John Steinbeck’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

In 1962, Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. According to many critics, this was a controversial choice, as they believed Steinbeck’s volume of work had not yet left a huge impression on literature. In his acceptance speech, Steinbeck set out his vision of what literary writing ought to achieve.

Studs Terkel: Of Mice and Men

Writer, actor, and broadcaster Louis “Studs” Terkel played George in a stage version of Of Mice and Men in 1952. In this podcast, he talks to John Malkovich and Gary Sinise—who played Lennie and George in the 1992 film adaptation—about their characters and the themes of the novella.

The Great Depression in the American West

This article provides an overview of the Great Depression and its effects in the Western United States, which is essential historical context for Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

Witness: The Great Depression

This ten-minute podcast interviews two people who lived through the Great Depression and recount their memories of the widespread economic hardships.

John Steinbeck: Biography in Depth

Steinbeck expert Susan Shillinglaw provides a detailed outline of Steinbeck’s life and development as a writer, placing Of Mice and Men in its biographical context.

Robert Burns: “To A Mouse”

The title of Steinbeck’s novella is taken from Robert Burns’s poem “To A Mouse.” Here, the full text of the poem is accompanied by explanatory notes and an audio recording of the poem, read by actor Brian Cox.