News and Upcoming Events

Creative Writing Faculty Reading

September 17 at 7 pm
Steinbeck Center, MLK Library Room 590

Visit the Steinbeck Center for the Creative Writing Faculty Reading featuring two MFA faculty members with new books this fall from Duke University Press:

Sally Ashton, Lecturer Emerita, Going to the Moon. 

Daniel Lanza Rivers, Associate Professor of Humanities and English, California Futures: Haunted Ecologies, Decolonial Relations.

This event is free and open to the public.

Reflections 

Read the reflections [pdf] from the Steinbeck Center's recently graduated Student Assistant, Courtney Westergren.

Steinbeck Center Sword Acquisition

The Steinbeck Center proudly exhibits this Sword with a declaration of Knighthood, a gift from John Steinbeck to his Sister Mary as a symbol of her courage as she fought cancer. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table opened Steinbeck's eyes to the lasting power of literature and are the foundation to his belief in Human Rights and Dignity. John and Mary read the stories and their child's play inspired Steinbeck's talent for storytelling. His love for language, the sounds and sights that words convey, all tie together with the love for his sister and the nostalgia for the world created in childhood.

To see the sword in person, please refer to our Hours page.

John Steinbeck: A Writer's Vision

A short biography of author John Steinbeck's life and career, as told through archival photos and videos. Produced by the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University in October 2023.