Local News

Californians on the Same Page

"Grapes of Wrath" picked for read-a-thon

Saturday, June 8, 2002

By RHONDA PARKS MANVILLE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The idea was born in Seattle, scored a hit in Chicago with "To Kill a Mockingbird," and now it's coming to California this summer with John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath."

The statewide read-a-thon, launched on Friday by California First Lady Sharon Davis, aims to get as many Californians as possible to read the 1939 classic. "I think it's a great idea -- the more people that read, the better," said Franchesca Cleyet, as she browsed through the new book selections Friday at Borders bookstore downtown.

"This is a good way to get people reading and discussing," the Santa Barbara City College English teacher said, "although I would have chosen a different book, 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being,'" she said.

Several other states -- Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas among them -- have taken up the "one book" promotions to encourage literacy. But none is as diverse or as populated as California, where more than half of the 34 million residents are racial or ethnic minorities.

The 455-page, Pulitzer Prize-winning "Grapes of Wrath" tells a wrenching tale of hardship about a family of Dust Bowl migrants who travel from Oklahoma to California to work in agriculture. The novel was selected by the California Center for the Humanities, a sponsor of the read-a-thon, because its topic is likely to resonate in a state where many residents are immigrants seeking a better way of life.

Local libraries and book stores will be stocking the shelves with "The Grapes of Wrath" in anticipation of readers wanting to take part in the group reading experience.

"With this book we'll probably have a lot of people who will want to share personal anecdotes of their own immigrant experience," said Carol Keator, director of the Santa Barbara Public Library downtown. "We're definitely supportive, and we'll have posters and other reading materials on the immigrant experience available, in addition to extra copies of the book itself."

Many libraries and book stores will be holding book discussion groups at the end of the summer, she said.

Mookie Karimnouri, a UCSB history major who has read a half-dozen Steinbeck books, said he feared the "The Grapes of Wrath" might be too difficult for some immigrants to read.

"The language could be a problem for some people, and not everyone wants to read such an intense book" he said.

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

Other avid local readers said they just hadn't read the book yet.

UCSB English major Brian Tilton said he just finished an American literature class and was surprised when nothing by Mr. Steinbeck was on the list.

"We're reading more contemporary literature," he said. "But a number of people noticed that Steinbeck was missing, which is surprising since he lived here (in California)."

Liz Russoti, who teaches a creative thinking class at Santa Barbara City College, said she supports the reading promotion, but she won't be taking part. She likes to choose her own books.

"But I am always telling my students, if you want to expand your creativity, read."

The "one book" idea started in Seattle in 1998, and now the city is on its fourth novel. But the idea gained momentum last year after Chicago's mayor urged his constituents to read Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."