TEHRAN – The Persian translation of “Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters” written by the American author John Steinbeck will be released during the 37th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF), which is to be held online in mid-May.

The book is translated by Peyman Talebi and Mehregan Publication has brought it out in 253 pages, ILNA reported.

“Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters” is a letter collection written by the American author John Steinbeck to his friend and editor Pascal Covici, in parallel with the first draft of his longest novel, “East of Eden”.

Steinbeck wrote “East of Eden” in a notebook given to him by Covici. As a daily warm-up writing exercise, he composed letters to Covici on the left pages of the notebook, then wrote the novel itself on the right pages. 

The letters were not mailed or intended for publication, and are similar to journal entries. The letters were written between January 29 and October 31, 1951. The collection was first published in 1968, the year after the author's death.

The letters discuss the novel's development, plot, and characters; Steinbeck's philosophies and experiences of writing; and details of his daily life, such as his recurrent insomnia and his hobbyist carpentry projects. They also include his regular word counts and calculations of the pace at which the novel is being written.

One review praised the remarkable revelation the collection provides, though sharing the intimate and unusually uninhibited thoughts of an important writer. This was echoed in a later review of the 1971 paperback edition, which called the letters “autobiographical material of the first order, casting a flood of light on the creative process, and standing as a unique testament to the struggles and joys of writing.” 

A syndicated review by John Barkham highlighted the mundane experiences described in Steinbeck's letters, writing that “the letters are endlessly fascinating, which is not to say they are essential or unique.”

John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) was an American writer and novelist. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception”. He has been called “a giant of American letters”.

During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward Ricketts, including 16 novels, 6 non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels “Tortilla Flat” (1935) and “Cannery Row” (1945), the multigeneration epic “East of Eden” (1952), and the novellas “The Red Pony” (1933) and “Of Mice and Men” (1937). 

The Pulitzer Prize–winning “The Grapes of Wrath” (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.

Much of Steinbeck's work employs settings in his native central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.

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