Journal of a Novel
Page 23
14 Chapter 5.
15 Waverly Scott.
16 This, much changed, developed into Chapters 6 through 11.
17 Elizabeth Otis, his long-time literary agent, friend, and confidante.
18 Chapter 7 [3].
19 Chapter 8. See footnote on page 7.
20 “The Salinas Valley” had been the working title from the beginning.
21 Elia Kazan (“Gadg”) was to be director of the Zapata film. Darryl Zanuck was the producer. It was released under the title Viva Zapata.
22 In the notebook.
23 End of Chapter 9.
24 It became Chapter 10.
25 Harald Grieg, head of Gyldendal, Oslo.
26 End of Chapter 11 and end of Part One.
27 Pascal Covici, Jr., in his junior year at Harvard, gave an informal lecture on Steinbeck’s work for an evening course, primarily for high-school teachers.
28 It became Chapter 13.
29 Clifford Odets, the dramatist; Juan Negrin, neurosurgeon in New York and friend of Steinbeck, who referred Covici to him (see pages 110 and 126).
30 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.
31 Harold K. Guinzburg, president of The Viking Press.
32 It became Chapters 15 and 16.
33 For designing a Safety First poster.
34 Furnishings from the old Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York were being offered for sale before its demolition. The Steinbecks were looking for doors.
35 Probably the New York Society Library, a private subscription library at 53 East 79th Street. He did not join.
36 Steinbeck did not buy a Jaguar at this time, but bought one in Europe in 1954.
37 A classmate of Waverly’s, daughter of the actor Stuart Erwin.
38 Mrs. E. G. Ainsworth, Steinbeck’s sister, lives in Pacific Grove, California, in the house built by their father and remodeled by John when he lived in it himself.
39 Lawrence Hagy of Amarillo, Texas.
40 “‘O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’ / He chortled in his joy.”—Lewis Carroll, “Jabberwocky.”
41 Already Part Two. In the final arrangement of the novel there were four parts instead of three as planned.
42 I.e., handled by the agent, not by the book publisher.
43 Harold Guinzburg’s article in the Saturday Review, May 26, 1951, was entitled “Book Publishing: A Dubious Utopia.”
44 A boat; see page 110.
45 Chapter 20.
46 His niece, Jean Ainsworth.
47 Chapter 22 [4].
48 Siasconset on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts.
49 As Edward F. Ricketts had died, the approval of his estate was required for separate publication of Steinbeck’s narrative text from Sea of Cortez. See footnote on page 28.
50 The word was “timshel.” See page 122. The Hebrew characters were carved under the title on the cover of the box that Steinbeck was making for Covici.
51 In Korea.
52 Chapters 23 and 24.
53 Now in Part Three.
54 Covici had referred the question to Dr. Louis Ginzberg of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
55 Chapter 25.
56 Elaine’s.
57 The ballerina and actress.
58 The actor who played the lead in Burning Bright. See footnote on page 153.
59 Elizabeth Ainsworth, another of Steinbeck’s nieces.
60 Log from the Sea of Cortez was published separately in September 1951.
61 Steinbeck’s short novel (1950), later produced as a play, on the theme of sterility.
62 Richard Hughes, author of A High Wind in Jamaica.
63 The much-quoted phrase from The King and I was, “Is a puzzlement!” full of monsters and daemons and little lights. It seemed to me a dangerous place to venture, a little like those tunnels at Coney Island where “things” leap out screaming. Think the work was good yesterday. But it was painful. And I guess that is because it was true. And what happens today will be true too. It’s a kind of a terrible part of the book but there are a great many terrible parts. Maybe it is a terrible book. We’ll just have to see. I have been accused so often of writing about abnormal people. I don’t feel that these are with the one exception of Cathy. And that is not a great proportion—one in so many. And she will be more and more understandable I think as it goes on. I just don’t know when it is going to stop. I can’t rush it now because everything that happens is important to the book. But, hell, that’s one of my problems now which I didn’t have earlier. I am at least in my mind interfering with the pace instead of letting it find its own. And that I simply must stop. The scene I have to write today is very strange. I don’t want to make it less strange but I do want to make it very convincing. And the best way to do that is to put most of it in dialogue. I think this week’s work is going to excite you. I hope it does. It is very different because it deals with tiny nodes of character which are nevertheless very powerful in what is to happen.
64 Burning Bright.
65 The Giants beat the Dodgers 5-4, with a three-run homer by Bobby Thomson when they were trailing 4-2, in the third game of their play-off for the National League pennant. They lost the World Series to the Yankees.
66 His other sister, Mrs. W. N. Decker, who lived in Carmel, California.
67 A Streetcar Named Desire, from the Tennessee Williams play.