Roe Valley to celebrate life and work of literary great John Steinbeck

The life and work of one of the world’s best known and respected authors is to be celebrated in Co Derry

The Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady is to stage a number of events to honour John Steinbeck, whose grandfather came from Ballykelly. . Steinbeck (pictured), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, is famous for writing novels like ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ ‘East of Eden’ and ‘Of Mice and Men,’ Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 ‘Steinbeck

Steinbeck’s grandfather, Simon Hamilton, was a farmer from Ballykelly who emigrated to California at the age of 17.

The writer visited the area in 1952 and wrote in Collier’s Magazine that he almost drove completely through Ballykelly, thinking it was much too small to be the place he was looking for.

He described it, using a Texas phrase, ‘as merely ‘a wide place in the road.’

Celebration: The Human Heart and the Land’ will run from this Friday, October 7 until Wednesday, October 19 and will feature talks, film screenings and writing workshops.

A talk by historian Alister McReynolds on Thursday, October 13 will explore Steinbeck’s connections to the Roe Valley area and the influence of his Co Derry roots on his work.

Cinematic adapations of the author’s novels will also to be screened in the centre.

‘Of Mice and Men’ starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise will be screened on Thursday, October 13, while East of Eden will be screened on Saturday October 15.