Award-winning and prolific writer Roy Blount Jr. appeared at the last lecture of the eighth season of California Lectures Tuesday evening. The evening was in partnership with the Sacramento Public Library and held in the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria. Library director Rivkah Sass welcomed the audience that filled the floor of the galleria and overflowed onto the mezzanine. California Lecture founder and president Suzette Riddle introduced Sands Hall, who would be in conversation with Blount. Hall is a writer, director and actress who resides in Nevada City. She is also a visiting professor of creative writing at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. Blount, who was interviewed in

Roy Blount Jr. has played many roles in his life: writer, composer, actor, interviewer, musician and radio game show guest. But above all else, he believes writing is what he was meant to do. Blount likes to write about things he is interested in doing. At one point he thought he would be a “triple-threat in sports” playing very well in three different sports. Short of accomplishing that, he is well known for writing about sports. “About Three Bricks Shy … and The Load Filled Up” (1989) is one of his better known sports books. Blount is now fortunate to be paid regularly for writing what he wants to write about. He doesn’t go on vacations. “I always go on assignment,” he said. He looks

Novelist, rancher, essayist, avid fly fisherman, conservationist, screenwriter, movie director and all around interesting person, Thomas McGuane, appeared at California Lectures in conversation with Pam Houston Wednesday evening. The above list is only a partial list of what Tom McGuane is involved in, and “award-winning” can be used before most of them. McGuane is promoting his latest novel, “Driving on the Rim,” around which most of the conversation was centered. Pam Houston is a fellow award winning novelist (“Cowboys Are My Weakness,” “Waltzing the Cat” and “A Little More About Me”) who also teaches creative writing at UC Davis. Houston and McGuane, who had not met until dinner be

Theater Openings “The Bell of Amherst” Sacramento Theatre Company Opened Saturday Great performance by Jackie Vanderbeck SacPress review       Schedule and Tickets "FROM GODSPELL TO WICKED: The Musicals of Stephen Schwartz"  STC Cabaret                                                                                      Thursday through Saturday only    Last of STC Cabaret shows this season                                                                                                                     SacPress preview      Tickets and Info   “Young Frankenstein” Broadway Sacramento Opens Wednesday April 13   Mel Brooks’ insanity brought to the stage Schedule and Tickets Last Chanc

Terry McMillan’s conversation with Mary Mackey at California Lectures last Thursday evening got off to a rocky start. She pleaded being post-menopausal when she couldn’t remember where she last left her characters from “Waiting to Exhale.” Then she realized she would be asked to read from her new book, “Getting to Happy,” and she had left her glasses backstage. After her glasses were retrieved, things got moving along. The conversation returned to “Exhale” and its sequel. She explained the differences between the endings of the “Waiting to Exhale” book versus the movie. Director and co-screenwriter Forest Whitaker wrote the ending to the movie. McMillan liked the movie ending. In much o

The Sacramento Press spoke by phone with Terry McMillan at her Bay Area home this week, previewing her appearance at California Lectures Thursday, March 24. She released a new book in September titled “Getting to Happy,” a sequel to “Waiting to Exhale.” McMillan grew up as the oldest child in a poor but happy family in Port Huron, Mich., across the river from Sarnia, Ontario. She described the Port Huron of her childhood as boring. She now realizes: "I took it for granted.  It is a beautiful place on the water, across from Canada." As soon as she finished high school, McMillan left Michigan, following a cousin to Los Angeles. There she worked to support herself while she attended L.A. C

Amy Bloom started out as a licensed psychologist, followed her passion to become a writer, and ended up being a bestselling author of short stories, novels and non-fiction books. Bloom appeared at the latest California Lectures Wednesday night at the Crest Theatre. She was in conversation with Pam Houston, head of creative writing at UC Davis. The conversation centered on Bloom’s most recent book, “Where the God of Love Hangs Out,” a collection of short stories, plus her last novel, “Away,” and Bloom’s writing process in general. Bloom's friends sometimes tell her that she is funnier in person than in prose.  She was certainly very funny Wednesday night. There was humor mixed with insig

  Theatre Last Chance "reasons to be pretty "  Neil LaBute  Contains Strong Language and is Intended for Mature Audiences Capitol Stage Closes Saturday 2/20 SacPress review   Tickets & Information THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS THE MUSICAL ! Music by Eric Rockwell    Lyrics by Joanne Bogart Book by Eric Rockwell & Joanne Bogart JANUARY 12-FEBRUARY 20, 2011 (Pollock Stage) A hilarious homage to the great musical theatre genres of our time. Fun for musical fans and foes alike! Sacramento Theatre Company Closes Saturday 2/20 The show has been extremely popular and continues to sell out. SacPress review. Tickets & Information.  B Street Theatre Mainstage Closes Saturday 2/20 Reopens 3/4 for

Bestselling author Amy Bloom’s latest work, a collection of short stories titled “Where the God of Love Hangs Out,” has recently been released in paperback. Bloom will speak about “Where the God of Love Hangs Out,” her earlier novels (“Away,” “Love Invents Us”) and her work in general in conversation at the next California Lectures at the Crest Theatre on Feb. 23. There are two quartets of stories in “Where the God of Love Hangs Out,” each centered around two characters. William and Clare in the first quartet begin as each half of two couples who are best friends. The second quartet of stories centers around 19-year-old Lionel and his stepmother Julia after his father’s death. The rest o

It’s late at night, and there’s a major blizzard raging outside. There’s no one left at the hospital to deliver the baby of the doctor and his wife but the doctor himself. With the assistance of a very trusted nurse, he does the delivery. The first shock: twins. The second shock: the female baby is severely affected with Down Syndrome. The doctor makes a rash decision. He asks the nurse to take the baby to an address in the town and tells his wife that the girl died. After arriving at the address, the nurse cannot bring herself to leave the girl. She and the girl disappear. We than follow the next 25 years of the characters’ lives and repercussions of the doctor’s decision. This is the

Due to an illness in his family, Thomas McGuane has cancelled the remainder of his tour and will not be speaking tomorrow, Wednesday, November 3, at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento. “We are very sorry to learn about the illness and understand Mr. McGuane needs to be with his family right now,” says Suzette Riddle, president of California Lectures. “We look forward to having him as part of our series soon.” California Lectures apologizes for the inconvenience to ticket holders and is rescheduling Mr. McGuane for another date. Purchased tickets for the event will be honored and patrons will be notified as soon as the new date is confirmed. California Lectures   Information  E-mail     (9

I spoke with award-winning novelist, Western writer and screenwriter Thomas McGuane Saturday about his new novel, “Driving on the Rim” and his appearance Wednesday at California Lectures. “Driving on the Rim” is the story of guy growing up in small town, Montana. His upbringing does little to prepare him for adult life. He could have easily gone nowhere if not for the guidance of a kindly old doctor who takes him fishing and hunting and encourages him to attend medical school. We meet him as he begins to experience a major life crisis. SP: Robert Birnbaum speaking with you in 2002 about your then-new novel, “The Cadence of Grass” asked you, “So why did you write a novel?” You replied, “I

THEATER Last chance.  Tonight at 8:00  Tomorrow at 2:00 "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" by Oscar Wilde OCTOBER 6 – OCTOBER 31, 2010 (Main Stage) Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy of mistaken identities, frothy wit and a million laughs.  Saw it last night.  Oscar Wilde's humor still shines over 110 years later.  Great acting, delivery and set design.   Tickets         Last chance this week.  Rave reviews from all the Sacramento critics including SacramentoPress.com's Barry Wisdom. Capitol Stage "MAURITIUS" From the creator of the Capital Stage hit "The Scene" comes an edge-of-your-seat, gripping dark comedy about…stamp collecting. After their mother's death, two estranged halfsister

Once the introductory applause had quieted down in The Crest Theatre, Dave Eggers settled into his chair and asked his audience of literary fans and admirers the score of the Giants/Phillies game. He said he wouldn’t be able to relax until he knew. With similar candidness and humor, Eggers opened up about his latest nonfiction book “Zeitoun,” which documents the life and wrongful imprisonment of a Muslim-American man, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sharing the stage with Eggers was Sacramento State’s Joseph Palermo, an associate professor of history. Together they discussed what it was like to have a relative wrongfully incarcerated, the mi

As promised, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker magazine, connected a pre-1500s New-World dance form to Bob Dylan – and a whole lot more. Ross certainly has the credentials to discuss classical music. He started listening to classical music as a child and started his music collection at age 10, buying his first classical LP: Anton Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. He has been the classical music critic for The New Yorker since 1996. His first book, “The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century,” was a national bestseller and The New York Times chose it as one of the 10 best books of 2007. Ross did not discover pop music until he was 20. Still, he has become quite versed in pop

Can a New Yorker magazine music critic connect a pre-1500s New-World dance form to Bob Dylan? Alex Ross, The New Yorker magazine classical music critic since 1996, does so in his latest book, “Listen to This,” which follows his critically acclaimed “The Rest is Noise.” Alex Ross will be appearing at the next California Lectures Monday evening at the Crest Theatre presenting “Chacona, Lamento, Walking Blues: Bass Lines of Music History.” “Things really opened up for me when I went to The New Yorker,” Ross said. At his previous job as classical music critic at the New York Times, he was “closely read” by those very seriously into classical music in New York City. He talked of having a mu

The election of President Barack Obama freed up many in the older generation of African Americans to speak about things they had kept secret or kept silent about. Many of those were things their children, their relatives and even their spouses were not aware of. The California Lectures guest this week, Michele Norris, cited this as one of the reasons she was able to learn more about her family history while writing her new book “The Grace of Silence.” Norris is best known as a host of National Public Radio’s afternoon news show “All Things Considered.” She grew up in a South Minneapolis neighborhood. After starting a college education in electrical engineering she switched to journalism,

Lectures California Lectures.MICHELE NORRIS In conversation with Pamela Wu Wednesday, October 6, 2010 Crest Theatre | 7:30 p.m. Michele Norris hosts NPR’s All Things Considered, public radio’s longest-running national program. Before joining NPR in 2002, Norris worked as a reporter for ABC News, a position in which she garnered both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for her coverage of 9/11. Norris has reported extensively on issues of inner city poverty, race and education for The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Her powerful Washington Post series on the drug trade's impact on young children was published along with essays by Nelson Mandela and Gabriel

California Lectures opened its 2010-2011 Season Monday night with what was billed as a special event, “An Evening with David Plouffe in conversation with Dan Morain.” The timing of this lecture could not have been better. With the 2010 midterm elections having become so contentious and being looked at as a referendum on President Barack Obama’s first two years in office, eyes are back on Plouffe to see if he can continue his success he had in helping get Obama elected in the first place. David Plouffe along with political strategist David Axelrod are credited with “creating and executing” the “blueprint” the got Obama elected. He published “The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lesso

 Art Events: As if you could miss it, it is Second Saturday. Here  is information on the art side of Second Saturday.   Free The fourth annual Curtis Fest is being held in its’ namesake William Curtis Park Saturday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This year will feature 60 local artists, musicians, and cuisine, along with activities for children and adults. More information from Sacramento365.com.    Free Lectures: California Lectures kicks off its’ 2010-2011 season with a very timely interview with David Plouffe. From California Lectures press release: California Lectures presents An Evening with David Plouffe on September 13, 2010, at 7:30 PM at the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento. Dav