John Steinbeck and Carol moved back to Pacific Grove, California, to a cottage owned by his father, on the Monterey Peninsula a few blocks outside the Monterey city limits. The elder Steinbecks gave John free housing, paper for his manuscripts, and from 1928, loans that allowed him to write without looking for work. During the Great Depression, Steinbeck bought a small boat, and later claimed that he was able to live on the fish and crab that he gathered from the sea, and fresh vegetables from his garden and local farms. When those sources failed, Steinbeck and his wife accepted welfare, and
John Bowe (author) Media Award for reportage of hunger- and poverty-related issues. John Bowe (author) John Bowe (born 1964 in Minnesota) is an American author. He is a contributing writer for "The New York Times". He has also written for "The New Yorker", "The American Prospect", "GQ", "McSweeney's", and "This American Life". He co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Basquiat" with Julian Schnabel. He graduated from Minneapolis' Blake School in 1982, obtained an honors BA in English from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and earned an MFA in film from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1996. "Us: Americans Talk