Shillinglaw featured on NPR and Washington Post

Susan Shillinglaw ’73, a professor at San Jose State University and scholar of John Steinbeck, was interviewed by National Public Radio Monday about the 75th anniversary of Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and wrote an opinion column about women in the book for the Washington Post.

Shillinglaw spoke about the initial public reaction to the book, as well as the way Steinbeck worked to make his book timeless.

In the Post, Shillinglaw wrote about the role of women, particularly Ma Joad, in “The Grapes of Wrath,” and how a Ma Joad figure might be what the U.S. needs as a leader.

In addition to her scholarship at San Jose State, Shillinglaw is the author of several books about Steinbeck, including “On Reading The Grapes of Wrath,” which was published in February. Earlier this year, she wrote a piece about her liberal arts education and her connection with Steinbeck for the Cornell Report.