How to Take a Literary Trip Through Monterey, California

When literature buffs think of the Monterey Peninsula, inevitably they think of one novelist: John Steinbeck. Steinbeck was born and raised in Monterey County, and this upbringing served as the basis for most of his writing. Almost all of his books either are set in the Monterey area or give Monterey some significant meaning within the context of the story. Any trip to the Monterey area should include some time spent with the author’s many works, almost all of which are considered American classics.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Get to know the young Steinbeck. He grew up in Salinas, California, several miles inland from the town of Monterey, and lived there until the age of 18. Today, visitors to Salinas can enjoy lunch and a tour at Steinbeck’s boyhood home, The Steinbeck House. Any trip to Salinas wouldn’t be complete without taking tea or a sandwich on the porch where the author once lived.

2. Check out the National Steinbeck Center. Few authors have as grand an educational center dedicated to them as this one honoring Steinbeck. Located only a few blocks away from his boyhood home, the Steinbeck Center features a large library of the author’s works, classes and lectures about the author’s life and work, a regular showing of the films based on the author’s books and many other exhibitions.

3. Visit Cannery Row. Steinbeck published the novel "Cannery Row" in 1945. This short novel centers around the life and times of a group of people inhabiting this street on the waterfront in downtown Monterey. Today, the famous cannery that features so prominently in the novel is still standing, and a walk along Cannery Row features several plaques commemorating this street’s role in Steinbeck’s fiction. Additionally, this work of Steinbeck’s was turned into a movie.

4. Read "East of Eden" and "The Grapes of Wrath." No other work in literature gives as complete a portrait of Monterey County than these two famous Steinbeck works. Both books tell the story of families who relocate to California to find their version of the American Dream.

5. Watch the movie version of "The Grapes of Wrath." Several of Steinbeck’s works were turned into movies, and Steinbeck himself embraced the silver screen, even writing a screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock called "Lifeboat." "The Grapes of Wrath," starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, was a major film success.