Grotto Notes: Our free monthly newsletter
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Grotto Notes for April 2008
TONIGHT IS THE BONK PARY CELEBRATING MARY'S NEW BOOK AT BOOKSMITH
News from East Bay Grottoite Mary Roach: "The sex lab book is out! It's called BONK: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Or is it Sex and Science. I keep forgetting. There's a description and excerpts, etc., at www.maryroach.net Basically it's STIFF, but with warm bodies.
I'm kicking off the book tour with a talk at the Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, tonight, Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m., followed by cake and champagne at the store. Those of you who are familiar with the Booksmith know that part of their fabulosity is that they print up an Author Trading Card for every author who appears at the store. I happen to be the one-thousandth (try saying it 3 times) trading card. So we decided a joint party was in order. Please stop by!
Those of you with small children, please be aware that a large, genital-shaped dessert may be served. "
Other Bay Area BONK tour events:
East Bay
Good, Great Place for Books
6120 LaSalle Ave, Montclair (Oakland)
Thursday, April 17, 7 p.m.
SF
San Francisco Public Library
Lower Level: Latino Community Room
Thursday, May 8, 6:30
Marin
Book Passage
51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera
Sunday, May 11
South Bay
Kepler's
1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
Thursday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.
JANE SMILEY READS AT STEVE'S PROGRESSIVE READING SERIES ON APRIL 19
The next Progressive Reading hosted by Grottoite Stephen Elliott is April 19, 7pm, at The Makeout Room and features Jane Smiley, Yiyun Li, Charlie Anders, Michelle Richmond, and Jeff O'Keefe. Special guests The Progressive Reading Series All-Star Minstrels and extra special guest, Aaron Peskin, head of The Board of Supervisors. Advance tickets at http://www.progressivereadingseries.org
The progressive reading series happens on the third Saturday of every month though the 2008 election at 7pm at the Makeout Room in San Francisco. [We strongly recommend getting tickets in advance as these events frequently sellout!]
Also, the next writing from experience seminar is June 9. Reserve your seat now. More information at www.sfgrotto.org/classes.html
Instructor bio: Stephen Elliott is the author of four novels including Happy Baby, which was a best book of the year in Salon, The Village Voice, Newsday, The Journal Gazzette, and Chicago New City as well as a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lion's Award and a California Book Award. He is also the author of a book of erotica, a non-fiction memoir of the 2004 presidential campaign, and the editor of three acclaimed anthologies. He was a Stanford University Stegner Fellow. His fiction and non-fiction has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, GQ, McSweeney's, Tin House, The Sun, and many anthologies.
For more information, contact: tribe@stephenelliott.com
KATIE'S BOOK PARTY FOR "GIRLS IN TRUCKS" AT BOOKS INC. THIS THURSDAY, APRIL 10
Come hear new author Katie Crouch read from her first book, GIRLS IN TRUCKS (Little, Brown 2008), Booksense's #1 Pick for April.
Andrew Sean Greer, the author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli, says of Girls in Trucks: "There are more gasps, sobs, laughs and surprises in these pages than in most people's bookshelves. Love never felt so sharp or real as in Katie Crouch's debut." Red Truck wine will be served, and Katie will be preceded by a surprise musical guest! April 10, 6:30 p.m., Books Inc. in Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102, for more information call (415) 776-1111 or see http://www.booksinc.net/NASApp/store/IndexJsp;jsessionid =abcKtooTCzs4U7F9xarKr?s =storeevents&eventId=371057
HELENA INTERVIEWED ON "TALK SHOW LIVE" ON APRIL 14
Grottoite Helena Echlin will be interviewed on "Talk Show Live," a live performance event at North Beach's Purple Onion, on April 14. Check out the details at http://www.talkshowsf.com/04142008
MEGHAN AND ELIZABETH DISH ABOUT THEIR BRUSHES WITH CELEBRITIES AT INSIDE STORY TIME ON APRIL 17
Grotto dweller Meghan Ward will be reading from her memoir "Paris on Less Than $10,000 a Day," and Grottoite Elizabeth Bernstein will also read at the monthly reading series "Inside Story Time" next week on April 17th. The theme of the night is Celebrities, and other readers dishing about their brushes with celebrity include Emily Mitchell (The Last Summer of the World), Andrew Altschul (Lady Lazarus) and David Gleeson (An Alien of Extraordinary Ability). $3-$5 sliding scale. Thursday, April 17, 6:30-8:30 pm at the Edinburgh Castle, 950 Geary Street, San Francisco. For more information, see http//www.insidestorytime.com
JAYNEL READS AT THE LAUNCH OF DUBLIT.COM ON APRIL 24TH
Grotto subletter Jaynel Attolini will be reading at the launch of Dublit.com. The event is April 24th at the Space Gallery. For more information, see http://www.spacegallerysf.com/
LAURA A FINALIST FOR THE BERT GREENE AWARD FOR ESSAY WRITING
Grottoite Laura Fraser is a finalist for an International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award for essay writing for a piece she wrote about dining at Chez Panisse the day after her husband left her. You can find that essay on her website, http://www.laurafraser.com Congratulations and good luck to Laura!
ELIZABETH'S STORY IN FIELDREPORT.COM, LAUNCHING THIS WEEK
Check out Grottoite Elizabeth Bernstein's story on the new storytelling website FieldReport.com, which launches in beta this week. Elizabeth recounts the trials and tribulations of guerrilla filmmaking in her essay, "Hollywood Land." FieldReport.com gives writers a place to share true-life experiences and offers readers a daily destination for great experiential writing. Members of the Grotto mailing list (this means you!) who are interested in submitting work during the invitation-only beta period (through mid-May) should go to FieldReport.com and click on the invitation link. The best submissions in each of 17 categories will receive a $1,000 prize, and there is a $20,000 prize for the best submission overall! Check it all out at http://www.fieldreport.com
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCES LISA AS A NOMINEE
Congratulations to East Bay Grottoite Lisa Margonelli, who was nominated as a finalist in the non-fiction category for the Northern California Book awards! Her book "Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to the Pipeline," [Lisa Margonelli, Nan A. Talese/Doubleday] is being recognized as among the best published works of 2007 by Northern California authors. The 27th annual Northern California Book Awards takes place on Sunday, April 13, 2008, 1:00-2:30 pm at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library's Main Branch, 100 Larkin Street in San Francisco. A book signing and reception with the authors follows the Awards Ceremony in the Latino/Hispanic Room from 2:30-4:00 pm. Nominated books will be on sale at the Book Bay, San Francisco Main Public Library. Admission to the Book Awards is free. The event is wheelchair accessible. For more information, please telephone (510) 525-5476 or visit www.poetryflash.org
PETER'S NEW BOOK "UNDERGROUND AMERICA: NARRATIVES OF UNDOCUMENTED LIVES" COMES OUT NEXT MONTH
Grottoite Peter Orner sends this news: "I have edited a new book that is coming out next month. It's called Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives and is being published by McSweeney's. The book includes oral histories from undocumented people - from across the globe - now living in the U.S. The book provides an opportunity to hear from undocumented people themsleves as opposed to pundits speaking about them. An excerpt of the book will be out in the April issue of the Believer. The book is the third in the Voice of Witness Series. Series Editors: Dave Eggers and Lola Vollen." For more information, see http://www/voiceofwitness.com or check out the book at amazon.com or mcsweeneys.net (Mcsweeney's Store). Congratulations to Peter!
STEPHANIE'S ESSAY TO BE PUBLISHED IN AN ANTHOLOGY NEXT YEAR
Grotto subletee Stephanie Losee's essay "Ella's Restaurant," which is about her final confrontation with her mother before their estrangement, was recently accepted for publication in the anthology "What I Would Tell Her: 30 Top Women Writers on the Mother-Daughter Relationship," which will be published by Mira Books in 2009. Stephanie notes that the essay will not be called "Ella's Restaurant" in the book, but since she is stuck for a new title it's anybody's guess what it will be called by the time the anthology is out. Stephanie was also filmed last week for a BNET video promoting her book "Office Mate." When the video goes up on BNET she will put a link on her web site, http://www.stephanielosee.com, as well as the book's site, http://www.officematebook.com.
CHECK OUT CHRIS' STORY ABOUT A QUIRKY NEW BAY AREA FILMMAKING ENDEAVOR IN SAN FRANCISCO MAGAZINE
Check out Grottoite Chris Colin's story in the March issue of San Francisco Magazine about a quirky, and essentially socialist, new Bay Area filmmaking endeavor -- Wikipedia meets Tito, roughly. Chris is also starting a book on people learning to be free, more or less. He regrets that "people learning to be free" sounds so hokey, and will come up with a less lame description when he gets a sec.
See the story at http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/welcome-hollyhood.
JASON AND JANIS JOIN THE SQUAW VALLEY FACULTY
This summer in the Sierras, our own Jason Roberts (A Sense of the
World) and sublettor Janis Cooke Newman (The Russian Word for Snow) will be among the teachers at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers workshop series. Other instructors and special guests for the conference's 39th year include Amy Tan (who was "discovered" at a Squaw workshop), Robert Haas, Lucille Clifton, Anne Lamott and Joshua Ferris. If you'd like to hone your writing in a setting that's both intensive and idyllic, you're invited to apply. As Janis says, "I attended when I was starting out and I highly recommend it."
Poetry workshops will be held July 19-26. Fiction, Nonfiction and Screenwriting workshops are held concurrently, August 2-9. Application deadline is May 10 (except for Screenwriting, which has a deadline of May 1). Financial aid is available. For complete details, please go to the Community of Writers website at www.squawvalleywriters.org. Hope to see you there!
Janis also recently wrote a great column about traveling with kids for the SF Chronicle – check it out at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/24/
For more info (i.e. books, identifying photograph) you can find Janis at redroom.com (under Janis Cooke Newman) or at http:// www.janiscookenewman.com. For more info on Jason, check out his website at http://www.jasonroberts.net/
SAVE THE DATE! THE "POETRY FOR WATER" GALA BENEFIT IS ON MAY 1ST
Mark your calendars for May 1st, an incredible evening with Dave Eggers, Maxine Hong Kingston, Roger Housden, Elizabeth Rosner,Nina Wise, and great music to Bring Clean Water to the Samburu People of Northern Kenya. It all takes place at the Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Dave Eggers, best-selling author of What is the What, on the Writing Life, reading by acclaimed author Maxine Hong Kingston, poetry readings by Roger Housden ( author of the Ten Poems series) and poet-novelist Elizabeth Rosner, live music, and performance artist extraordinaire, Nina Wise.
All money raised goes toward building the second of a series of water catchment areas along the migration route of the Samburu people of Northern Kenya, near the border with Ethiopia. The water will save their children from the fatal diseases of polluted water sources, and will also help to sustain the Samburu's fragile nomadic way of life. The groundwork is administered by a global charity, Wherever The Need. David Crosweller, the founder, will be here from London to give a brief talk and slide show on the project.
May 1st, Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco. Tickets are $30.00, and can be purchased at http://www.fortmason.org/boxoffice and for more information call 415 345 7575.
STEVE RECOMMENDS YOU CHECK OUT ANDREW FOSTER ALTSCHUL'S NEW BOOK ON APRIL 15TH AT BOOKS INC
A note from Grottoite Steve Elliot: "Please join us April 15 for the release of Andrew Altschul's <http://www.andrewfosteraltschul.com> first novel, Lady Lazarus. Andrew Sean Greer said "Altschul is one of our great young writers, and Lady Lazarus is the proof." And Heidi Julavitz said, "It casts over the reader that same spell cast by the real-life stories of the talented and the doomed." And I know for a fact Heidi has never even met Andrew.
There'll be a reading at Books Inc. on Van Ness <http://www..booksinc.net/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId =371084> Tuesday, April 15 at 7pm, Books Inc, 601 Van Ness Avenue. Hope to see you all there!"
XANDRA RECOMMENDS CHECKING OUT THE SAN FRANCISCO WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL THIS WEEK
Grottoite Xandra Castleton recommends you check out the 4th Annual San Francisco Women's Film Festival, 'Showcasing the Best in Women's Cinema' this week. The San Francisco Women's Film Festival (SFWFF) presents its fourth annual film festival celebrating women in all areas of film. To celebrate, they're throwing a party at Varnish Fine Art Gallery on 4/10, at 7 PM (21 + over with valid ID). Attendees will have the chance to enjoy films and live music, explore the gallery artwork and mingle with filmmakers. April 9-13. Admission is $15. Receive $2 off admission when purchasing tickets in advance online by entering coupon code: festivalfriends08 For more information and to purchase tickets visit: http://sfwff.com/ or call (415) 820-1500
A FUN WAY TO SPEND A FEW VIRTUAL MINUTES IN GRAND CENTRAL STATION
Several people highlighted this recent prank at Grand Central Station, certainly worth checking out. It's amazing.
http://www.maniacworld.com/frozen-in-grand-central -station.html
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JD'S ART PICKS
THE WAY THAT WE RHYME AT THE YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Check out the ongoing exhibit at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, "The Way That We Rhyme." Organized by curator Berin Golonu, The Way That We Rhyme showcases the politically charged work of a new generation of women. Emphasizing performativity, collaboration and coalition building, the works are influenced by the feminist ideologies and activist movements of the past, while also speaking loudly and clearly to the issues facing women right now. Adhering to the notion that there is strength in numbers, the show culls together work from women of differing backgrounds and disciplines to highlight the common goals of their practices.
Artists include: Lisa Anne Auerbach, Andrea Bowers, Nao Bustamante, Tammy Rae Carland, Vaginal Davis, Eve Fowler with Math Bass, Deborah Grant, MK Guth, Taraneh Hemami, Miranda July and Shauna McGarry, LTTR, Leslie Labowitz and Suzanne Lacy, Aleksandra Mir, Laurel Nakadate, Shinique Smith, subRosa, SWOON and Tennessee Jane Watson, The Counterfeit Crochet Project organized by Stephanie Syjuco, The Toxic Titties, Jessica Tully, and RiotGrrl zines from the Independent Publishing Resource Center, Portland. Through June 29th, 2008. For more information, see http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNum ber=4024
ENRIQUE CHAGOYA AT THE BERKELEY ART MUSEUM
Mickey Mouse meets Aztec gods and Francisco Goya meets Jerry Falwell in "Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia," the first major museum retrospective of the work of Mexico-born, San Francisco–based artist Enrique Chagoya, on view in Galleries 2 and 3. In the more than seventy works in the exhibition—paintings, charcoal and pastel drawings, prints, and mixed-media codices (accordion-folded books)—Chagoya intermingles icons and cultural references spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles to create fantastic images and scathingly funny satires. Chagoya has described this universe of hybrid influences as a place where "all cultures meet and mix in the richest ways, creating the most fertile ground for the arts ever imagined." Putting it another way, the artist has also said, "Humankind is in constant war with itself, perfectly capable of total destruction. This is the raw material for my art." Berkeley, Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way and 2621 Durant Avenue [Between College and Telegraph], Berkeley. Telephone: 510.642.0808. Through May 18. For more information, see http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibition/chagoya
LYNN HERSHMAN LEESON AND GILBERT & GEORGE AT THE DE YOUNG
One of my favorite artists and role models Lynn Hershman Leeson just opened "No Body Special" at the De Young Museum. A San Francisco-based artist, she is a pioneer in new media, and her Internet-based works have won her much acclaim. For No Body Special, part of the Collection Connections program, she creates an image of a red coat from the de Young Museum's permanent collection that is featured in performances around the city. The exhibition will exist in the galleries and on the Internet, where it will inhabit a "second life."For more information on Lynn's show, see http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/exhibition.asp ?exhibitionkey=841
Gilbert & George put themselves at the center of their artwork. Identifying as "living sculptures" in art and daily life, they eliminate the distinction between artist and art. They began their career together with a tabletop vaudeville performance piece called The Singing Sculpture. Eventually, they began photographing their performance work to extend its reach and range. Over the years, their art has incorporated film and computer graphics. Gilbert & George is the largest retrospective ever organized by the Tate Modern in London. The de Young Museum is the first venue in a tour that will visit San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Brooklyn. For more information, see http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/exhibition.asp ?exhibitionkey=805
De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive San Francisco. Telephone: 415.750.3600. Website at http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/index.asp
LEE FRIEDLANDER AT THE SF MOMA
Among photography's most prolific practitioners, Lee Friedlander is also heralded as one of the United States' finest. This retrospective assembles the most comprehensive array of Friedlander's work to date — nearly 400 pictures spanning the 1950s to the present — for a stunning overview of his multifaceted career. Inspired by Walker Evans and Robert Frank, Friedlander trained his eye on the everyday — streets, cars, storefronts, billboards — to capture distinctly American scenes and images. His style is inflected by a sharp wit and sense of humor, frequently taking advantage of elements considered by most to be obstacles, including his own shadow or reflection. Friedlander features examples from the artist's extensive personal photo series as well as his commercial work for magazines and album covers. SFMOMA's presentation also includes recent pictures from the sets of high-end fashion shoots. Saturday, February 23, 2008 - Sunday, May 18, 2008. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street, San Francisco. Telephone 415.357.4000. For more information, see http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/exhib_detail.asp?id=304
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.
Mark Twain
