Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb with Iris Jamahl Dunkle

Join author and historian Iris Jamahl Dunkle in conversation on her latest book, Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb.

In 1939, when John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was published, it became an instant bestseller and a prevailing narrative in the nation's collective imagination of the era. But it also stopped the publication of another important novel, silencing a gifted writer who was more intimately connected to the true experiences of Dust Bowl migrants. In Riding Like the Wind, renowned biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle revives the groundbreaking voice of Sanora Babb.

Dunkle follows Babb from her impoverished childhood in eastern Colorado to California. There, she befriended the era's literati, including Ray Bradbury and Ralph Ellison; entered into an illegal marriage; and was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was Babb's field notes and oral histories of migrant farmworkers that Steinbeck relied on to write his novel. Riding Like the Wind reminds us with fresh awareness that the stories we know—and who tells them—can change the way we remember history.

"This absorbing biography, written with both affection and admiration, shows Babb as one of the most indefatigable characters in American literary history."—The New Republic

About the Author

's poetry and nonfiction critically engage with the Western myth of progress by exploring the profound impact of agriculture and overpopulation on the North American West, both historically and in contemporary times. Embracing an ecofeminist perspective, her writing challenges the predominantly male-centric narrative of the American West's recorded history, delving into the often-overlooked lives of women.

She is the author of two biographies, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and (University of California Press, 2024), and four collections of poetry, including, published by The Center for Literary Publishing, and by Trio House Press and by Word Tech. Dunkle curates Finding Lost Voices, a weekly blog dedicated to resurrecting the voices of women who have been marginalized or forgotten. 

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, United States