Owen Woodson, I think that Woody and Steinbeck did know each other in California from what I've read. Steinbeck wrote an introduction to HARD HITTING SONGS FOR HARD HIT PEOPLE. He also reportedly said when Woody wrote TOM JOAD, "That book (Grapes of Wrath) took two years of my life. It took me 3 chapters to get the Joads from Oklahoma to California, and that SOB did it in two lines!"

Just looked up Ed Crays' bio of Woody RAMBLIN' MAN on Google books, and it appears that Woody and Steinbeck were not only acquainted with each other, but were also drinking buddies. Check out the book for yourself;


RAMBLIN' MAN by Ed Cray

Mark Ross