John Steinbeck with "Tortilla Flat" (1935), a novel set in post-war Monterey, California, that won the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal. It portrays the adventures of a group of classless and usually homeless young men in Monterey after World War I, just before U.S. prohibition. They are portrayed in ironic comparison to mythic knights on a quest and reject nearly all the standard mores of American society in enjoyment of a dissolute life devoted to wine, lust, camaraderie and petty theft. In presenting the 1962 Nobel Prize to Steinbeck, the Swedish Academy cited "spicy and comic tales about a gang of "paisanos",
John Corcoran (author) since become a spokesman for literacy programs, as well as running his own foundation to help people learn to read. He created the John Corcoran Foundation, which trains tutors and helps students learn to read. He has appeared in the international media, but mostly his coverage is from American media. His appearances include an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", National Public Radio's "Eye on Books", and interviews in "USA Today" and other publications. John Corcoran (author) John Corcoran (; born in 1937) is an American author and the founder of the John Corcoran foundation. He is severely dyslexic and