All of us, I think, have had the experience of seeing someone else take credit for something we’ve done. But how many of us can say that our work was used by another person to earn a Nobel Prize? The American novelist, poet, and editor Sanora Babb can, as Iris so brilliantly illuminates in her forthcoming biography, Riding Like the Wind. In Babb’s case, it was John Steinbeck who took credit for her work when — despite lacking her permission — he used her notes to write The Grapes of Wrath. His novel went on to win not only a National Book Award but also a Pulitzer Prize, and in addition to being turned into an Academy Award-winning film it would also eventually play a major role in Steinbeck’s being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Meanwhile, the novel that Babb had written was shelved, and it would not appear in print for more than 60 years. As Iris’s publisher explains, “the stories we know — and who tells them — can change the way we remember history.” It was a privilege to talk with an author who has done so much to reclaim voices like Babb’s from the historical record. — Iris Jamahl Dunkle is an Emerita Poet Laureate of Sonoma County and a faculty member at UC Davis. She has authored two biographies: Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb (University of California Press, forthcoming). Her fourth poetry collection, West : Fire : Archive, was recently published by The Center for Literary Publishing. Dunkle writes a weekly blog called Finding Lost Voices, which revives the voices of women who have been forgotten or misremembered and serves as the Poetry and Translation Director at the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. — — With this interview, we have officially launched Season 2 of the series! I am incredibly proud to have reached this milestone together, and I am so excited to be embarking upon a new one with our expansion into audio. A very special thank you to Iris, for being our first guest on the podcast; to her publicist Cassie, for connecting us; and to all of you, for having been here along the way. I could not have dreamed of a better inaugural episode, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. — Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit womenofletters.substack.com
