Presentation and discussion led by Steve Edington.

Jack Kerouac and John Steinbeck were born 20 years apart on opposite ends of the country, but much of their writings were of similar kinds of Americans living under similar kinds of circumstances. They were people struggling with their lives, often under trying conditions, and who were largely overlooked by mainstream American culture. Yet Steinbeck and Kerouac wrote of their characters’ lives and times through very different lenses—largely due to the settings in which they each were raised and found their literary voices.

Steve will offer his thoughts on the unique, while also similar, perspectives from which these two major 20th century American novelists wrote. Conversation to follow.

[This will be a “Prelude” to a presentation on the same topic Steve will offer in August at the John Steinbeck National Center in Salinas, California.]