List of scholars
Scholars in Southern California
Ross Altman
Los Angeles, CA
Folksinger
Greygoosemusic@aol.com
Los Angeles folksinger Ross Altman has put together a special program of Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl ballads to coincide with the book and film discussions of "The Grapes of Wrath". Woody Guthrie's songs, including "The Ballad of Tom Joad," were written, Woody said, so that the people back in Oklahoma who didn't have $2 to buy the book or even 50 cents to see the movie would find out what Tom Joad did and what Preacher Casey said." "The Dust Bowl balladeer," as Guthrie was called, created the perfect soundtrack to Steinbeck's novel, and Ross Altman brings those songs and stories to life in all their profound simplicity. Ross is a former professor of English and speech who "left teaching for the stage, only to turn the stage into a classroom." As a college teacher he directed Reader's Theater productions of "The Grapes of Wrath" based on his own script. As a folksinger he continues in the tradition of Woody Guthrie to "comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable."
Annie Brown
Cesar E. Chavez Foundation
abrown@cecfmail.org
213/362-0267, ext. 223
The Cesar E. Chavez Foundation was established to educate people about the life and work of this American hero and to engage all, particularly youth, to carry on his values and timeless vision for a better world. Annie Brown can link you to speakers around the state and has connections to United Farm Workers speakers as well. You can contact her directly or go to www.cesarechavezfoundation.org and fill out a speaker request. She can put you in touch with someone appropriate for your library event.
Vincent Brook
Los Angeles
Writer and scholar
vbrook@earthlink.net
323/666-6715 /663-7641
Vincent Brook is a film and television scholar. He teaches at Cal State L.A. and at Pierce College. He can lead a discussion on the John Ford film adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath" as well as on other films dealing with farm workers such as the TV documentary "Harvest of Shame", and a recent documentary by John Caldwell, "Rancho California (por favor)."
William Deverell
Associate professor of history, California Institute of Technology
bill@hss.caltech.edu
Tel.: 626/395-4057
fax: 626/405-9841
Professor Deverell's research interests are Western American history, environmental history and the history of Los Angeles. He would be pleased to share his thoughts on California history, the Great Depression, or the "life and times of Tom Joad."
Paul Espinosa
San Diego
Award winning filmmaker and producer
espinosa@electriciti.com
His film and video company specializes in documentary and dramatic films focused on the U.S.-Mexico border region. He has produced many award winning PBS productions, including "And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him," an "American Playhouse" feature film, which has been described as the Chicano "Grapes of Wrath," and "The Border," a PBS news magazine about life along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Keith and Rusty McNeil
Riverside
Folksingers and scholars
909/780-2322
wem@pe.net
Keith and Rusty are folksingers who teach American history through their music. These are wonderful people and musicians! They perform the music of rural California and can speak about the music's history. They can perform and discuss the labor music of the 30s as it relates to "The Grapes of Wrath." Their recordings include, "Working & Union Songs with Historical Narration" as well as "California History Through Folksong with Historical Narration, Vol.1 and 2. Their website is www.mcneilmusic.com.
Cindy Mediavilla
Los Angeles
Scholar and Immediate past president of the California Library Association
cmediavilla@ucla.edu
310/206-2962
Can speak about the censorship issues surrounding "The Grapes of Wrath."
Robert Morsberger
Claremont
Professor, CalPoly
909/626-8491
Robert Morsberger is a noted film and Steinbeck scholar. He lectures on film and stage versions of "The Grapes of Wrath" and related dramatic productions. He can also lecture on the book.
Becky Nicolaides
Pasadena
Historian, professor at UCSD
bnicolaides@ucsd.edu
Professor Nicolaides is interested in the social/political history of Los Angeles. She has recently written a book, "My Blue Heaven," which details the history of families who migrated from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and the Great Plains states to southern California in the 1920s and 1930s. The book traces the experiences of the families up to 1965. She is particularly interested in speaking about the Joad-like families of Los Angeles communities.
Terry Tallent
Ojai
Steinbeck historian and enthusiast
terryojai@aol.com
805/640-7311
A former English teacher and a long-time Steinbeck fan, Terry has taught courses on Steinbeck and can offer biographical material that highlights how Steinbeck's personality, experiences and relationships influenced his work. Terry can also discuss Steinbeck's importance and place in American literature, and how "The Grapes of Wrath," by illuminating the conditions of migrant laborers, gave the farm labor reform movement in California an early clear and vital voice.
Devra Weber
Los Angeles
Scholar
Devra.weber@postoffice.worldnet.att.net
Devra Weber teaches California history and the history of the West at UC Riverside. Her focus is on working class history and, in particular, Mexican immigrant organizing. Her book, "Dark Sweat, White Gold," is about Mexican organizing and unions in the 1933 cotton strike in California. She has an interest in the depiction of Mexicans in novels of the time and, particularly, in Steinbeck's work. She has spent a lot of time in Mexican communities in California and other states. She can discuss various forms of organizing and what's going on in various California communities. She is especially interested in speaking in Latino areas. She is currently advisor for the Binational Indigenous Front of Oaxaca, which is composed of immigrants from southern Mexico.
A Voice in the Well Ensemble, Los Angeles
Contact voiceinthewell@hotmail.com To commemorate the John Steinbeck Centenary this October, A Voice in the Well Ensemble can present its Readers Theater Program. The program has already been acclaimed in its first three previews at Village Books, Pacific Palisades, the Arts Institute of Santa Monica and the venerable Ruskin Art Club in Los Angeles. The Ensemble would be happy to bring its program to you for a reasonable charge.
A Voice in the Well Ensemble presents: KEEPING CALIFORNIA'S PROMISE: The Legacy of John Steinbeck (1902-1968) Our talented cast of presenters includes William H. Bassett, Richard Kuhlmann, Eric Vollmer, Cain Camagro, Michael Lindsay, Carmen Vega, Brenda Petrakos, Mirjana Delaney, Laura Robbins and Catherine de las Casas. Leon Rubenhold and Phil Van Tee also play tunes and recount anecdotes reminiscent of Steinbeck's contemporary populist:Woody Guthrie. Our program features selections from favorite Steinbeck novels, short stories and prose -- with special emphasis on "The Grapes of Wrath.". We give our audience a sense of the full scope of Steinbeck's narrative powers by also featuring light-hearted scenes from "Pastures of Heaven" and "Travels with Charley " -- matched with scenes of passion and despair drawn from "Of Mice and Men" and "The Pearl." We bookend the program with the author's own inspirations recounted in his reminiscent essay: "I Remember the 30s" and crown the event with John Steinbeck's majestic Nobel Prize address. In honor of the Steinbeck centenary this year, Eric Vollmer and the Voice In The Well Ensemble presents a special program of selected concert readings and music celebrating the work of one of California's favorite sons! Steinbeck held to the promise of California - and especially on behalf of those who could not find a public voice. He immersed himself in the plight of the common man and began spinning tales of characters like George and Lennie, immortalized in "Of Mice and Men" -- simple men who find themselves trapped in a world of failed expectations. With tragic Depression era parables such as this, John Steinbeck captured the conscience of his readers and allowed them to attend to the eternal calling of the human heart once more.
So, you may well be asking yourselves: "Where are the Steinbecks of yesteryear, now, when we need them most?!" Good question. The Voice In The Well hopes that by commemorating the voices of past writers who helped conceive the American character, we can all act collectively to encourage the arts and cultivate the public mind for new Steinbecks to emerge. "The writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit -- for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation." * Excerpt from: John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize address
Elaine Weissman
Executive director
California Traditional Music Society
Encino, CA
818/817-7756
These folks are a great resource. They can put you in touch with musicians in your area that play Dustbowl era / Woody Guthrie era folk music. Prepare yourself for some great tunes!