"We, the Joads": The Grapes of Wrath in the Farm Security Administration Camps and Newspapers

Although there has been extensive scholarship examining the reception of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath among demographics on both ends of the Joads' journey, very little attention has been paid to the reception of the author and the story within a location that the family passes through in the novel: the Farm Security Administration's migrant labor camps. While studies that privilege the reactions of Oklahomans and Californians have perpetuated a narrative of negative attitudes toward The Grapes of Wrath, the archive of the F.S.A. labor camp newspapers undermines the accuracy of this narrative insofar as it extends to the migrants in the government camps. Within these newspapers, migrants enthusiastically reported on several topics related to Steinbeck's activities in the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as the Steinbeck Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization, The Grapes of Wrath novel, and the novel's adaptation into film. Regarding these overlapping topics, migrants in the F.S.A. labor camp newspapers expressed gratitude, published reviews, formed discussion groups, and defended the story from outside attacks.