John Steinbeck - Flawed Genius | Biographical Documentary

Video Description

In his writing John Steinbeck was a champion of the downtrodden, the overworked and underpaid and those who were just unlucky - a man of high principles and a fierce critic of men who used their power in heavy-handed ways. But in his personal life, he was very different – selfish, blunt to the point of rudeness, a hard-drinker with a distinct mean streak. A complicated and contradictory man who could be incensed by injustice yet be surly, self-obsessed and chillingly inconsiderate with his own family. In this biographical documentary, Prof Graeme Yorston, explores the multifaceted life of one of America’s greatest writers, John Steinbeck, from his perspective as a psychiatrist. To get beneath the surface and understand both the motivations for his writing and the drivers of his less praiseworthy behaviour. Finding Out More If you want to find out more about Steinbeck, there are two great biographies: Mad at the World by William Souder, but I actually preferred the older account from 1994 by Jay Parini as it had more detail on his lifelong health problems and seemed a more rounded biography. I have listed these on my Amazon Store Page. https://www.amazon.com/shop/professorgraemeyorston Academic References Hicks, K. (2012). Steinbeck today. The Steinbeck Review, 9(2), 102-111. Lynch, A. (2013). Two Views of Stanford's Teaching Legends: Margery Bailey and Edith Mirrielees and Their Effect on John Steinbeck and Irma Hannibal. The Steinbeck Review, 10(1), 63-69. Wood, M. E. (2016). Experience Beyond Bearing: Steinbeck in the War Psychiatry Archive. American Literature, 88(2), 331-360. Copyright Disclaimer The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you. Images Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons Wellcome Collection San Jose State University Steinbeck Collection Internet Archive Music Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet ROH Orchestra Blue Mood Robert Munzinger CC0 Isaac Albeniz - Asturias - David Hernando Vitores CC4.0 Isaac Albeniz - Tango Op.165 Nº2 - David Hernando Vitores - Kayoko Morimoto (Wasei Duo) CC4.0 Black Terrier Blues CC0 Isaac Albeniz - Suite espanola op. 47 – leyenda. Public domain via Musopen.com Gershwin Rialto Ripples Jeffrey Biegel CC0 City Walk John Pattucci CC0 On the Rocks Track Tribe CCO Francisco Tarrega - Recuerdos de la Alhambra Carlo Alberto Boni CC3.0 Calm Cam Track Tribe CC0 Blue Mood Robert Munzinger CC0 Gridlock John Pattucci CC0 Jane Street Track Tribe CC0 Tacklebox Blues CC0 Claude-Paul Taffanel: Wind Quintet in G minor – Andante. The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet. CC2.0 Claude-Paul Taffanel: Andante Pastoral et Scherzettino. Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano) CC2.0 Gustav Holst - The Planets, op. 32 - Mars, the bringer of war. Skidmore College Orchestra. Musopen. CC0 Gabriel Faure Flute Fantasie. Alex Murray (flute) and Martha Goldstein (piano) PeriTune Café Musette CC3.0 John Bartmann - Mellow Cafe Vibe CC1.0 Reed Mathis Moonrise Ceremonial Fanfare" performed by the Concert Band of the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain. Mozart String Quartet No. 15 In C Major "Les Dissonances" K465. Quatuor Mosaïques CC0 Video edited by Manavi Sakunika and produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.