A Political Companion to John Steinbeck

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments 349 FIRST AND FOREMOST the editors wish to thank Steve Wrinn at the University Press of Kentucky. Steve’s enthusiasm for the project sustained us through a number of setbacks. In addition, his kindness and compassion when each of us experienced sudden and unexpected losses in our immediate families demonstrated that not only is he a wonderful editor, but he is also a thoroughly decent human being. Steve was ably assisted at Kentucky by Allison Webster, to whom we are grateful for dealing with our (many) queries and concerns with admirable efficiency and good humor. We also wish to thank the anonymous readers at Kentucky for their close engagement with the text, for the sharing of their expertise, and for making many wonderful suggestions that greatly enhanced the finished product. Our second greatest debt is to our contributors. We have been blessed with a collection of thoughtful and provocative essays from scholars in a wide variety of disciplines. A number of the contributors have been on board with this project for longer than we care to admit, and we thank them for their perseverance. At times we have undoubtedly tried their patience with seemingly endless editorial suggestions and follow-up questions. We hope, nevertheless, that they will agree that the outcome was worth it. Additional thanks are due to Peter Van Coutren, Sabrina Nichols, and Rachel Collier at the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University for providing us with the photograph of John Steinbeck that graces the book’s cover. Thanks also go to Mona Okada at Grubman Indursky & Shire, P.C., for helping us to secure the rights to include lyrics to three songs by Bruce Springsteen. 350 Acknowledgments Individually, Ernie wishes to thank all the friends and family members who have encouraged him over the years in his study of literature and political thought and who have offered ideas, good fellowship, and even citations related to this particular project. He is especially grateful that his partner of almost forty years, Barbara Zirakzadeh, has been willing to talk at all hours about books and the nature of reading and writing. She has enriched his life in so many ways. In graduate school, classmates and teachers—in particular, Hanna Pitkin, Giuseppe Di Palma, Michael McCann, Donald Downs, George Shulman, Michael MacDonald, and the late Ernie Haas, Michael Rogin, and Alexander George—taught him how to combine intellectual honesty, creativity, and playfulness. For those lessons, he will always be in their debt. At the University of Connecticut Ernie has met scores of energetic and unorthodox graduate students and colleagues—including faculty members in the departments of English, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology—who have helped his interdisciplinary tendencies flourish. Ernie and Simon Stow met by chance on an airport shuttle and immediately began chatting about trends and tendencies in American political culture. Simon’s deep love for popular culture and his wicked sense of humor have made this publication personally fun for Ernie in addition to being a precious opportunity for intellectual growth. Three people who over the decades have cheered whenever Ernie writes and who freely shared their views on America and Americans are his mother (Refugio Flores Zirakzadeh), his daughter (Vanessa Marie Zirakzadeh), and his cherished friend and colleague (Howard Reiter). All three have passed away, but they live on in his heart. Simon wishes to express his thanks to Caroline Hanley, John and Sandra Hanley, and Graham and Christine Stow for their continued love and support and to Daisy, Baxter, and Bluebell, both for their company and for serving as a welcome distraction during the writing and editing process. For Simon, the biggest delight of this project has been getting to know Ernie Zirakzadeh, whom he admires greatly; he is glad that they have become friends. Steven Johnston is both a wonderful friend and his fiercest interlocutor; John Seery has provided friendship, mentoring, and continued inspiration; and George Shulman showed him a way to think about literature and politics that made this book possible; he thanks them all. At William and Mary he is fortunate enough to have colleagues who are also friends. David Dessler, Chris Nemacheck, Ron (and, of course, Patri- Acknowledgments 351 cia) Rapoport, Joel Schwartz, and Mike Tierney have not only helped him navigate many of the travails he experienced during the writing and editing of this volume, but they also make coming in to...