Thursday, November 21, 2013

steinbeck passage

john steinbeck, the man can put words down like no other, this is not breaking news, but damn sometimes it just floors me. to be able to write with such seamless clarity, like he's sitting next to you, telling you about it. not over polished just clear and perfect...... doing a quick re-read of travels with Charley, it's been at least a decade, so as i grow older this passage hold more weight. check it out:

14 comments:

  1. WhitelinePsychoNovember 21, 2013 at 1:40 PM

    Yep, aspirational writer, great passage from an essential read.

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  2. jaybirdNovember 21, 2013 at 7:43 PM

    thanks for sharing .

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  3. AnonymousNovember 22, 2013 at 3:02 AM

    WOW!

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  4. GladNovember 22, 2013 at 11:37 AM

    Holy crap...I didn't even know Steinbeck knew me!

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  5. BUZZARDSALINASNovember 22, 2013 at 11:47 AM

    amen

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  6. Jet City JugheadNovember 22, 2013 at 9:04 PM

    After all these years, Cannery Row is still my favorite book, followed closely by the Old Man and the Sea.

    The common thread? Simplicity.

    I hope you are doing well Max.
    Anthony

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  7. DavidablNovember 22, 2013 at 10:29 PM

    Almost 50 yrs. for me, I read it as a kid a couple of years after JFK got capped. I guess It's time to read it again,

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  8. UnknownNovember 22, 2013 at 10:34 PM

    as an aging young man i see the truth of many old mens writings.

    max you are a visionary and i look up to you.

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  9. MichaelNovember 23, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    I finished Travels with Charley recently a few weeks ago, such a good book! Steinbeck was such a ruler.

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  10. max schaafNovember 23, 2013 at 11:48 AM

    right on everyone...
    pretty coo how books that once spoke to you long ago can still provide new messages.

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  11. Rick BrownNovember 23, 2013 at 9:29 PM

    max, you aint bad yourself my friend!! filling the years with life beats the hell out of merely filling ones life with years. live on brother!

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  12. UnknownNovember 23, 2013 at 9:48 PM

    I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.

    Steinbeck

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  13. Flores NegrasNovember 26, 2013 at 7:21 PM

    I remember this one time I was in a state of mesiry. In so deep, so toxic, I'd become numb to much of lifes cares. I reached out to a stranger whom i'd never met. Without any knowledge of my ills he recommened to me lititure, some of which was Steinbeck. I continued to read for months after that first novel. Looking back at that time, I was at a crossroad. I was had to make that decision to give up or keep going. There wasn't a drug, a piece of ass, a twin, or a tool that couldve gotten me outa that shit other than that slow burn from those pages.

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  14. max schaafNovember 27, 2013 at 9:48 AM

    thanks guys.

    Flores Negras.... thanks for writing those words and writing them so well. they really made me think of
    the beginning of Kris Kristofferson's to beat the devil.

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