Ferry Plaza Book Party: Wandering in Cornwall

LEFT COAST WRITERS FERRY PLAZA BOOK PARTY:  Wanderland Writers, Authors of Wandering in Cornwall: Mystery, Mirth, and Transformation in the Land of the Ancient Celts

Wandering in Cornwall CoverMonday, August 10th, 2015 || 6pm
Book Passage || San Francisco
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco ||www.bookpassage.com

It’s another Wanderland Writers celebration. Wine, snacks, readings, and a brand new book in the series.

This time Wanderland Writers venture deep into Cornwall, exploring it’s castles, its contrast. They find, of course, its legacy of Camelot, the lingering shadows of Arthurian legend, tragic love, magic, and Merlin. They also find its sorrows, buried deep in its history like the now closed mines, where the windswept moors and jagged coasts made everyday events of shipwrecks, isolation, cave-ins. Yet, as workshop leaders Joanna Biggar and Linda Watanabe McFerrin and their fellow travelers discover, that is not the whole story. They also encounter the wonderful and hospitable Cornish, with their enchanting accents, their delightful yarns, their humor, their endurance. They wander, bicycle, hike and kayak to explore hills, waterways, villages and moors in search of the spirit of artists and writers who have come before them to leave an imprint on this untamed land.

Wandering in Cornwall is a beguiling collection of stories and poems about the extreme west of England. Everything that makes Cornwall so special is here: pasties, clotted cream artists, smugglers, the South West Coast Path and even the thieving seagulls. Readers who know Cornwall will be inspired to return and newcomers to this land of (more…)

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Book Launch: Kissing the Sky by Cristina Olsen

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH: Kissing the Sky, by Cristina Olsen

Cristina Olsen
Cristina Olsen

Saturday, August 8th, 2015 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Join us in this long-awaited, much anticipated, book party for Christina Olsen.

Kissing the Sky is an autobiography of the soul in poetic and visual form that begins with loss and loneliness, but soon transforms into love and an expansive freedom of the soul. From post-war London to the vast Pampas of Argentina, from Buenos Aires to the hills of Novato, California, the author weaves a meditative tapestry of poetry and photography celebrating the beauty of nature and it’s power to transform pain into joy.

“A multi-faceted synthesis of literature and art, and the author’s life experiences, results in a winning combination (more…)

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Literary Salon: David Corbett

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  David Corbett, Author of The Mercy of the Night

David Corbett
David Corbett

Monday, August 3rd, 2015 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

 Don’t miss the salon in August when renowned mystery writer David Corbett will be joining us to discuss character, sub-genre subtleties, and all things mysterious.

For fifteen years, David Corbett worked for the San Francisco private investigation firm of Palladino & Sutherland, and played a significant part in a number of high-profile criminal and civil litigations, including the Lincoln Savings & Loan Case, The DeLorean Trial, the Coronado Company marijuana indictments, The Cotton Club Murder Case, The People’s Temple Trial, the first Michael Jackson child molestation case, and a RICO civil litigation brought by the Teamsters against former union leaders associated with organized crime—as well as numerous other drug, murder, and fraud cases.

In 1995, he eased out of private investigation work to serve as office manager and “Man Friday” for his wife, Terri, as she launched her own law practice, specializing in probate litigation, estate planning, and small business law. (For more on Terri, see Cesidia on this website.) She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September, 2000, and in January, 2001, passed away at age 46.

Six weeks before Terri’s death, Ballantine purchased David’s first novel, The Devil’s Redhead. Widely praised, it was nominated for both the Anthony and Barry Awards for (more…)

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Left Coast Writers Poetry: Marianne Betterly

Left Coast Writers Poetry: Marianne Betterly

Marianne Betterly
Marianne Betterly

Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli
734 La Playa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Sunday, August 2nd from 5pm-7:15pm

Join a featured LCW poet at the First Sunday of the Month Happy Hour Poetry series at Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli. Our featured poet’s reading is followed by an open mic for other poets to share original work, or even just to read favorite poems aloud. Happy Hour starts at 5pm, and after our featured poet reads for 30 minutes, open mic (three minutes per poet) goes until 7:15 pm. Celebrate creativity and poets while supporting a local, community-oriented, and family owned business! Enjoy $1 off your sandwich with the purchase of a glass of wine or bubbly! Up in August is Marianne Betterly.

When Marianne Betterly isn’t hip hop dancing, designing websites  or traveling to Kyoto, she’s writing poetry. Her poetry has been published widely in books and journals including (more…)

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Ferry Plaza Book Party: Fundraiser for Afghans 4 Tomorrow with Adrienne Amundsen, Author of Reclaiming the Apple

LEFT COAST WRITERS FERRY PLAZA BOOK PARTY:  Fundraiser for Afghans 4 Tomorrow with Adrienne Amundsen, Author of Reclaiming the Apple

photo by Adrienne Amundsen
photo by Adrienne Amundsen

Monday, July 13th, 2015 || 6pm
Book Passage || San Francisco
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco ||www.bookpassage.com

Left Coast Writers and friends; lovers of poetry, women’s rights and healing vibes for our planet: Please join us for a little wine and a celebration of the power of poetry at a Fundraiser for Afghans4Tommorow at Book Passage in the Ferry Plaza. Adrienne Admundsen will be reading from her collection of poems about Afghanistan, its troubles and the path to healing.

Afghans4Tomorrow, Inc. (“A4T”) , is a registered non-profit, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. A4T is also a registered nonprofit with the Afghan Ministry of Economics. Their concentration is in improving the capacity of those they serve in their education, agriculture and health programs to become self sufficient and contribute to the economy of their families and country.

Adrienne Amundsen is a psychologist, specializing in trauma, grief, and creativity. Born in Texas, but long ago transplanted to (more…)

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Book Launch: One Shoe by John Hewitt

LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH:  One Shoe: When a Gold Rush is not Enough by John Hewitt

John Hewitt
John Hewitt

Saturday, July 11th, 2015 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

History repeats itself when the denizens of the California Gold Rush village of One Shoe hit another mother lode. Since 1855, the town has squeezed an economy out of a single, deteriorating block featuring the Pioneer Washhouse and the Brothers Saloon. Locals have tripped unsuspecting tourists and half-crazed fortune hunters, pulling in dollars with a puffed up history of its founder, Nigel Potts. Famous for striking it rich and feverishly working his gold claim wearing just one shoe, he never stopped to locate the missing boot. But Potts was a promoter, mining money with his one-shoe legend that pulled a greedy crowd that provided the money to put One Shoe on the map.

After a 21st century news story goes viral, locals follow his tradition as digital gold fever makes One Shoe the land of opportunity for modern claim jumpers. Rumor and renegades collide in another hilarious send up of back country felons and heroes with outrageous schemes and dreams. (more…)

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Literary Salon: Deirdre Cerkanowicz

LEFT COAST WRITERS LITERARY SALON:  Deirdre Cerkanowicz, Marketing and Promotions Specialist at Berkeley Public Library

Deirdre Cerkanowicz
Deirdre Cerkanowicz

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015 || 7pm
Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera ||
www.bookpassage.com

Join us at 7pm for hosted wine and beverages as we celebrate libraries and all they do for writers. We’ll begin with a short mixer, which will be followed by an inspiring and informative presentation by Deirdre Cerkanowicz. Deirdre has worked in libraries for over 25 years. She is also a writer and photographer, having started and produced a monthly newsmagazine for six years; as well as written numerous book reviews for publications such as Booklist. She worked for Book Passage before attending library school and still frequents both locations.
She currently is in charge of publicity for the Berkeley Public Library and promotes the Library’s numerous free public (more…)

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Left Coast Writers Poetry: Jeff Kingman

Left Coast Writers Poetry: Jeff Kingman

Jeff Kingman
Jeff Kingman

Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli
734 La Playa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Sunday, July 5th from 5pm-7:15pm

Join a featured LCW poet at the First Sunday of the Month Happy Hour Poetry series at Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli. Our featured poet’s reading is followed by an open mic for other poets to share original work, or even just to read favorite poems aloud. Happy Hour starts at 5pm, and after our featured poet reads for 30 minutes, open mic (three minutes per poet) goes until 7:15 pm. Celebrate creativity and poets while supporting a local, community-oriented, and family owned business! Enjoy $1 off your sandwich with the purchase of a glass of wine or bubbly! Up in July is Jeffrey Kingman. In honor of the 4th of July holiday weekend, we propose independence as a theme for the Open Mic poetry session. This can be about what independence and/or freedom mean to you personally and may be related or totally unrelated to political independence – your choice!

Jeffrey Kingman lives by the Napa River in Vallejo, California. He won the Red Berry Editions 2015 Valentine poetry contest and also the 2012 Revolution House Flash Fiction Contest. He has read at Quiet Lightning and Bay Area Generations. His poetry (more…)

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Left Coast Writers Poetry: TC Currie

Left Coast Writers Poetry: TC Currie, Author of Questions to a Butterfly: A Collection of Transformational Poetry

TC Currie
TC Currie

Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli
734 La Playa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Sunday, June 7th from 5pm-7:15pm

Announcing a new series featuring Left Coast Writers poets. Join a featured LCW poet at the First Sunday of the Month Happy Hour Poetry series at Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli. Our featured poet’s reading is followed by an open mic for other poets to share original work, or even just to read favorite poems aloud. Happy Hour starts at 5pm, and after our featured poet reads for 30 minutes, open mic (three minutes per poet) goes until 7:15 pm. Celebrate creativity and poets while supporting a local, community-oriented, and family owned business! Enjoy $1 off your sandwich with the purchase of a glass of wine or bubbly! Up in June is TC Currie, Author of Questions to a Butterfly: A Collection of Transformational Poetry.

In Questions to a Butterfly, TC Currie uses familiar objects from everyday life and humor to connect the reader to the toil of transformation, their triumphs, and their connection to the Divine, offering comfort and hope for those in the midst of struggle. Full of universal truths, familiar problems, cookie dough, and psychic vampires, TC’s poems follow the path of those who have the courage to take an honest look at their lives, evaluate their actions, and do the hard work to move through personal transformation from darkness into energy, connection and light.

As a girl of five, TC Currie was delighted to discover that books allow her to escape into other worlds. She has been armchair traveling and writing ever since. After parlaying her degree in Asian Religions into a career as a software developer, TC gained a reputation for being able to (more…)

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May 31st: Marianne Betterly and Other Widow’s Handbook Contributors Read in SF

Widows' HandbookSunday, May 31st, 2015 || 9:30-10:45am
First Unitarian Universalist Society || San Francisco
1187 Franklin Street at Geary, San Francisco ||

Marianne Betterly and other contributors to the Widows’ Handbook: Reflections on Grief and Survival will be reading and speaking on May 31st from 9:30-10:45 a.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco.

The Widows’ Handbook is the first anthology of poems by contemporary widows, many of whom have written their way out of solitude and despair, distilling their strongest feelings into poetry or memoir. This stirring collection celebrates the strategies widows learn and the resources they muster to deal with people, living space, possessions, social life, and especially themselves, once shock has turned to the realization that nothing will ever be the same. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says in her foreword, losing one s partner is a loss (more…)

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