Tag Archives: John Steinbeck

Winter mornings are made of steel

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Winter mornings are made of steel; they have a metallic taste and sharp edges. On a Wednesday in January, at seven in the morning, it’s plain to see that the world was not made for Man, and definitely not for … Continue reading →

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The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

John Steinbeck took the title of his 1937 novel “Of Mice and Men” from a line contained in the penultimate stanza of ” To a Mouse”, On Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785. by Robert … Continue reading →

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Murder At Full Moon

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t remember which book that I read first, Of Mice and Men or The Grapes of Wrath, but both had a lasting effect on me and made me a John Steinbeck fan. Over the years, I think that I’ve read every novel and … Continue reading →

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Sea of Cortez

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

We know it as the Gulf of California, but in 1940 it was called the Sea of Cortez. In that year, the novelist John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts  traveled there to research a book project on the region’s … Continue reading →

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the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Eighty years ago this month, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was first published. Based on Steinbeck’s own experiences as a bindlestiff – an impoverished migratory worker – in California during the 1920s, Of Mice and Men tells the story of George Milton and … Continue reading →

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Cold Toast & Stale Coffee

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Brian D. Butler

Have you ever wondered what writers snack on while they’re working? Then check out this wonderful illustration by San Francisco-based artist Wendy MacNaughton, which appeared in the New York Times Book review earlier this year. You can see more of … Continue reading →

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15 Tips on Writing

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Brian D. Butler
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