Steinbeck, Literary Leader

The arc of Steinbeck’s life and work was finely drawn by an adherence to remarkable values: social justice, equity, caring, democratic principles.  Each novel or short story captured the essence of these values made real by his thoughtful narratives. I was struck last week at the Steinbeck museum in Salinas, California, to be reminded that the man who recommended shipping vegetables across country with refrigeration in East of Eden was in fact the Chinese grocer, not the landowner. In his Nobel speech, he reminds us that:

“…the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit–for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation. I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature.”

Leaders have the same charge, the same responsibilities that Steinbeck posits for writers…to have faith in the capacities of humans to respond with hope and loving actions, to frame the arc of their lives around deep human values.

Tomorrow, Mary Gardner, my friend, colleague and co-author of Women’s Ways of Leading, will post two conversations about this new book that describes in depth the value journey of women—and men—leaders.

Watch for two new postings tomorrow, Monday, June 14.  Linda

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 11:28 am and is filed under Fiction, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.