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2009 New Student Reading Project

The Reading Project

According to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts, the amount of reading done for pleasure is down in this country, especially reading of literature such as fiction, poetry and drama...more

Why This Book?

In the ninth year of Cornell's New Student Reading Project, this year's incoming undergraduate class and much of the Cornell community will read John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.  The greater Ithaca community will also participate, with support from the Tompkins County Public Library, a reading project partner. ... more

Blogging The Grapes of Wrath

Reading The Grapes of Wrath Together
06/30/2009

The artist, Thomas Hart Benton, was commissioned by 20th Century Fox to create this painting, The Departure of the Joads to promote their 1940 film based on our book. He would also create a series of lithographs for a special...  more

Leaving home
06/23/2009

The Grapes of Wrath is a novel about a journey. We will read about the Joad family and what happens to them after they are forced to leave their home in Oklahoma. For our new students coming to Cornell in...  more