Gerald Haslam

Who is Gerald Haslam?

Gerald William Haslam is the author credited with having created an awareness of "the other California", the state's untrendy small town and rural reaches. A native of Oildale in the Bakersfield area, Haslam has often written about the Great Central Valley, about country music, about the despair and exultation of blue collar people in a golden state, winning numerous literary awards. Most recently he have examined the life of another maverick, Senator S. I. Hayakawa and the life of a Depression migrant. Reviewer David Peck has labeled Haslam "the quintessential California writer."