April 15, 2008
Susan Shillinglaw

"Exploring the Monterey Peninsula:
Writing about People and Place"

Guest speaker, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw, brought her particular passion and energy to the near capacity crowd at our April meeting. Abandoning her usual Power Point props, she relaxed and clearly spoke from the heart as she related the importance of a strong sense of place and love of subject in Steinbeck's work and that of Ed Ricketts. She shared some of her inspirations discovered during her extensive research into not only Steinbeck's writings, but how his work fit into the "context of the history and culture of the Monterey Peninsula and the Salinas Valley."

In the words of branch Vice President, Kerry Wood, "Shillinglaw was delightful, charming, captivating, informative and all of those other adjectives that blurb-writers use. Why wasn't she teaching at SJS when I was taking my courses for my Masters? (Probably  because she was still in middle--school.)"

Thank you, Susan, for a truly enjoyable evening.

The dinner hour provided ample time for members and guests to mingle, chat, and enjoy the fine Estéban cuisine.

Below, Susan chats with a guest and branch member, Laurie Gibson, (center) after the meeting.

Above, Newsletter editor and Central Board Representative Joyce Krieg (at right front) hosts a pre-meeting open mic session for guests and members wishing to relate successes, make important announcements, or share a bit of their work. Thank you, Joyce! 

Dr. Susan Shillinglaw is a professor of English at San Jose State University and Scholar-in-Residence at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. She has served as director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University and edited the award-winning journal Steinbeck Studies (previously The Steinbeck Newsletter). She has published widely on Steinbeck, most recently A Journey into Steinbeck’s California (2006), a travel guide and biography examining the impact of place on Steinbeck’s vision. Currently she is working on a short biography of Steinbeck as well as a biography of his first wife, Carol Steinbeck.

For the Steinbeck Centennial in 2002 she co-edited several collections: America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction (Viking); Beyond Boundaries: Rereading Steinbeck (Univ. of Alabama Press); John Steinbeck: Centennial Reflections by American Writers (Center for Steinbeck Studies). She has also published numerous articles, introductions and has co-edited other volumes on Steinbeck. Professor Shillinglaw holds degrees from Cornell College in Iowa, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has taught at Wake Forest University, Canisius College, The Buffalo Seminary, Santa Clara University, and since 1984, at San Jose State University.