Of Steinbeck and the CorteZ
John Steinbeck - (1902 - 1968)Mr. Steinbeck attended Stanford University between 1920 and 1926
studying English and marine biology without taking a degree. Before
beginning courses at Stanford he worked as an assistant chemist in a
sugar-beet factory nearby. During the intervals of attendance at
Stanford he was employed on ranches and road-building gangs. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, honored,
according to the official wording, for his "realistic and imaginative
writings, distinguished as they are by a sympathetic humor and a social
perception. Steinbeck authored many classics including: Tortilla Flat, of Mice and
Men, Grapes of Wrath, Sea of Cortez, Cannery Row, The Pearl, East of
Eden, The Winter of Our Discontent, and the Log from "Sea of Cortez". Many boaters will recognize this memorable passage from Log: Some quality there is in the whole Gulf that trips a trigger of
recognition so that in fantastic and exotic scenery one finds oneself
nodding and saying inwardly, 'Yes, I know.' And on the shore the wild
doves mourn in the evening and then there comes a pang, some kind of
emotional jar, and a longing. And if one followed his whispering impulse
he would walk away slowly into the thorny brush following the call of
the doves. Trying to remember the Gulf is like trying to re-create a
dream. This is by no means a sentimental thing, it has little to do with
beauty or even conscious liking. But the Gulf does draw one, and we have
talked to rich men who own boats, who can go where they will. Regularly
they find themselves sucked into the Gulf. And since we have returned,
there is always in the backs of our minds the positive drive to go back
again. If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it
is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky
and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live,
and we don't know why." - John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez --
Skipper |
Skipper
Oct 12
2005
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