Happy birthday, John Steinbeck.
Agata Popęda here. This talented Pisces was born in Salinas on Feb. 27 and would be 123 years old this year. The oldest documented living person in the world was only a year younger—122—so the possibility that the author of East of Eden could potentially be still among us is not such a far-fetched idea.
There are lots of Steinbeck-related events around to celebrate the Pulitzer Prize winner of 1940 (for The Grapes of Wrath); he received a Nobel Prize in literature too, in 1962. The Steinbeck Center in Salinas is having an exhibit titled West (of Eden) by Houston-based painter M. Walker-Nelson, inspired by Steinback’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America, a story of a big American road trip. “Centered on images of the Southwest, this exhibit explores the passage/ravages of time, both evoking and challenging memories with its unique style,” the organizers wrote in a press release. Walker-Nelson specializes in painting and illustration.
Steinbeck in Monterey is an exhibit that will remain on display until Dec. 14 at the Monterey History and Art Association at Stanton Center. Monterey was known to be Steinbeck’s stomping ground, where some of the foundational experiences of his life appear in his writing.
Finally, the Western Flyer will soon repeat Steinbeck’s and marine biologist Ed Ricketts’s famous journey to the Sea of Cortez that took place in 1940. In 2023, I wrote a cover story on the journey and the boat’s restoration.
“This will be a truly special and one-of-a-kind event for Monterey,” said Sherry Flumerfelt, executive director of the Western Flyer Foundation. “Back in 1940, the Western Flyer set sail with music, dancing and a lively dockside send-off. We’re working with the Monterey Public Library and other local organizations to bring that same energy back with a farewell party worthy of this legendary vessel.”
Steinbeck described the 1940 journey in The Log from the Sea of Cortez, a lively, funny and informative travelogue. For the first time since 1940, the restored vessel will retrace its route on a three-month research expedition. Watch as the Western Flyer sets sail at 3pm on Sunday, March 16 with a fireboat escort and a celebratory ship horn farewell. The free send-off celebration will also include live music and dancing, a 1940s costume contest and hands-on science and art activities for children and adults. This purse-seiner will make stops in Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego, Ensenada, La Paz, Santa Rosalía, Agua Verde and San Jose del Cabo.
A day earlier, Saturday, March 15, an event titled Tales From The Western Flyer (Stories, Legends & the Voyage Ahead) will take place in Stanton Center. A limited number of tickets ($30) are available.
You can follow the Western Flyer’s journey at westernflyer.org/events.