Archive for October 2012
So you want to start a writing group…
A hand popped up in the back of the room. “So where did you get your name?” asked a man last Sunday afternoon. Seated before him were four members of North 24th Writers, who’d gathered at Book Passage for a panel discussion on writing groups. The occasion was the monthly meeting of the Marin branch…
Read MoreCall Me Ishmael: Herman Melville and the San Francisco Opera
It is one of the most memorable first sentences of a novel ever written. With three simple words, it draws us into the story, lets us know who the narrator is, and hints at dramatic transformations to come. This opening line – Call me Ishmael – was written by Herman Melville in his epic about…
Read MoreSpoiled for choice…
There always seems to be one weekend in the fall when there’s just too much going on. In the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live, this weekend boasts not only Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the free music festival in Golden Gate Park founded by the late philanthropist and financier Warren Hellman, but also Fleet Week.…
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