Where the American West Begins — Video Dispatch
Tuesday, October 08 2024
Clay stops on the banks of the mighty Missouri River, the boundary of America’s east and west. It is here that John Steinbeck noted, “The two sides of the river might well be one thousand miles apart.”
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Looking for America in London
Tuesday, October 01 2024
Clay shares impressions from a recent visit to England, where he led a cultural tour.
- Published in Features
Steinbeck Meets an Itinerant Actor Along North Dakota’s Maple River — Video Dispatch
Saturday, September 28 2024
In October 1960, traveling through eastern North Dakota, John Steinbeck stopped along the lonely Maple River. Here, the author had a remarkable encounter with an itinerant Shakespearean actor.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
To the Desert With Edward Abbey
Tuesday, September 24 2024
Clay visits with Edward Abbey, the colorful, eloquent, and passionate advocate of the American West.
- Published in Features
The Grapes of Wrath on Route 66 — Video Dispatch
Friday, September 13 2024
It was one of the hottest days of the summer of 2024. I was on Route 66, somewhere east of Needles, California.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Looking Forward to My Zoom Call With Lindsay
Tuesday, September 10 2024
I’ve read Lindsay Chervinsky’s new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic. It’s outstanding.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Open Roads, Like Rivers, Invite Us to Muse About the Trajectory of Life
Saturday, September 07 2024
Just as rivers serve as an automatic and compelling metaphor for our life journeys, so roads invite us to muse about the trajectory of our lives.
- Published in Features
Salinas, California: Home to the Famous Author and the National Steinbeck Center
Tuesday, August 13 2024
Clay arrives in Salinas and Monterey, California, the home turf of a young John Steinbeck.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road
Patricia Limerick and George Orwell on Stage!
Tuesday, August 06 2024
Clay will join noted author and MacArthur Awardee Patricia Limerick at the Vail Symposium in Colorado on August 21 to discuss George Orwell’s novel 1984.
- Published in Features
Jack Kerouac’s Final Resting Place — Video Dispatch
Thursday, August 01 2024
Clay visits the grave of Jack Kerouac, “pioneer of the Beat generation,” in Lowell, Massachusetts.
- Published in Dispatches from the Road