Ken Burns accepts Steinbeck Award

Burns will sit down with KQED’s Michael Krasny in Morris Dailey Auditorium on December 6.

Ken Burns is regarded as one of the most influential documentary filmmakers of all time. Woven with threads of social justice, his films tell the story of the American experience and do more than entertain. From Prohibition to The National Parks to Jazz, Burns’ work has educated us about the value of history and helped to inform our national identity. “In a sense, I’ve made the same film over and over again,” Burns says. “In all of them I’ve asked, ‘Who are we as Americans?’”

On December 6, Burns will join the ranks of such creative visionaries as Arthur Miller, Bruce Springsteen, Studs Terkel, Dolores Huerta, and Rachel Maddow, as he accepts the 2013 Steinbeck Award from the San José State Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies. Since 1996, the center has given the award to writers, artists, thinkers, and activists whose work captures the spirit of Steinbeck’s empathy, commitment to democratic values and social engagement, and belief in the dignity of people.

In the Morris Dailey Auditorium, Burns will sit down with KQED’s Michael Krasny for a discussion and a preview of his upcoming documentary, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, set to air in 2014.

Get tickets at Ticketmaster, the SJSU Event Center Box Office, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.