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The Resource Picturing migrants : The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography, James R. Swensen

Picturing migrants : The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography, James R. Swensen

Creator
Author
Summary
"As time passes, personal memories of the Great Depression die with those who lived through the desperate 1930s. In the absence of firsthand knowledge, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and the photographs produced for the New Deal's Farm Security Administration (FSA) now provide most of the images that come to mind when we think of the 1930s. That novel and those photographs, as this book shows, share a history. Fully exploring this complex connection for the first time, Picturing Migrants offers new insight into Steinbeck's novel and the FSA's photography--and into the circumstances that have made them enduring icons of the Depression. Looking at the work of Dorothea Lange, Horace Bristol, Arthur Rothstein, and Russell Lee, it is easy to imagine that these images came straight out of the pages of The Grapes of Wrath. This should be no surprise, James R. Swensen tells us, because Steinbeck explicitly turned to photographs of the period to create his visceral narrative of hope and loss among Okie migrants in search of a better life in California. When the novel became an instant best seller upon its release in April 1939, some dismissed its imagery as pure fantasy. Lee knew better and traveled to Oklahoma for proof. The documentary pictures he produced are nothing short of a photographic illustration of the hard lives and desperate reality that Steinbeck so vividly portrayed. In Picturing Migrants, Swensen sets these lesser-known images alongside the more familiar work of Lange and others, giving us a clearer understanding of the FSA's work to publicize the plight of the migrant in the wake of the novel and John Ford's award-winning film adaptation. A new perspective on an era whose hardships and lessons resonate to this day, Picturing Migrants lets us see as never before how a novel and a series of documentary photographs have kept the Great Depression unforgettably real for generation after generation."--Book jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xi, 256 pages
Contents
  • Gathering migrants : Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor
  • Researching migrants : John Steinbeck
  • Working for life : John Steinbeck and Horace Bristol
  • Shooting script : Russell Lee
  • Finding real Joads : Russell Lee and Elmer Thomas
  • Hope and despair along the migrant trail : Russell Lee
  • Displaying grapes and wrath : the FSA exhibitions
  • A straight picture : Darryl Zanuck and Arthur Rothstein
  • Icons of the Great Depression : looking back on history
Isbn
9780806148274
Instance
Label
Picturing migrants : The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography
Title
Picturing migrants
Title remainder
The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography
Statement of responsibility
James R. Swensen
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"As time passes, personal memories of the Great Depression die with those who lived through the desperate 1930s. In the absence of firsthand knowledge, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and the photographs produced for the New Deal's Farm Security Administration (FSA) now provide most of the images that come to mind when we think of the 1930s. That novel and those photographs, as this book shows, share a history. Fully exploring this complex connection for the first time, Picturing Migrants offers new insight into Steinbeck's novel and the FSA's photography--and into the circumstances that have made them enduring icons of the Depression. Looking at the work of Dorothea Lange, Horace Bristol, Arthur Rothstein, and Russell Lee, it is easy to imagine that these images came straight out of the pages of The Grapes of Wrath. This should be no surprise, James R. Swensen tells us, because Steinbeck explicitly turned to photographs of the period to create his visceral narrative of hope and loss among Okie migrants in search of a better life in California. When the novel became an instant best seller upon its release in April 1939, some dismissed its imagery as pure fantasy. Lee knew better and traveled to Oklahoma for proof. The documentary pictures he produced are nothing short of a photographic illustration of the hard lives and desperate reality that Steinbeck so vividly portrayed. In Picturing Migrants, Swensen sets these lesser-known images alongside the more familiar work of Lange and others, giving us a clearer understanding of the FSA's work to publicize the plight of the migrant in the wake of the novel and John Ford's award-winning film adaptation. A new perspective on an era whose hardships and lessons resonate to this day, Picturing Migrants lets us see as never before how a novel and a series of documentary photographs have kept the Great Depression unforgettably real for generation after generation."--Book jacket
Member of
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Swensen, James R
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
PS3537.T3234
LC item number
G893 2015
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Series statement
The Charles M. Russell Center series on art and photography of the American West
Series volume
volume 18
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Steinbeck, John
  • Steinbeck, John
  • Steinbeck, John
  • Steinbeck, John
  • Steinbeck, John
  • United States
  • United States
  • Dust Bowl Era (1931-1939)
  • New Deal (1933-1939)
  • Literature and photography
  • Documentary photography
  • Migrant agricultural laborers
  • Depressions
  • Dust Bowl Era, 1931-1939
  • New Deal, 1933-1939
  • Depressions
  • Documentary photography
  • History
  • Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
  • Literature and photography
  • Migrant agricultural laborers
  • United States
  • New Deal
  • Dokumentarfotografie
  • USA
Label
Picturing migrants : The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography, James R. Swensen
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-244) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Gathering migrants : Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor -- Researching migrants : John Steinbeck -- Working for life : John Steinbeck and Horace Bristol -- Shooting script : Russell Lee -- Finding real Joads : Russell Lee and Elmer Thomas -- Hope and despair along the migrant trail : Russell Lee -- Displaying grapes and wrath : the FSA exhibitions -- A straight picture : Darryl Zanuck and Arthur Rothstein -- Icons of the Great Depression : looking back on history
Control code
908374918
Dimensions
29 cm
Extent
xi, 256 pages
Isbn
9780806148274
Lccn
2015002780
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)908374918
Label
Picturing migrants : The grapes of wrath and New Deal documentary photography, James R. Swensen
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-244) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Gathering migrants : Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor -- Researching migrants : John Steinbeck -- Working for life : John Steinbeck and Horace Bristol -- Shooting script : Russell Lee -- Finding real Joads : Russell Lee and Elmer Thomas -- Hope and despair along the migrant trail : Russell Lee -- Displaying grapes and wrath : the FSA exhibitions -- A straight picture : Darryl Zanuck and Arthur Rothstein -- Icons of the Great Depression : looking back on history
Control code
908374918
Dimensions
29 cm
Extent
xi, 256 pages
Isbn
9780806148274
Lccn
2015002780
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)908374918

Subject

Genre

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