First Lady Puts "Grapes of Wrath" on Californians' Reading List

STEFANIE FRITH, Associated Press Writer
Friday, June 7, 2002

Californians were urged Friday to join in a new Oprah-style effort to all read and discuss the same book this summer -- John Steinbeck's 1939 novel "The Grapes of Wrath."

It's the first such effort in California, and the most ambitious of the "One Book" promotions that were started in Seattle in 1998.

Seattle is now on its fourth novel. The programs gained momentum nationwide after Chicago Mayor Richard Daley urged his 3 million residents to read Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" last year.

Several other states have taken up the initiative, including Kentucky, Texas and Arkansas, but none are as diverse or as populous as California, where more than half of the 34 million residents are ethnic or racial minorities.

Recently, television talk show host Oprah Winfrey, publishing's No. 1 hit maker, announced she was cutting back on her monthly book club recommendations, causing talk and news programs like The Today Show to start their own clubs.

The California Center for the Humanities, which is sponsoring the state's program, chose the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Grapes of Wrath" last fall.

More than 140 California libraries received grants from the California State Library to develop programs for October, when readers are encouraged to come together to discuss the book, said Natalie Cole, assistant director of the California Center for the Book, which is cosponsoring the program.

Jim Quay, executive director of the California Council for the Humanities, acknowledged it could be difficult getting a generation raised on television to read the 455-page tale of a family of immigrants who travel from Oklahoma to California.

But California first lady Sharon Davis, who introduced the plan Friday, said the payoff will be immense as children see their parents reading and become interested themselves.

"(Adults) can reach back to a time when they read 'The Grapes of Wrath' in high school and they will get a different perspective," said Davis, who plans to reread the book this summer.

Francisco Jimenez, a Santa Clara University professor who has written two books about growing up as a migrant farm worker in California, said Steinbeck's epic about the Joad family starting over in California appeals to families who still come to California seeking a better life.

Though the "Grapes of Wrath" is arguably Steinbeck's most celebrated work, it was not warmly embraced by California when it was first published based on reporting Steinbeck had done on the migrant farm worker community.

His tale of farm owners who kept their workers in harsh living conditions with low pay outraged the state's agricultural leaders. The book was banned in many communities and burned in Steinbeck's hometown of Salinas.

But Quay said the book continues to appeal particularly to those in agricultural communities who "can contrast how the Joads came to California with your own experiences."

"Immigration," Quay said, "is part of the state's inheritance."

©2002 Associated Press