For example, Susan Shillinglaw, a professor of English at San Jose State University and scholar at the National Steinbeck Center, told the "New York Times": "Any writer has the right to shape materials, and undoubtedly Steinbeck left things out. That doesn't make the book a lie." In regard to the supposed conversations, she said: "Whether or not Steinbeck met that actor where he says he did, he could have met such a figure at some point in his life. And perhaps he enhanced some of the anecdotes with the waitress. Does it really matter that much?"