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The complex relationship between John Steinbeck and his editor-publisher Pascal "Pat" Covici, who read Steinbeck's first three books, Cup of Gold, The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, which all languished during the Depression. Covici published Steinbeck's fourth book Tortilla Flat, his first critical and commercial success. Steinbeck remained with Covici throughout his career, a relationship broken only by Covici's death, decades later.

How Steinbeck will be forever linked with Monterey Bay, in Tortilla Flat and eventually Cannery Row and its sequel Sweet Thursday and how Steinbeck's portraits of the paisanos, originally thought to be merely eccentric bums, have become increasingly upsetting to modern critics.

How a seven-part series of investigative articles about the migrants, which Steinbeck published in the now-defunct San Francisco News and which were included in The Grapes of Wrath as intercalary chapters, proved the validity of the novel and helped insure its place as the premier moral vision of the 1930s.

How Steinbeck used the personality and philosophy of his friend, marine biologist Ed Ricketts in a wide variety of novels, including: In Dubious Battle; Of Mice and Men; The Grapes of Wrath; The moon is Down; Cannery Row; Burning Bright; Sweet Thursday and in Steinbeck's classic short story, "The Snake."

And, how Steinbeck knew, but could not prove, that the FBI had a file on him as early as 1942 and how a Steinbeck jab at "Edgar's boys," was kept in FBI files for decades. J. Edgar Hoover always denied that the FBI had a Steinbeck file, but it grew and grew and continued to grow even after Steinbeck's death. J. Edgar Hoover's denials of a Steinbeck investigation were, at the least disingenuous; at worst, a outright lie.

Wallace Stevens is one of the major poets of the twentieth century, and also among the most challenging. His poems can be dazzling in their verbal brilliance. They are often shot through with lavish imagery and wit, informed by a lawyer's logic, and disarmingly unexpected: a singing jackrabbit, the seductive Nanzia Nunzio. They also spoke--and still speak--to contemporary concerns. Though his work is popular and his readership continues to grow, many readers encountering it are baffled by such rich and strange poetry.

Eleanor Cook, a leading critic of poetry and expert on Stevens, gives us here the essential reader's guide to this important American poet. Cook goes through each of Stevens's poems in his six major collections as well as his later lyrics, in chronological order. For each poem she provides an introductory head note and a series of annotations on difficult phrases and references, illuminating for us just why and how Stevens was a master at his art. Her annotations, which include both previously unpublished scholarship and interpretive remarks, will benefit beginners and specialists alike. Cook also provides a brief biography of Stevens, and offers a detailed appendix on how to read modern poetry.

A Reader's Guide to Wallace Stevens is an indispensable resource and the perfect companion to The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, first published in 1954 in honor of Stevens's seventy-fifth birthday, as well as to the 1997 collection Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose.

As Ronnie?s dreams of becoming a professional musician finally became a reality, Lynyrd Skynyrd began selling out arenas and became famous for not only their music, but also their substance abuse. After Ronnie offered Gene a job as a security officer for the band, he embarked on an unforgettable journey into a world like no other. But everything would change in October 1977 when the plane carrying the band plummeted from the sky.

Pedagogical features in the text include: