Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies

Former name	Steinbeck Research Center (1971–1997)
Established	1971, 54 years ago
Location	Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library,San Jose, California
Collections	John Steinbeck
Collection size	50,000
Founder	Martha Heasley Cox
Website	www.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/

TheMartha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies is ascholarly research archive,museum andcultural center dedicated to the life, work, and legacy of American authorJohn Steinbeck. Located in theDr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on the campus ofSan José State University inSan Jose, California, the center was founded in 1971 by English professorMartha Heasley Cox, whose contributions laid the groundwork for its establishment as a hub for Steinbeck scholarship and public education. The center is the largest Steinbeck archive in the world at over 50,000 items.

The center's origins date to 1971 when Martha Heasley Cox, then a professor of English atSan José State University, recognized the need for a comprehensive archive of authorJohn Steinbeck’s work. Cox then founded theSteinbeck Research Center, and served as its director until 1982.^[1] As a university research center, it has hosted conferences, exhibitions, and publications dedicated to exploring Steinbeck’s influence on literature and social commentary, as a cultural center it has hosted lectures, film screenings, and exhibitions that explore Steinbeck’s influence on American literature, social history, and environmentalism.^[2]

In 1975, after representing the United States at the International Steinbeck Conference inFukuoka, Japan, Cox was contacted byMatthew Bruccoli who propositioned her to write a bibliography on Steinbeck. The endeavor took her to prestigious archives, including theHumanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, theNew York Public Library and the archives atViking Press, Steinbeck’s publisher, where she accessed rare materials to build an extensive catalog of Steinbeck's work, which she then brought back to San Jose State.^[3]

In 1996, the center awarded its firstJohn Steinbeck "In the Souls of the People" Award to musicianBruce Springsteen, inaugurating a tradition of honoring artists who demonstrate commitment to Steinbeck's ideals of courage, honesty, and concern for the underprivileged. Recipients have included renowned figures such asArthur Miller,Rachel Maddow, andDolores Huerta, whose work reflects the enduring relevance of Steinbeck's social advocacy.^[4]

In 1997, the center was renamed to the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies, in Cox's honor.^[5]

In 2001, theSteinbeck Fellows Program was established. which awards annual fellowships to emerging writers whose work resonates with Steinbeck's themes of social justice, ecological awareness, and empathy for the marginalized. Previous fellows have includedSara Houghteling,Vanessa Hua andA.J. Bermudez.^[6][7]

In 2002, the center began publishingSteinbeck Review, a peer-reviewed bi-annual journal which publishes scholarly articles, book reviews, creative writing, and original artwork which offer perspectives on Steinbeck's life.^[8][9]

The center has hosted the International Steinbeck Conference five times: in 2002, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2023.^[10][11]

The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies houses the largest collection of Steinbeck-related materials in the world at over 50,000 items.^[2][12][13] The archives contain manuscripts, letters, photographs, rare books, and memorabilia related to Steinbeck's career and personal life. It also holds significant secondary materials, including critical works, translations of Steinbeck's novels, and various media adaptations. Aside from those Cox collected herself, manuscript collections have been donated byElaine Steinbeck, and Lee Richard Hayman.^[3][14]

Some of the center's most notable items include early manuscript drafts of works likeThe Grapes of Wrath andOf Mice and Men, and correspondence with contemporaries such asJohn Kenneth Galbraith,William Faulkner,Douglas Fairbanks, andEd Ricketts.^[15]

• National Steinbeck Center
• John Steinbeck Award

• Official website
• Cox-Manville Searchable Steinbeck Bibliography

• Tourist attractions in Silicon Valley
• San Jose State University
• John Steinbeck
• Biographical museums in California
• Literary archives in the United States
• Literary museums in the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Official website not in Wikidata