Tattered pages, inspiring words

From Where I Sit: In the Vineyards of Napa Valley > Published in the UCDavis College of Letters & Science Alumni Magazine, Spring 2014 > PDF Article The beauty here in Napa Valley astounds me. As I drive down Highway 29 through Napa, making my way through lush vineyards, I feel lucky to call this …

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Doc Ricketts’ Elusive Lab

I'd wandered up and down that street a hundred times looking for the unassuming wooden facade. On two separate visits in the past four years, I looked for Ed "Doc" Ricketts' Pacific Biological Laboratories, knowing it only from photographs published in the many biographies of John Steinbeck I'd read for my Masters' thesis. It was …

Jack London’s Wolf House

Like Steinbeck, Jack London always intimidated me. He still does. I can't bring myself to sit down and delve into one of his novels out of fear that it will fail to fulfill my romantic inclinations. Maybe, like Steinbeck, he'll surprise me. Of course,  I can appreciate his work and recall it from high school …

Inspired Resolutions

The end of the year naturally evokes nostalgia, reminders of memorable moments from the past 12 months and thoughts of resolutions for the coming year. I thought I might set a few of these wishes for the new year to literature that has crossed my path in 2011... Live in the moment. Lesson learned from …

Stevenson and Steinbeck in Monterey

As I was researching my masters thesis, which focused on both Robert Louis Stevenson and John Steinbeck, I was always (a little too) excited when I found connections between the writers. I was aware of Stevenson's Napa connections, having spent time in the valley. However, it wasn't until reading Steinbeck's Cannery Row, that I realized …

Steinbeck Connection – 3

After ten days of traipsing around England and Belgium, I returned home to the Napa Valley. In just the short time I was away, the orange leaves of the vines had disappeared, leaving bare, haunting vineyards.  As I unpacked my bags, I came across a scrap of paper on which I had scribbled the name …

Steinbeck Connection – 2

When packing my bags, I was sure to bring my red raincoat. The weather report for England showed two weeks of continuous rain, on top of the weeks of rain they had already experienced. Leaving the late autumn warmth of the Napa Valley was not going to be easy, but I was excited to visit …