Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "literature"

Franzen speaks at Mondavi Center

2011-10-10T04:24:57Z

Jonathan Franzen, National Book Award-winning author, acquaintance of Pres. Barack Obama and face of the August 2010 cover of Time magazine next to the caption “Great American Author,” proved to the audience at the UC Davis Mondavi Center Saturday night that he is human.

Franzen stepped up to the podium and pulled several sheets of paper out of his briefcase. After rearranging some of these sheets, pausing to find a water bottle, and finally beginning to read from the sheets word for word, it became clear that the critically and commercially successful author was nervous to speak in front of a live audience.

“This would be a lot easier if I was doing a reading,” Franzen said.

The talk was themed as a writers workshop. Franzen said he was to answer, “The four perennial questions for writers: Who are your influences, what time of day do you work and what do you write on, when do the characters take over, and is your fiction autobiographical?”

“These questions are the price we have to pay for appearing in public,” he said.

Franzen rolled through the questions quickly, giving slightly more care to some than others, and even responding with one sentence to the question regarding his writing environment.

“When I’m writing, I don’t want anyone in my room, including myself,” he said.

But as this portion of the talk came to end only 10 or 15 minutes into the event, Franzen dropped the sarcastic tone he had used to answer the questions, and told the audience he was going to use the remainder of the evening to speak about shame.

“I’m going to be talking about shame, because by my mid-30s I was ashamed of almost everything I’d done in the past 15 years of my life,” he said.

Franzen began with his marriage in his early 20s that led to a divorce in his 30s. He spoke about the couple’s poverty, depression and eventual separation. These events, painful as they were for Franzen, clearly shaped the success of his later novels.

“After you’ve written your best book, you have to become a different person to write the next best,” he said. “Writing is a way of being and becoming.”

He finished the talk by describing his multi-year struggle to write “The Corrections.” After initially envisioning it centering around a character that emotionally resembled himself, he scrapped the main character and focused the novel on the family members who had initially been secondary characters. The novel ended up winning the National Book Award for Fiction.

After Franzen finished his talk, UC Davis history professor Eric Rauchway moderated a question-and answer with the author.

When asked a question regarding why his novels don’t feature African-American characters, Franzen struggled with words for several minutes before responding that his novels, focusing on predominantly white upper-middle-class suburbs, presented a reality that he does not promote but feels bound to portray with the utmost honestly.

“The subjects of my novels cannot strive to be as moral as I can try to be,” Franzen said.

Franzen is currently working on a collection of short stories to be published in 2012 titled “Farther Away.”

Franzen comes to UC Davis Mondavi Center

2011-10-01T03:02:37Z

National Book Award-winning author Jonathan Franzen will give a talk on the process of fiction writing on Saturday, Oct. 8 at the UC Davis Mondavi Center.

Since 1988, Franzen has published four novels and two works of nonfiction.

His first novel, “The Twenty-Seventh City,” has been described by critics and Franzen himself as a work along the lines of the postmodernists of the 1960s and ‘70s. Although not receiving the acclaim his twenty-first century novels have garnered, it cemented him as someone to look out for in the literary world.

His next novel, “Strong Motion,” which came out in 1992, is a social critique framed by a family’s struggles to get along and understand one another. Although the novel received mixed reviews, the themes became the foundation for his later works of fiction.

“The Corrections,” a 2001 novel centered around the lives of the members of a repressed Midwestern family, and the manner in which these lives change as they confront the economic decline of the 1990s, catapulted Franzen into not only bestseller territory but also critical acclaim. This book won the 2001 National Book Award for Fiction as well as the 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction.

Franzen also became a notorious household name in this period after rejecting an invitation from Oprah Winfrey to appear on her televised Book Club. During an interview on NPR, Franzen stated that he refused the book club offer because he believed that potential male readers would be put off by the label.

Franzen’s latest novel, “Freedom,” is a culmination of the themes of his previous works and recent difficulties.

Thematically similar to “The Corrections,” “Freedom” deals with the struggles of the members of a post 9/11 white middle-upper class American family. Within this, the reader also confronts environmentalism, infidelity, and questions surrounding what it means as an American to be free. “Freedom” was Oprah’s first pick for her 2010 Book Club, Barack Obama called it “terrific,” and it has received nearly universal acclaim in the media.

The novel seems to mirror many of the events of Franzen’s life: the suicide of his friend and fellow author David Foster Wallace, his divorce, his love of birds and his interest in ecology.

Since the publication of “Freedom,” Franzen has been featured on the cover of Time Magazine next to the caption “Great American Novelist,” and took a trip to the island of Masafuera, the setting of “Robinson Crusoe.”

During this trip he searched for the rayadito, a rare songbird, in vain and spread his friend’s ashes into the sea. These experiences were published in the New Yorker in a 2011 article by Franzen titled, “Farther Away: ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ David Foster Wallace, and the island of solitude.”

Franzen has also published two works of nonfiction, “How to be Alone,” an essay on finding solitude in a bustling Internet-based world; and “The Discomfort Zone,” a memoir.

UC Davis Professor of Comparative Literature and German Gail Finney said she will be attending the talk as both a fan and a student.

“I’m writing a book on family trauma myself,” Finney said. “I’ve only read ‘The Corrections,’ but I’m very interested in hearing him speak.”

Franzen will primarily cover four questions in his speech, according to the Mondavi Center website: “Who are your influences? What time of day do you work, and what do you write on? Is your fiction autobiographical?”

Franzen’s talk will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8. It will be followed by a Q&A moderated by UC Davis History Professor Eric Rauchway, and a book signing.

Tickets cost between $25 and $50, Mondavi Subscribers receive a slight discount, and student pay half price.

For more information, or to buy tickets visit the Mondavi Center event page.

Science fiction gets steamy

2011-07-04T03:00:09Z

What happens when you mix the aesthetic appeal of 1800s Victorian England, scientifically advanced, steam- and gear-powered inventions and the type of alternate historical realities explored in popular culture through movies like “Wild Wild West”?

You get steampunk: an inventive, rule-bending subgenre of science fiction that has found a growing niche in Sacramento.

The term steampunk stemmed from literature like H.G. Well’s “The Time Machine,” published in 1895, and Jules Verne’s 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, according to members of the Sacramento Steampunk Society.These early steampunk works, which feature elements of time travel, whimsically inventive, steam-powered inventions and Victorian-inspired costuming a la Captain Nemo, explore the limits of human potential while offering alternatives to the documented course of history.

Steampunks engage in “cosplay,” or costume play, and often craft their own handmade, theoretically steam-powered gadgets.

The fashion for this genre includes floor-length bell-shaped skirts, petticoats and bodices for women, and calf-length coats, vests, low-collared linen shirts, trousers and top hats for men.

Both sexes sport pilot goggles, steam-powered guns and hand-soldered jewelry crafted from clock gears, watch parts and vintage hardware.

Denise Farinsky recently attended a Second Saturday steampunk event at the Brick Alley Gallery dressed as a “steampunk fairy,” complete with movable wings made from coat hangers and nylon, a revolver laser gun, goggles and a precariously perched black ostrich-plume hat.

Farinsky constructed her outfit from things she found in her closet, accessories from Evangeline’s in Old Sacramento and steampunk jewelry purchased from artists on Etsy. She received a handmade “mechanical steam spider” from another artist at the event, which completed her ensemble.

Farinsky said she has always been intrigued by steampunk elements in fiction by Jules Verne and movies like “Hellboy,” “Back to the Future Part III” and “The Young Sherlock Holmes” but never know that there was a name for it until her cousin clued her in to the genre of steampunk.

Aside from dressing the part, Farinsky participates in the movement through her original, steampunk-themed watercolor paintings, the most recent of which, titled “Night Vision,” depicts a Victorian woman with cascading ringlet curls, sporting a wristwatch-adorned top hat and an elaborately embroidered gear-themed eye patch.

Steampunk for Farinsky is a way of re-imagining present-day technology through a Victorian lens.

“I try to imagine what it would have been like for a Victorian to invent the computer, laser gun, iPhone, etc. using steam technology,” she said.Society member Andy Pischalnikoff, a state worker who also teaches classes in new media, said the all-ages Sacramento steampunk group meets about once a month to show off their costuming, share knowledge, craft steampunk props and socialize.

Pischalnikoff cited the work of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft as a popular theme of costume groups, noting that Lovecraft’s monsters in particular serve as wells of inspiration for the steampunk crowd.

Drawn to the artistic side of steampunk, Pischalnikoff has been photographing Steampunk-popular events like Burning Man, a seven-day festival in the Nevada desert, for six years.

He said he heard about Steampunk through social networking, but that he and his wife, who is a professional costumer, had been dressing for the Dickens Fair, a Victorian costume party held in the Bay Area, for years, making the jump to steampunk fashion an easy one.

Pischalnikoff said the current recession has brought the Sacramento Steampunk Society closer, as hard times make it more important than ever to be industrious and resourceful.Recently, the League of Copper Villains, a Sacramento group with interest in several genres of cosplay, including steampunk, held an event where participants had the opportunity to apply the steampunk aesthetic to old Nerf and squirt guns, first priming them black and then “weathering” them with paint in steampunk-appropriate colors like brass, copper and gold.

Pischalnikoff said a “trademark” of the group is that all of its scheduled events are either free or very affordable, ensuring that cost is never a deterrent.

Sacramento artist and society member Jacob Jerde has applied steampunk ideals to the art of model-building, inventing and sketching steam-powered vehicles and then hand-crafting their miniature replicas.

Jerde, who has been working with models since he was 8 years old, said that each vehicle he creates has a story behind it, like the steam-powered motorbike he dreamt up, which is able to traverse land, sea and air and is the primary mode of transportation for a bounty hunter on a mission to subvert evil forces.Aside from designing steam-powered transportation, Jerde also participates in steampunk cosplay, which, for him, is a chance to tap into his imagination in a limitless way.

“It is basically a civilized way of being a kid again,” he said.

Jerde said the “punk” in steampunk comes from the type of do-it-yourself, no-rules attitude that punks of the 1970s championed. He said creating an alternate reality, where things like a steam-powered motorcycle are possible, is an effort in “rebelling from the norm.”

“I want to have my own identity, to wear what I want, when I want,” Jerde said.

Jerde’s mission is to bring steampunk model-building, an art that he says only a few in the area practice, to the gallery sphere, a move he thinks would be well received.

“People gravitate toward the romance of steampunk,” he said.

Kathy Kieth and Medusa's Kitchen - providing a recipe for Sacramento's poets

2010-02-01T08:00:36Z

Born and raised in Sacramento, Kathy Kieth now lives in Pollock Pines. A musician, music teacher, music therapist, psychologist and poet, her work has been published in many journals, including Atlanta Review, California Quarterly, Main Street Rag, Möbius, Potpourri, Ekphrasis, PDQ, Poetry Now, Slant, and Tiger’s Eye. Kathy has also published four chapbooks: Night Full of Owls from White Heron Press, Keeping Time in the Clock Shop from PWJ Publishing, Why We Have Sternums from Rattlesnake Press, and Sex—For Animals from Rattlesnake Press. She was also nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize.

In the last six years, Ms. Kieth has published hundreds of Sacramento-area poets in her quarterly literary journal, Rattlesnake Review. She’s also selected and published about 50 chapbooks, organized readings, and supported venues by publishing special editions such as La Luna: Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe (edited by Frank Andrick), and Keepers of the Flame – The First Thirty Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center (edited by Mary Zeppa, Kate Asche and Emmanuel Sigauke). Kathy has built a remarkable legacy of publications assisting poets and writers from all around the capital region. The scope of her work as an “enabler” for other poets is perhaps best displayed on her popular poetry website Medusa’s Kitchen.

http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com

With an endless supply of poems, photos, upcoming events, forty links to other poetry blogs and sites, and drawings by Sam the snake man, Medusa’s Kitchen is a site to explore, and most importantly, a great place for poets to submit poems. She encourages first-time writers: “Get your poetry, art, photos and announcements out to all the corners of the earth on a very frequent basis; the snakes of Medusa are always hungry, especially for NorCal poetry.” So don’t be shy; since poetry is for sharing, send yours to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.

These poems are from her upcoming chapbook from Tiger's Eye Press, Emily and the High Cost of Living, which will be released on February 10th, 7:30pm, at The Book Collector on 24th Street. Tiger’s Eye editors Collette Jonopulos and JoAn Osborne will also read at that event. A week later, Kathy will be releasing another of her free publications – the fifth issue of WTF – at Luna’s Poetry Unplugged, 8pm on February 18 at Luna’s Café, 1414 16th Street. Please enjoy the work of Kathy Kieth – poet, publisher, tireless and talented friend of Sacramento’s literary scene!

When Things Get Too Tough,

Emily checks out of the café: dreams
of that pool in the forest where
weeping willows graze the water, where

the night birds sings at dusk and
crickets open their voices at
just about the same time: dreams

with dark eyes of cool shadows and
the scent of the blue hibiscus, of
long shafts of light like waterfalls that

reach down through the trees to
stroke her back: of moonlight and
nightingales and the bright eyes

of owls: cottony clouds: quilts made
of fallen leaves—all soft, sweet dreams
for poor, distressed Emily when

things get too tough at the café…

Like a Bubble

she perches
on the tip of
your finger: silver-
coated meniscus
embracing air like
fairy wings as she

perches
purses her lips
then tries to lift off
sighing and pouting
staring away at

some secret
space, some
deep, deep darkness
where you’re
simply not allowed…

She Leans on Her Coffin

—checks it for comfort: sizes up
its length (too short) and width (too

narrow): squints at the cheap wood
and faux lining, the tarnished brass

fittings: handle with a loose screw,
filigree chipped and crooked, scroll-

work amateurish and dull… She leans
on her coffin to assess its durability:

notes the stray creak and groan of
its ill-fitting joints: cites for future

reference the phone number of
the manufacturer. Finally, she

sums up her opinion of her future
in one single word: shoddy…

I Was a Teenage Train Wreck: Why Reunions are Required Reading

2009-07-20T15:19:06Z

If the quintessential reunion experience could be captured metaphorically by a famous (or infamous) novel, I’d have to point to War and Peace, by Tolstoy; our personal history—mighty and insignificant-all in one sweeping evening of epic romance, drama, conflict and survival. If we’re talking the 80’s, of course it must be film, and would therefore be, Pretty in Pink meets The Breakfast Club. Bad hair, bad boys, bad acne, bad grades, and bad teachers, all tied together in a pretty pink bow of good memories. I wonder what F. Scott Fitzgerald might have said about reunions, being that he loathed status and above all else believed the underdog should always win the day. I know what Nick Carraway might say, Fittzgerald’s famous low-brow, high-reaching bad boy from The Great Gatsby would say: He’d say reunions are an open book to our past, and if we read between the lines, we can pretty much see ourselves in a kind of interrogation-quality light that just goes to show you, “you were worth the whole damn bunch put together.”

Fresh off my own twenty-five, I’m still not entirely sure what part of our brains becomes enamored with the idea of hooking up with our old high school chums, revisiting our past. Is it our fascination with who we once were? Or is it our fixation on who we wish we would have been? Do we go for vindication, if we’re honest, or do we go seeking redemption?-forgiveness?-new kinds of self-flagellation?

In any case, reunions are all about that first real dance you went to where you got a butt squeeze from your dream guy, an invitation to hang out in the quad with the cool chicks you always admired, and losing your virginity in the back seat of a 1967 Volkswagen, listening to Sammy Hagar, feeling pretty sure your mom was going to kick your ass for coming home at four in the morning. Reunions can also be a straight shot of “what the hell have I done with my life”, and “can someone please explain how come I let that goofy looking guy steal my virginity in the backseat of a 1968 Vega, listening to Duran Duran, feeling confident that rash on his penis was probably normal?” I speak anecdotally, of course. (I never once listened to Duran Duran on purpose, believed in Vegas or anything with less than a growling 350 in it. Nor did I, for the record, lose my virginity to anyone connected with my high school class, or my high school. I did, however, drive a Volkswagen beetle; an orange one, and loved Sammy Hagar. I met him once in a café in Carmel, eating fried green tomatoes and drinking some of the best Pinot I’ve ever had. He was shortish, if I recall. I’m pretty sure I acted like a total fangirl.)

And speaking of feeling sorry for the stupid choices of our youth, run-ins with Sammy Hagar excluded, I think about that feeling you get at a reunion, just before you walk in the door, and you wonder if the cheerleaders who once talked behind your back years ago might actually be forgiven for their teenage skulduggery, and whether or not the hours-long sensation of being a broiling slab of post-post-pubescent joy with a mortgage and three careers, on display for all to snicker at, will be as gloriously intoxicating as you imagined it would be when you decided to come in a rational moment four months earlier. And then I bite down on my lower lip until I draw blood, slam my right hand in a car door, and stick a large pasta fork in my forehead until reality sinks back in and I remember; I hated high school, but I loved (almost) everyone there.

I was awkward, silly, afraid to be loved, afraid to be rejected, took fashion risks that paid off and failed, did all the things I taught my own son not to do, and generally got out of high school with more than I hoped for, but not as much as I could have—just like everybody else. I wasn’t special, but I was especially me, and generally speaking; if I had to do it all over again, I don’t think I’d change a molecule of the experience. Well that’s not entirely true. I might not wear that ridiculous hat and suspender get-up that I did my first day of school, my sophomore year. And I think I might have avoided the platinum mullet in my graduation photo, if only my mother had loved me enough to save me from myself.

Then again, who we were in our glorious teenage angst may have been our mother’s fault, but who we are in our spectacular adult magnificence is entirely our own. Reunions are good for dosing out that particular reminder. That may be why some go back every five years and some wait twenty-five. Some of us like the feeling of hitting our heads against the wall; if always feels so good when we stop.

More Stuff to do in Sacramento

2009-04-13T20:50:23Z

I missed last week, but here's a big list of stuff coming up this week. Lots going on this coming week -and this only a sampling!

Ongoing:
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 2:30 PM through May 9, 2009
Admission: General: $15.00; Students/SARTA: $12.00 (April 17-19, all tickets are only $10.00!)
Big Idea Theatre
1616 Del Paso Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 960-3036
http://www.bigideatheatre.com

A comedy that includes scenes from Hamlet involving the prince's two unwitting friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and combines them with a "Waiting for Godot" sensibility, resulting in a thought provoking show and a knee-slapping good time.

SPCA Spring Book Sale
Saturday, April 18 - Sunday, April 26, 2009
Mon-Sat: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sun: 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Marketplace at Birdcage
6123 Sunrise Blvd
Citrus Heights, CA
(916) 383-7387, ext. 9103

Features thousands of new and used books at dog-gone great prices! The sale, one of the largest book sales of its kind in Northern California, will include 40 categories, including fine and rare books, fiction, children and teens, mystery, adventure, science fiction, biography, history, westerns, art, reference, business, cultural issues, foreign language, humor and home and garden

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Mahogany Urban Poetry Series: Seth Walker
9:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Queen Sheba Restaurant
1704 Broadway
Sacramento, CA
http://mybmsf.com/mahogany/

The notorious Houston poet comes to Sacramento!

Thursday, April 16, 2009 and Friday April 17, 2009
The Davis Feminist Film Festival
7:00 PM reception/8:00 PM show
Admission: Students: $12.00 single night/$20.00 both nights; General: $18.00 single night/$30.00 both nights (slightly cheaper if purchased in advance at The Beat)
Veterans Memorial Theater
203 E 14th St
Davis, CA
http://femfilmfest.ucdavis.edu

The Davis Feminist Film Festival is a grassroots festival of short films featuring filmmakers from around the world. Mixing narrative, documentary, and experimental styles, the films focus on issues of gender and sexuality often missing from mainstream media and highlight the links between local, national, and international social struggle.

Friday, April 17, 2009 - Saturday, April 18, 2009
Indian Arts & Crafts Market
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission: General: $2.00; Youth (6-17): $1.00; 5 & Under: Free
California State Indian Museum
2618 K St
Sacramento, CA
Indian artists and crafters from all over California will participate. Items to fit every budget include: artwork, jewelry, hand-crafted dolls, baskets, soapstone and elkhorn carvings, drums, decorated gourds and more.

Friday, April 17, 2009, Saturday, April 18, 2009, Friday, April 24, 2009
Keith Lowell Jensen Live CD Taping
Doors at 7:00 PM, Taping Begins at 8:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Luna's Café
1414 16th St
Sacramento, CA
http://rockass.net

Keith Lowell Jensen, co-headliner of The Coexist? Comedy Tour, featured guest on Brian Malow's Science Comedy Tour and one of Sacramento's best known comics will spend three nights taping original material at Luna's Cafe in downtown Sacramento for an upcoming CD.

The taping is divided into three categories over three nights, club comedy, atheist/religious themed comedy and the third night will be the wild card leaving room for KLJ to riff, ramble and if need be, totally make an ass out of himself because he already has two nights of tape so to heck with it right?

The venue is small. This will sell out, so advance tickets are the only way to guarantee a seat. They can be obtained at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/55720

Saturday, April 18, 2009
R5 Records Celebrates Record Store Day with a Rock n' Roll Garage Sale, Live Music and More!
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission: Free
R5 Records
2500 16th St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.r5records.com

R5 will be hosting live music, a Rock n' Roll Garage Sale and swap meet, and offering refreshments, giveaways and lots of other surprises from 9am to 5pm. R5's entire inventory will also be at sale price for the entire day. KSSU, the on-campus station at Sac State will also be on hand hosting the "Big Vinyl Spectacular" featuring live DJ sets throughout the day. Guest DJs include Shaun Slaughter, Trina Latrine, Danny Secretion, Nick Brunner and others.

The Rock n' Roll Garage Sale will take place in R5's parking lot facing the Tower Theatre. Vendors will be selling used vinyl, music memorabilia, posters, toys, buttons and more. The vendors are all private individuals or small businesses selling at garage sale prices.

During the day students from the Met School, a charter school within the Sacramento Metropolitan School District, will be staging raffles to raise funds to build the music program at their school. As a further aid to this venture R5 will be collecting new and used musical instruments for the Met School throughout Record Store day.

Record Store Day is a national celebration of local independent music retailers. Now in it's second year, RSD came about as a way to spotlight the wide range of music and services offered by independent music retailers.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Screening: Trembling Before God
2:00 PM
Admission: $5.00 suggested donation
Congregation B'nai Israel
3600 Riverside Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 446-4861
http://www.bnai.com

The acclaimed 2001 documentary chronicling the struggles of gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews who are trying to integrate their sexual orientation into their faith, even as some have been abandoned by their families. Also showing is the short sequel Trembling on the Road, a documentary about the controversy, protests and dialogue that has accompanied screenings of Trembling Before God in Jewish communities around the world.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Poetry with Traci Gourdine & Quenton Duval
7:00 PM
Admission: $5.00 donation
Time Tested Books
1114 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 447-5696
http://www.timetestedbooks.net

Quinton Duval is the author of three books of poems: Guerrilla Letters, Dinner Music, and Joe's Rain. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Solano Community College and is the editor and publisher of Red Wing Press.

Traci Gourdine is a poet whose work has appeared in Calliope, ZYZZYVA, and other small magazines. She is the co-editor of "Night is Gone, Day is Still Coming," a collection of work by young American Indian writers. Her letters to poet Quincy Troupe have been anthologized in the book "Letters to Poets." He currently teaches English at American River College.

Monday, April 20, 2009
Author: Andrew Sean Greer
Doors: 12:15 PM; Reading at 1:00 PM
Admission: Free
CSUS University Union
6000 J St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.csus.edu/union

The bestselling author will discuss his work and will read from The Story of a Marriage, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. His newest novel, The Story of a Marriage, is a lyrical story about love and longing, and the political, sexual and racial tensions set against the backdrop of the early 1950s. Greer also is the author of The Path of Minor Planets, How It Was for Me and The Confessions of Max Tivoli. A lecture preview will be at 12:20 with Sac State English professor Sheree Meyer.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Safe Ground Rally
2:00 PM
State Capital, South Steps
http://www.sacloaves.org/SafeGround/
Rally to help benefit and legalize a safe campground where homeless folks can live and have running water, bathrooms, and trash services until proper shelters can be provided.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Support Local Growers: Farming as if Nature Matters Inspiring Panel Discussion
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Admission: General: $15.00; Co-op Owners: $10.00; Children Under 12: $5.00
24th Street Theatre
2791 24th St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 455-2667
http://www.sacfoodcoop.com
Featuring Trini Campbell, Riverdog Farm; Gretchen Ceteras, Blue Heron Farm; Annie Main, Good Humus Produce; Gena Nonini, Marian Farms; Bu Nygrens, Veritable Vegetable, and Judith Redmond, Full Belly Farm.
A benefit for Soil Born Farms and the Good Humus Land Preservation Project.

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sacramento Ballet Dancers' Event
7:00 PM
Admission: $10 advance; $15 at the door
Vizcaya Mansion
2019 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 552-5800
http://www.saveoursacballet.com

The dancers have organized an evening of fun with performances by the ballet, live music by Camerata Capistrano, the CSUS Baroque Ensemble, wine, food, fundraising games, and a silent auction with inexpensive and luxury items such as a signed Greg Kondos print, a weekend at a Tahoe cabin, and a delta cruise. Come hang out with the company and support the ballet at the same time!

More Stuff to do in Sacramento

2009-03-31T20:43:18Z

Ongoing:

Zooman & The Sign
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 3:00 PM through May 10, 2009
Admission: General: $20.00; Students, Seniors and SARTA: $18.00; Children (12 & under): $15.00
The Guild Theater
2828 35th St
Sacramento, CA
Ticket info: (916) 737-3333
http://www.imagestheater.org

Written by Charles Fuller.
Zooman and the Sign follows the Tate family after their 12 year-old daughter is killed by a stray bullet. After their neighbors refuse to come forward with information to bring the killer to justice, Mr. Tate in his frustration hangs up an accusatory sign calling them cowards. The neighbors react with aggression. The play raises questions of how non-violent people respond to infectious violence and restrain their fury at their community and society's complacency. It urges us to ask the question "how can we prevent young men from becoming alienated and violent like Zooman's? "(Language not suitable for small children).

See What I Wanna See
Live Theater
Fridays and Saturdays, 8:00 PM; Sundays, 7:00 PM, through May 3, 2009
Admission: General: $18.00; Students and Seniors: $15.00
California Stage
2509 R St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 708-3449
http://www.artisticdifferences.net

A deadly affair. A mysterious murder. A crisis of faith. New York stories of lust, greed, faith, loss and redemption are explored in this musical libretto. Based on short stories by the groundbreaking Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, this unique theatre piece takes us from ancient Japan to modern day New York City with three tales that are sensual, suspenseful, and inspiring. "Kesa and Morito" tells the tale of two lovers who secretly plot to kill each other. "R shomon" takes the story that inspired the classic Japanese film "Rashomon" and transforms it to a gritty, jazzy tale of 1950's New York. "Glory Day" transports us to 21st Century New York, where a priest struggles with his loss of faith. Michael John LaChiusa transformed these stories into a compelling musical journey exploring the themes of power, perception and the truth. (NOTE: For Mature Audiences).

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Jessamyn Lovell Lecture
6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Verge Gallery
1900 V St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 448-2985
http://www.vergegallery.com

Jessamyn Lovell will be lecturing on her work Catastrophes, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions, a ten year documentary project involving the artist's own family. You can view examples of the work at the artist's website at http://www.jessamynlovell.com/ or for more insights into to the current show, Personal Lives, take a look at the recent review in the Sacramento Bee at http://www.sacbee.com/115/story/1711353.html

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Th' Losin Streaks plus Movie Star Junkies (from Italy, featuring members of The Introducers!) and Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
9:00 PM
Admission:??
Luigi's Fun Garden
1050 20th St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 552-0317
http://www.myspace.com/luigisslice

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Community Discussion on Local Media
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Admission: Free
Coloma Center Auditorium
4623 T St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.AccessSacramento.org

Sacramento area residents, media professionals and media consumers are invited to attend a community discussion on local media to consider these topic areas:
Public Affairs
Diversity
Political Coverage
Community Input
Broadband Internet Access

Sacramento Media Group and California Common Cause with Access Sacramento invite interested individuals, community organizations, local media outlets and elected officials to participate in a community discussion designed to hear opinions, stories and suggestions about our local media. The new presidential administration wants to create a20more democratic media system and promote universal access to communications technologies. The evening offers an opportunity to share ideas that can contribute to these goals. It will also help us better understand how well our local media: print, television, radio and Internet serve their audiences.

Friday, April 3, 2009
Neil Hamburger
7:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Blue Lamp
1400 Alhambra Blvd
Sacramento, CA
(916) 455-3400

Despite his appalling comic timing, muddled delivery, and cliched material, stand-up Neil Hamburger nevertheless emerged as one of the most acclaimed and name-checked comedians of his generation; like Lenny Bruce before him, he was a hipster icon whose trailblazing riffs defied conventions.

Friday, April 3, 2009
Screening: The Lost World (1925)
7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
Admission: $5.00
Movies on a Big Screen
600 4th St
West Sacramento, CA

This innovative and ground-breaking 1925 silent film featured amazing stop-motion animation from Willis O'Brien, years prior to his work on King Kong. O'Brien's work in this film stunned audiences in 1925 and was to forever change special effects and science fiction in film. While dated in comparison to today's use of CGI, the dinosaurs are still an impressive sight to see.

The tale opens on reporter Edward Malone (Lloyd Hughes), who wants to marry Gladys Hungerford (Alma Bennett). Gladys, however, only wants to marry a man of great deeds. So Malone, having asked his editor for an adventuresome assignment, is given the task of interviewing Professor Challenger (Beery), who is planning an expedition to a "lost world." Malone accompanies Challenger and his men to South America where, on a great plateau, they find a prehistoric world occupied by dinosaurs and ape-like men. Much adventure ensues, leading to the capture of one pissed off Brontosaurus to return to London with - and well, you pretty much know that dino chaos is bound to happen if you do something like that!!

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Spring Ball at the Horse Cow
12:00 PM
Admission: $10.00
Horse Cow
111 North Harbor Blvd.
West Sacramento, CA 95605

Music, Performance Art, Food, Artists, Vendors, Silent Auction, Fashion, and Glass Blowing!

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Potluck Lunch and Piccolo Farm Tour
11:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Suggested Donation: What you'd spend on lunch
Piccolo Pastures
7227 Point Pleasant Rd
Elk Grove, CA
(916) 207-6520

Take an easy walk through a fabulous organic garden and see livestock with a rescued alpaca, horse, sheep and others farm animals. Educational games , crafts and DVDs about Heifer International's work, whose mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth.. Please bring a soup or salad dish to share. Be green and bring your own beverage, cup, napkin, plate, bowl and silverware.
Free parking; open to the public
To RSVP, email psayerhandley@yahoo.com or at (916) 216-3236

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Indie Sacramento
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Admission: Free (but $1.00 donation is appreciated)
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
2620 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA
(916) 446-2513
http://www.indiesacramento.com

Shop for hip, handmade goods, clothing and accessories. Enjoy live music and complimentary coffee, hot cocoa and baked goods

Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bockbierfest 2009
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Admission: Adults: $10.00; Children 6-12: $5.00; Children Under 6: Free
Sacramento Turn Verein
3349 J St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.sacramentoturnverein.com

The traditional Bockbierfest will present authentic German Bockbier from Munich, great German music and a variety of German foods. Wonderful German dance music will be provided by the long time favorites The Al Gruber Band. Special performances of traditional German dances by the Camtia Schuhplattler Group.

Monday, April 6th
Sacramento Poetry Center Press - Book Release Party and Reading
6:30 PM, reception; 7:30 PM, reading
Admission: Free
California Stage
2509 R St
Sacramento, CA
http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.org

The Sacramento Poetry Center and the California Arts Council celebrate the publication of Sometimes in the Open - an anthology collected from the poets laureate of California. This book is also the first publication of SPC Press. This Monday evening event, held at California Stage in Sacramento, will kick off a series of readings in communities around the state. For more information, call Bob Stanley at 916-240-1897, or email Bob at bobstanley@sbcglobal.net The book features work from sixty five poets, and many of them will be reading at this event, including:
Julia Connor (poet laureate of Sacramento), Dennis Schmitz (Sacramento), Terry Ehret (Sonoma County), Kevin Patrick Sullivan (San Luis Obispo), Sam Pierstorff (Modesto), Carolyn Wing Greenlee (Lake County).

Wednesday April 8, 2009
Author Reading and Book Signing: Russ Woody
6:00 PM
Admission: Free
Time Tested Books
1114 21st St
Sacramento, CA
(916) 447-5696
http://www.timetestedbooks.net

Russ Woody's first novel, "The Wheel of Nuldoid" - published by Ballentine - is a dark tongue-in-cheek look at the very center of our world, where a society of short, quarrelsome creatures live and operate the machinery that rotates the earth.

Russ is a Sacramento native who has written and produced Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Cybill, Becker, and The Drew Carey Show, among other comedies. He has also written for Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Art Demonstration by Skinner
7:00 PM
Admission: Free (?) I think.
Sacramento Fine Arts Center
5330B Gibbons Dr
Carmichael, CA
(916) 971-3713

Live Painting Demonstration by local artist, Skinner. If you've never seen Skinner paint - well, it's actually really fascinating.

Writers: Want to see your work in print?

2008-10-14T02:52:15Z

Poets, Playwrights and Budding Novelists!

The fact is, it's often hard to find a space where you can share your work with others. As most writers know, publishing opportunities can be hard to come by and this is why the Sacramento Press is creating a literary space where you can share what you write with others, get feedback and fight writer’s block - all in one.

Think Small and Start Local

Your ideas can be as simple as: What is it like to live in the Sacramento area? We’re interested in your stories – local and semi-local – about anything your imagination can dream up. You don't have to be a pulitzer prize winner to write for us, but if you are, that's great too. “Write what you know” is the name of the game, so pick up that pen and get writing! In the future, this literary space could also host writer’s groups, contests and other opportunities for you to engage with other writers in the area.

Where Should We Start?

If you’re ready to go, help us out! What kind of opportunities for writers are you looking for in the Sacramento area - let us know! How can we interest community writers to become involved? What would you like to read about most? We can only grow and improve with your input and contributions.