By Elizabeth Willoughby on
The Center for Steinbeck Studies announced earlier this month that they will be honoring documentary filmmaker Michael Moore with this year’s John Steinbeck Award.
The award is named after author John Steinbeck (1902-1968) – famous for The Grapes of Wrath among other works, and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 – and is “given to writers and artists whose work captures the spirit of Steinbeck’s empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of people who by circumstance are pushed to the fringes.”
In the announcement posted on Moore’s website, Steinbeck’s son, Thomas Steinbeck, said “Michael Moore is a courageous man and a great selection for the John Steinbeck Award. My father would have loved him; my father was the Michael Moore of his time.”
“I am truly grateful to the Steinbeck family and the Steinbeck Center for their generous acknowledgment of my work,” said Moore at the announcement. “The works of John Steinbeck have been a singular and powerful inspiration to me all of my life. Steinbeck believed that a story could change the world.”
Moore will receive the award on the evening of October 14 at the Morris Dailey Auditorium in San Jose, California, where he will also be in conversation with Dan Pulcrano, Executive Editor of Metro. For tickets to the event, click here.
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