Steinbeck’s depictions of downtrodden communities in other times and places resonated particularly loudly in my mind at that time. Ex-Triad gang members and sex workers: people so noble and inclusive but also so downtrodden and desperate, abused and taken advantage of by the powerful. After high school I’d spent some time living and working amongst a community of heroin addicts in Hong Kong. To quote Nelson Mandela, I would say that “when I closed the Grapes of Wrath, I was a different man.”ĭespite being born in the States, I grew up in a fairly harmless, comfortable though not affluent, part of South West London. I’d skipped Steinbeck’s America by growing up in England and found myself immersed in it after school, and felt I’d stumbled on a secret-our favorite books always feel like they were written just for us, and are often read in secret and passionate fervor. The place I’m always an outsider, but am always at home.
The place of my birth, the backdrop for my favorite stories, the place I left behind but come back to, again and again.
To stand before you and join the illustrious list of former recipients, including many of our other heroes from Baez to The Boss, is, for me at least, the honor of my professional life so far.Īmerica has always been romantic to me. It is an absolute honor to be here this evening, and, as a band, to receive The John Steinbeck Award. (Spelling has been Americanised, much to the author’s chagrin.)
Inspired by the occasion, bandleader Marcus Mumford wrote an address in which he credits Steinbeck for inspiring the band’s commitment to empathy and community service.
On September 18, 2019, the band Mumford & Sons (Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, Marcus Mumford) became the first collective recipient of the Steinbeck Award, paying homage to the author with an evening of music and conversation at Bing Concert Hall, on the campus of Stanford University, to highlight the 100th anniversary of Steinbeck’s enrollment at Stanford. Past recipients include Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Michael Moore, Ken Burns, and Ruby Bridges. The John Steinbeck Award is presented annually by San José State University to writers, artists, thinkers, and activists whose work captures Steinbeck’s empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of people who by circumstance are pushed to the fringes.