<P> The John Steinbeck Award: "In The Souls of the People", is an annual award given to an individual that has contributed to society in the spirit of John Steinbeck . The award is given to artists who capture "the spirit of Steinbeck's empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of the common man ." The award is presented each year by Steinbecks' eldest son, Thomas, in collaboration with the John Steinbeck Family Foundation, San Jose State University, and The National Steinbeck Center . </P> <P> The phrase, "in the souls of the people", comes from Chapter 25 of The Grapes of Wrath and captures the writer's enduring legacy as an engaged and socially aware artist . From the 1930s on Steinbeck wrote about "the people," his heart open to the longing, loneliness, despair and triumph of those on the edges . Americans were his people, and his last book, America and Americans (1966) expresses his enduring love for a democratic nation . Thomas Steinbeck wrote that the awardee is a "planetary patriot," which means, a person who, in keeping with Maurice Steinbeck's understanding of the highest aspirations of an artist, "stands up against the stones of condemnation, and speaks for those who are given no real voice in the halls of justice, or the halls of government . By doing so these people will naturally become the enemies of the political status quo ." </P>

Who are some of the recipients of the steinbeck award what is the purpose of the award