Bruce Springsteen [4]
1998 John Sayles [5]
1999 Arthur Miller [6]
2002 Jackson Browne [7][8]
Studs Terkel [9]
2003 Joan Baez [10]
2004 Sean Penn [11][12]
2007 Garrison Keillor [13][14]
2010 Dolores Huerta [15]
Michael Moore [16][17]
2012 Rachel Maddow [18][19]
John Mellencamp [20][21]
2013 Ken Burns [22][23]
2014 Khaled Hosseini [24]
2015 Ruby Bridges [25]
2016 Francisco Jiménez [26]
2017 Bob Woodruff [27][28]
2018 Bill McKibben [29]
2019 Mumford & Sons [30][31]
2020 José Andrés [32]
2022 Jaqueline Woodson [33]
2023 Jane Fonda [34]
2024 Gene Luen Yang [35]


References

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  1. ^ Steinbeck Award Official Website, http://www.steinbeckaward.com. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  2. ^ "John Steinbeck, Michael Moore, and the Burgeoning Role of Planetary Patriotism". HuffPost. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  3. ^ Steinbeck Award Official Website, http://www.steinbeckaward.com/awardees/bruce-springsteen. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. ^ "Bruce Springsteen". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  5. ^ "John Sayles". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  6. ^ "Arthur Miller". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  7. ^ "Steinbeck Center". San José State University. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  8. ^ "Jackson Browne". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  9. ^ "Studs Terkel". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  10. ^ "Joan Baez". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  11. ^ Ganahl, Jane (September 13, 2004). "Sean Penn's outspokenness off camera earns him Steinbeck Award". SF Gate.
  12. ^ "Sean Penn". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  13. ^ "Steinbeck Award 2007: Garrison Keillor". Steinbeck Review. 4 (2): 88–92. 2007. ISSN 1938-6214.
  14. ^ "Garrison Keillor". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  15. ^ "Dolores Huerta". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  16. ^ "Filmmaker Michael Moore To Receive The John Steinbeck Award". MichaelMoore.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  17. ^ "Michael Moore". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  18. ^ Peters, Madeline (2012-02-29). "Watch Rachel Maddow accept the John Steinbeck Award". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  19. ^ "Rachel Maddow". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  20. ^ "John Mellencamp To Receive John Steinbeck Award In San Jose". CBS San Francisco. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
  21. ^ "John Mellencamp". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  22. ^ "Ken Burns to Receive Steinbeck Award". San José State University. 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  23. ^ "Ken Burns". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  24. ^ "Khaled Hosseini". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  25. ^ "Ruby Bridges". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  26. ^ "Francisco Jiménez". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  27. ^ "Bob Woodruff to Receive Steinbeck Award". San José State University. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  28. ^ "Bob Woodruff". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  29. ^ "Bill McKIbben". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  30. ^ "Mumford & Sons Concert Funds New Steinbeck Service Fellowship". The Stanford Daily. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  31. ^ "Mumford & Sons". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  32. ^ "Jose Andres". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  33. ^ "Jacqueline Woodson". The John Steinbeck Award. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  34. ^ "Author and Activist Jane Fonda to Receive 2023 Steinbeck Award | SJSU NewsCenter". blogs.sjsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  35. ^ Rivers, Daniel Lanza (June 3, 2024). "Announcements". Steinbeck Review. 21 (1): 156–160.
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