Events
Thurs., Feb. 7 • 6:30-8:30 pm • $25
Online registration is closed
To inquire about ticket availability, please call (415) 927- 0960, ext. 1
In Conversation with Book Passage president Elaine Petrocelli
Gretel Erlich presents Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami ($25.00). A passionate student of Japanese poetry and art for much of her life, Gretel Ehrlich felt compelled to return to the earthquake- and tsunami-devastated Tohoku coast, to bear witness and listen to the survivors. In an eloquent narrative that blends reportage, poetic observation, and deeply felt reflection, she introduces us to fishermen, farmers, teachers, monks, outcasts, and an eighty-four-year-old geisha, who survived the wave to hand down a song that only she still remembered. Their harrowing and inspirational stories are set against a landscape both shattered and beautiful, with the ever-present specter of the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex that spews radiation into the fields and the fishing grounds.
Gretel Ehrlich is the author of This Cold Heaven, The Future of Ice, and The Solace of Open Spaces, among other works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. She lives in Stevensville, MD.
Join us for hilarious readings from the latest Traveler's Tales humor anthology, Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana ($16.95). Authors include Spud Hilton (SF Chronicle Travel Editor), Laura Deutsch, Kimberley Lovato, and Jill Robinson. They'll be joined by editor Marcy Gordon for Q&A following the readings. This award-winning series just keeps getting better!
Scott Anderson - Literary Journalism and The Enduring Power of Creative Nonfiction
Creative nonfiction begins from the premise that life can speak for itself if we can only find the structures to contain it and the words to celebrate it. One of the most influential and controversial wings of this movement is Literary Journalism, an approach that was pioneered in the 1960s by wordsmith reporters like Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote and Hunter S. Thompson.After experiencing ups and downs in the 1970s, the genre saw a storming resurgence in the late 1980s with writers like Jon Franklin, David Simon and Jon Krakauer.
On Feb. 24, award-winning journalist Scott Thomas Anderson will discuss how he turned to Literary Journalism and other elements of creative nonfiction during a crisis in his writing career - the assignment of capturing, in a meaningful way, the child abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence, assaults and homicides he was witnessing around methamphetamine during his 18 months as an embedded reporter with law enforcement.
Scott Thomas Anderson is a journalist who has written for publications like The Sacramento News and Review and Sierra Lodestar magazine. He’s worked as a foreign correspondent for Radio Kerry in Tralee, Ireland, and he’s been published in The Irish Independent, Dublin’s largest daily newspaper. Scott is currently a crime reporter for the northern California newspaper, The Press Tribune.
The Marin branch of the California Writers Club meets monthly at Book Passage, except July, August and December, on the 4th Sunday of the month, unless a holiday. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meeting may feature a guest speaker, a workshop or a panel discussion along with networking, encouragement and writing news. All are welcome. www.cwcmarinwriters.com.
June: The Interrogation by J.M.G. Le Clézio ($15.00)
June: The Interrogation by J.M.G. Le Clézio ($15.00)
Marc Lesser presents Know Yourself, Forget Yourself: Five Truths That Will Transform Your Work, Relationships, and Everyday Life ($14.95 ). We all yearn for clear-cut answers to life’s problems. Yet we rarely get them. And when we do, we often receive results we didn’t expect. Formulas fail and contradictions mount. In Know Yourself, Forget Yourself, executive coach and Zen teacher Marc Lesser shows that understanding and embracing the points where our life feels most confusing, most contradictory, can lead us to more satisfaction and joy.
Marc Lesser, the CEO and cofounder of the nonprofit Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, lived at the San Francisco Zen Center for ten years and is the former director of the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He lives in Mill Valley, CA. His website is www.zbaassociates.com.
From Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars winner Richard Blais comes Try This at Home ($35.00), his debut cookbook for home cooks who hope to up their game and have more excitement in the kitchen. Accessible and fun, his book includes the signature recipes, flavor combinations, and cooking techniques that have made him such a popular chef.
Self-Publish like a Professional: How to Avoid the New Slush Pile, is a rare Left Coast Writers® Salon which will be open to the public—no membership required to attend!
The panel of speakers, led by LCW president Linda Watanabe McFerrin, will include a planning and print specialist, a book designer, a small publisher, and a bookseller—all experts in their fields, with unique perspectives on today’s popular practice of self-publishing. The discussion will be frank, and full of vital information that writers need to know, with plenty of time left for the many questions it will raise. Every writer should attend! Please join us.
Book Passage hosts monthly meetings of Left Coast Writers® at our Corte Madera store. The monthly meetings provide an evening of literary connections, support, counsel, readings, writing tips, literary chat, unabashed networking, and great fun. Each meeting also features a presentation by one of several Bay Area literary figures. LCW has its own lively newsletter and website at www.leftcoastwriters.com/.
Eight Tuesdays: Mar. 5-Apr. 23 •10:00-12:00 pm • $235
This class will focus on enriching the students’ vocabulary.
Gisella Petrone has a Masters degree from the University of Calabria. She has taught English, Italian, Latin, Roman History, and Italian cooking.
Eight Tuesdays: Mar. 5-Apr. 30 (no class Mar. 26) • 10:00-12:00 pm • $235
Continuation of grammar and language immersion through conversation. Must have prior Spanish experience.
Graciela Pera was born in Buenos Aires. She is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish for 35 years. Students unsure of their level will be provided with the instructor’s e-mail address in order to determine placement.
Eight Wednesdays: Mar. 6-May 1 (Mar. 27) • 9:00-11:00 am • $235
For first year students who have had some Spanish study. Workbook available to purchase during class.
Graciela Pera was born in Buenos Aires. She is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish for 35 years. Students unsure of their level will be provided with the instructor’s e-mail address in order to determine placement.
Eight Wednesdays: Mar. 6-Apr. 24 • 11:30-1:30 pm • $235
Students continue the study of grammar. Focus on subjunctive text. Students read Italian texts and improve listening skills.
Gisella Petrone has a Masters degree from the University of Calabria. She has taught English, Italian, Latin, Roman History, and Italian cooking.
Eight Wednesdays: Mar. 6-24 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $235
This class is for beginners or those who have previously had some exposure to German. You’ll focus on conjugating verbs in the present tense, declension of nouns, articles, and your ability to carry on a simple conversation with a native German speaker.
Hamid Emami has a Masters from the University of Hamburg, and he is fluent in German, English, French, Spanish & Farsi. He has taught German for many years.
Eight Thursdays: Mar. 7-Apr. 25 • 1:15-3:15 pm • $235
The class will continue learning new words, grammar and aspects of Italian culture. Text helps develop language acquisition tools.
Gisella Petrone has a Masters degree from the University of Calabria. She has taught English, Italian, Latin, Roman History, and Italian cooking.
Laura Deutsch is a writer whose work has appeared in the L.A. Times, S.F. Chronicle, More magazine and PsychologyToday.com.
Susan Pease Gadoua is the author of Contemplating Divorce and Stronger Day by Day, and a regular columnist for Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and Divorce magazine.
Phil Cousineau and tea expert James Norwood Pratt discuss and sign copies of The Meaning of Tea: A Tea Inspired Journey ($24.95). The book explores the nature of tea through the words of growers, tasters, and experts.
This event is part of the S.F. Interntional Tea Festival at the Ferry Building.
Ignite Your Writing With Details & Fire!
Sun., Mar. 10 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $45 per person
2nd Sunday of Every Month, 5:00 - 8:00pm
$40 per session
Critique Circle for Developing and Revising your Children's Book is a monthly workshop led by Andrea Alban for children's writers to deepen the craft of fiction, from initial concept through finished manuscript. Included is plotting a page-turning story structure, developing quintessential characters, creating vivid story worlds, and practicing the art of revision. Writers learn how to give and receive feedback in the spirit of generosity. The mission of this university-level workshop is to guide writers to publish their work. Included is research into publishing houses and literary agencies, and the art of writing cover/query letters, synopses and sample chapters that stand out from the crowd.
Testimonials:
What I most appreciate about Andrea is her optimism and support--a self-described "cheerleader." She has been like a college professor giving me valuable lessons in picture book creation. Her honesty and writing exercises helped me find my voice. It's been an incredible journey with Andrea as my story midwife!
Andrea Alban is the author of nine books, including the YA novel, Anya's War, (shortlisted for China's 2012 Panda Awards and an ALA honor book), and the bestseller, The Happiness Tree. She is a dynamic speaker at schools, writing conferences, and literary festivals. Andrea edits manuscripts and coaches writers in manuscript development and revision as well as how to prepare submissions to editors and agents.
Eight Mondays: Mar. 11-Apr. 29 • 8:30-10:30 • $235
This class is designed to improve listening comprehension and oral proficiency while acquiring new vocabulary.
Gisella Petrone has a Masters degree from the University of Calabria. She has taught English, Italian, Latin, Roman History, and Italian cooking.
Eight Mondays: Mar. 11-May 6 (No class Mar. 25) • 9:00-11:00 am • $235
For first year students who have had some Spanish study. Workbook available to purchase during class.
Graciela Pera was born in Buenos Aires. She is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish for 35 years. Students unsure of their level will be provided with the instructor’s e-mail address in order to determine placement.
Left Coast Writers Event!
Set prior to Hurricane Katrina, Bayou Nights ($14.99) features Claire Rivet, a Baton Rouge Assistant D.A. attempting to connect the rape and murder of a young woman to a similar attack she suffered when she was ten. Nicola Trwst’s previous book was The Belvedere Club.
Eight Mondays: Mar. 11-Apr. 29 • 6:00-8:00 pm • $235
Silvia Iannelli is a private Italian tutor who was born and raised in Rome. She creates a fun and welcoming environment for her students, motivating them through activities and exercises. Her personal quote is: “La traduzione della parola e’ nel cuore ~ The translation of a word is in the heart.”
Text: Ultimate Italian
Reception with wine to proceed reading
At seventeen, Mary Johnson experienced her calling when she saw a photo of Mother Teresa on the cover of Time magazine; eighteen months later she began her training as a Missionary of Charity, a nun in Mother Teresa’s order. Not without difficulty, this boisterous, independent-minded teenager eventually adapted to the sisters’ austere life of poverty and devotion, but beneath the white-and-blue sari beat the heart of an ordinary young woman who faced daily the simple and profound struggles we all share, the same desires for love and connection. Eventually, after twenty years of service, Johnson left the church to find her own path. In An Unquenchable Thirst: A Memoir ($16.00), her magnificently told story holds universal truths about the mysteries of faith and how a woman discovers herself.
For twenty years, as Sister Donata, Mary Johnson was a Missionary of Charity, a nun in Mother Teresa’s order, until she left in 1997. A respected teacher and public speaker, she has been named a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony and is on the board of A Room of Her Own Foundation. She lives in New Hampshire.
Dina Hampton captures the revolutionary fervor of the ‘60s in Little Red: Three Passionate Lives Through the Sixties and Beyond ($25.99). She tells the parallel biographies of Angela Davis, Tom Hurwitz, and Elliot Abrams—three graduates of the Greenwich Village “Little Red School House” who went in radically different directions.
Eight Thursdays: Mar. 14-May 9 (no class Mar. 28) • 10:00-12:00 pm • $235
For beginning students who have had some Spanish study. Workbook available to purchase.
Graciela Pera was born in Buenos Aires. She is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She has been teaching Spanish for 35 years. Students unsure of their level will be provided with the instructor’s e-mail address in order to determine placement.
Eight Thursdays: Mar. 14 - May 2 • 6:00-8:00pm • $235
Silvia Iannelli is a private Italian tutor who was born and raised in Rome. She creates a fun and welcoming environment for her students, motivating them through activities and exercises. Her personal quote is: “La traduzione della parola e’ nel cuore ~ The translation of a word is in the heart.”
Text: Ultimate Italian
Joins us for a fast-paced and irreverent evening, showcasing new work from the students of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto writing classes. On this Friday evening, both fiction and nonfiction writers will read their work — but only for 3 minutes each! Their instructors (Grotto authors) will enforce the time limit. Join us for wine, fun, and fresh new writing.
Meet and Greet!
In the Kitchen with the Pike Place Fish Guys ($30.00) serves up more than 100 savory seafood recipes that answer the most popular question the Fish Guys get: “How do you cook that?” Anders Miller features the inspiring words from the fishmongers who made Pike Place Fish entirely sustainable in 2011.
Tony La Russa discusses One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season ($27.99). Speaking candidly, the third-winningest manager in baseball history talks about his World Championship season with the St. Louis Cardinals, his lifetime spent studying the game, his famously intense style, and his decision to retire. La Russa also shares stories from throughout his career that shaped his outlook — from his first days managing the Chicago White Sox to his championship years with the Oakland A's, to his triumphant tenure as St. Louis's longest-serving manager.
Tony La Russa managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996 to 2011, as well as the Oakland A's and the Chicago White Sox. He has three World Series wins, six league championships, and five Manager of the Year awards, and is ranked third in all-time major league wins. He and his wife, Elaine, founded the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, California.
Third Monday of Every Month • 6:30-8:30 pm
$200 per year/$40 Drop-in fee ($150 for Left Coast Writers® members)
Register for annual membership
(Left Coast Writers Salon Rate):
Register for annual membership
(For Non-Salon Members):
Register for one session:
Finally, the writing group everyone has been asking for! Get in on the latest Left Coast Writers® literary adventure: The Left Coast Writers® Monthly Writers' Workshop. Bring your work and your imagination as well as humor, honesty, and attention to an evening of sharing recent writings, discussion on craft, and fabulous literary prompts. Either author/instructors Linda Watanabe McFerrin or Joanna Biggar will be on hand to contribute editorial direction and orchestrate sessions. This is a chance to get feedback on your work and hone your skills in a stimulating, supportive, and highly professional environment.
Led by Linda Watanabe McFerrin & Joanna Biggar
Co-Sponsored by Family Service Agency
Christa Parravani's Her ($26.00) is a blazingly passionate memoir of identity and love: when a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her idential twin sister must struggle to survive. Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, were linked by a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. But, haunted by childhood experiences with father figures and further damaged by being raped as a young adult, Cara veered off the path to robust work and life and in to depression, drugs and a shocking early death. Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful.
Christa Parravani is a writer and photographer. Her photographs have been exhibited internationally, and are represented by the Michael Foley Gallery in New York City and the Kopeikin gallery in Los Angeles. She has taught photography at Dartmouth College, Columbia University and UMass, Amherst. She earned her MFA in Visual Art from Columbia University and her MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers.
The ticket price of $55 includes lunch and a signed book
Call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1 to reserve
Can't attend the event? Order a signed copy
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni shares Oleander Girl. Beloved by critics and readers, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has been hailed by Junot Díaz as a “brilliant storyteller” and by People magazine as a “skilled cartographer of the heart.” Now, Divakaruni returns with her most gripping novel yet, a sweeping, suspenseful, atmospheric coming-of-age novel about a young woman who leaves India for America on a search that will transform her life.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the award-winning author of many books, including The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, and One Amazing Thing. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Times. Born in India, she currently lives in Texas and teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the University of Houston.
Author Elizabeth Berg will introduce Ms. Divakaruni.
Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.
Set amid the Armenian community in newly occupied Paris, Nancy Kricorian's All the Light There Was ($24.00) is a lyrical, finely wrought story about family loyalty, secret love, the many faces of oppression—and the many faces of resistance.
Nancy Kricorian, author of the novels Zabelle and Dreams of Bread and Fire, is a widely published poet, essayist, and activist. After graduating from Dartmouth, Nancy studied and worked in Paris before earning an MFA in writing at Columbia University.
The ticket price of $55 includes lunch and a signed book
Call (415) 927-0960 ext. 1 to inquire about availability
Ruth Ozeki shares A Tale for the Time Being. Full of Ozeki’s signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.
Ruth Ozeki, author of My Year of Meats and All Over Creation, is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Shambhala Sun, and More, among other publications. In June 2010 she was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest and is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foundation. She lives in British Columbia and New York City.
Book Passage hosts literary luncheons with celebrated authors at our Marin store. These events are catered by the outstanding Insalata’s Restaurant of San Anselmo.
Joins us for a fast-paced and irreverent evening, showcasing new work from the students of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto writing classes. On this Friday evening, both fiction and nonfiction writers will read their work — but only for 3 minutes each! Their instructors (Grotto authors) will enforce the time limit. Join us for wine, fun, and fresh new writing.
Sat., Mar. 23 • 10:00 - 1:00 pm • $45
Bring your laptop!
Welcome to a three-hour intensive flash fiction-writing workshop. Flash fiction centers on the art of compression and the brilliance of brevity. To inspire and enliven us, we will read and briefly discuss a sampling of excellent, inventive short-short stories. The main focus of the workshop will be on your writing and we will work from prompts to generate ideas, encourage risk, and bring forth trouble (only trouble is interesting). Our goal is to enjoy our group’s collective charge and to produce a first draft of tiny but meaningful narratives. That’s a lot to accomplish in three hours. Please arrive on time and come prepared to make every moment of our time together worthwhile.
Wine & Cheese Reception
Join Pam Belluck (Island Practice: Cobblestone Rash, Underground Tom, and Other Adventures of a Nantucket Doctor) and Daniel J. Levitin (This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs) for an evening of live jazz and lively discussion ranging from health and science to writing, music and the interconnections of these varied disciplines.
Pam Belluck has been a staff writer for the New York Times for more than fifteen years. She is currently a health and medical writer for the Times. Belluck has won several awards, a Knight Fellowship, and a Fulbright Scholarship, and is also an accomplished jazz flutist.
Daniel J. Levitin runs the Levitin Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University, where he holds the Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communications. Before becoming a neuroscientist, he was a record producer with gold records to his credit and professional musician. He has published extensively in scientific journals and music trade magazines such as Grammy and Billboard.
This very special event will be held upstairs from the Book Passage store in the San Francisco Ferry Building's Port Commission Hearing Room.
Moment in the Moment House, Claire Blotter's third poetry chapbook, dives below the surface of a rapidly changing technological world, examines the roots of violence- and calls for a compassionate witnessing and response, moment to moment.
Claire Blotter holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California at Berkeley and a Special Master's Degree in Creative Writing, Women Studies and Speech Communications from San Francisco State University. She is the author of Trying to Sing in the War Zone and Face. She has received two Marin Arts Council Artists Grants in Poetry and grants from the Marin Community Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Holly Lynn Payne is an internationally published novelist in ten countries whose work has been translated into eight languages. She lives in Northern California with her husband and young daughter, and serves the literary community as a volunteer producer for Litquake.
The Marin branch of the California Writers Club meets monthly at Book Passage, except July, August and December, on the 4th Sunday of the month, unless a holiday. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meeting may feature a guest speaker, a workshop or a panel discussion along with networking, encouragement and writing news. All are welcome. www.cwcmarinwriters.com.
Six Fridays: Mar. 29-May 3 • 10:00-12:00 pm • $150
A fresh look at the Eternal City from 753 BCE through the 17th century. The class discusses the great monuments of the Caesars, the catacombs, and mosaics in early Christian Churches. We then move to the Renaissance Popes, including St. Peters and the Vatican. Finally, we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the Baroque masterpieces of the Counter-Reformation. Highlights include a lecture on the art and life of Caravaggio and a virtual tour of the Villa Borghese.
Domincan class credit available
Your One-Of-A-Kind Mind
Sat., Mar. 30 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $45 per person
Eight Mondays: Apr. 1-May 20 • 10:00-12:00 pm • $235
This class will review all grammar, tenses and vocabulary at an advanced level. The class will discuss current issues in France.
Text: Connexions 3 Methode & Cahier
Josette Charbit Schwartz has taught French in Marin at the Lycée Français, The Branson School and French American International in San Francisco. Born in Paris, Josette has lived in Marin County for 30 years and has a degree in Bilingual Education from France.
Seven Mondays: Apr. 1-May 13 • 12:40-2:20 pm • $205
Students must be able to speak in simple sentences and have studied the present tense and the passato prossimo. Students will develop basic proficiency in reading, understanding and writing, with an emphasis on conversation.
Text: Ultimate Italian
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
Eight Mondays: Apr. 1-May 20 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $235
Widens the ability to communicate for travel or conversation with new vocabulary, expressions and grammar.
Text: Communication Progressive du Francais, niveau debutant
Josette Charbit Schwartz has taught French in Marin at the Lycée Français, The Branson School and French American International in San Francisco. Born in Paris, Josette has lived in Marin County for 30 years and has a degree in Bilingual Education from France.
Book Passage hosts the monthly meetings of Left Coast Writers® at our Corte Madera store. This Literary Salon is led by author/teacher Linda Watanabe McFerrin. The monthly meetings provide an evening of literary connections, support, counsel, provocative readings, writing tips, literary chat, unabashed networking, and great fun. Each meeting also features a presentation by one of several Bay Area literary figures. The fee includes membership in Left Coast Writers®, a group of new and experienced writers. LCW has its own lively newsletter and website at www.leftcoastwriters.com/.
Seven Tuesdays:Apr. 2-May 14 • 8:30-10:15 am • $205
Emphasis is on conversation and the mastery of some of the more complex structures of the language.
Text: Ultimate Italian
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
4 Tuesdays: April 2 - 30 (no class April 9) • 6:30-8:30 pm • $160
Are you ready to commit to completing your book? Use the support and camaraderie of fellow writers, as well as helpful, well-timed feedback, to move through resistance and finish your work. Leslie provides incisive feedback as well as structural and publishing advice as needed.
Limited to 10—Restricted registration; call (415) 927-0960 for information
Seven Wednesdays: Apr. 3-May 15 • 9:00-10:45 am • $205
Emphasis is on mastery of the language through conversation, vocabulary work and reading.
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
Eight Wednesdays: Apr. 3-May 22 • 10:00-12:00 pm • $235
Josette Charbit Schwartz has taught French in Marin at the Lycée Français, The Branson School and French American International in San Francisco. Born in Paris, Josette has lived in Marin County for 30 years and has a degree in Bilingual Education from France.
Seven Wednesdays: Apr. 3-May 15 • 11:00-12:45 pm • $205
Emphasis is on conversation and mastery of il passato prossimo, l’imperfetto, il trapassato prossimo e il condizionale.
Text: Italian Second & Third Year by Joseph Tursi
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
Eight Wednesdays: Apr. 3-May 22 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $235
Introduction to grammar and vocabulary. The focus will be on French for travel.
Texts: Barron’s and Grammaire Progressive du Francais, niveau debutant
Josette Charbit Schwartz has taught French in Marin at the Lycée Français, The Branson School and French American International in San Francisco. Born in Paris, Josette has lived in Marin County for 30 years and has a degree in Bilingual Education from France.
Four Wednesdays: Apr. 3-24 • 4:30-5:30 pm • $100
This fun class for middle schoolers opens the door to a bilingual education. A reading and conversational knowledge of German is valuable in business, science, and international law.
Hamid Emami has a Masters from the University of Hamburg, and he is fluent in German, English, French, Spanish & Farsi. He has taught German for many years.
Seven Thursdays: Apr. 4-May 16 • 9:00-10:45 am • $205
Emphasis is on conversation, through review.
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
Eight Mondays: Apr. 1-May 20 • 1:00-3:00 pm • $235 or
Widens the ability to communicate for travel or conversation with new vocabulary, expressions and grammar.
Text: Communication Progressive du Francais, niveau debutant
Josette Charbit Schwartz has taught French in Marin at the Lycée Français, The Branson School and French American International in San Francisco. Born in Paris, Josette has lived in Marin County for 30 years and has a degree in Bilingual Education from France.
Eight Thursdays: Apr. 4-May 30 • 2:00-4:00 pm (no class May 23) • $235
The class will include the imperfect past tense, the simple past, and the conditional tense.
Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan has taught French at College of Marin for over 30 years. She graduated from the Sorbonne with degrees in French, Russian, and Bulgarian.
3 Thursdays: April 4 - 25 (no class on April 11) • 6:30-8:30 • $120
Make space for your writing. Making commitments and setting goals is one way to find the consistency needed to get in the
regular writing habit. The habit of writing is what helps us access our creativity. Use this supportive community of writers to
get you going. Leslie provides guidance and techniques to keep moving forward.
Limited to 10 - Restricted registration; call (415) 927-0960 for information
Photographer and conservationist Bryant Austin's breathtaking photographic project Beautiful Whale ($50.00) is the first of its kind: tt chronicles his fearless attempts to reach out to whales as fellow sentient beings. Featuring Austin's intimate images--some as detailed as a single haunting eye--that result from encounters based on mutual trust, this work captures the grace and intelligence of these magnificent creatures. Austin spent days at a time submerged, motionless, in the waters of remote spawning grounds waiting for humpback, sperm, and minke whales to seek him out.
As oceanographer Sylvia A. Earle says in her foreword to the book, "As an ambassador from the ocean--and to the ocean--Bryant Austin is not only a source of inspiration. He is cause for hope."
Eight Fridays: Apr. 5-May 24 • 9:00-11:00 am • $235
The class engages in a lot of conversation around several topics, literature, poetry and music, and cultural expressions from various parts of the Spanish-speaking world. Includes study of the subjunctive and conditional tenses.
Ximena Bervejillo was born and raised in Uruguay and moved to Marin in 2002 with her family. She has been teaching languages for 20 years and has also been training Spanish teachers for the past three years. She brings lots of passion and fun to her classes.
Seven Wednesdays: Apr. 3-May 15 • 11:00-12:45 pm • $205
Emphasis is on conversation and mastery of il passato prossimo, l’imperfetto, il trapassato prossimo e il condizionale.
Text: Advanced Grammar by Marcel Danesi
Wendy Walsh has a Ph.D. in Italian Literature from UCB. She has been teaching Italian language, literature, and cooking since 1979. She leads a yearly Language Study Tour Program to Italy.
In this collection of more than 100 recipes that combine smart nutrition and superb flavor, culinary nutrition pioneer Rebecca Katz highlights sixteen foods proven to fight the most common chronic conditions. The Longevity Kitchen ($29.99) features wholefoods recipes showcasing antioxidant-rich power foods.
Please contact lberkler@bookpassage.com for updates on rescheduling.
Two authors from 16 Rivers Press share their latest work:
Barbara Swift Brauer’s At Ease in the Borrowed World is a collection of poems that are unflinchingly candid and yet graceful. Quiet in tone, her poetry rises to a level that captivates a reader by its clarity.
In The Choreographer, Gerald Fleming travels across continents and time with an eye that sees beyond the visible and an ear that hears music both real and imagined. In piece after piece, the ordinary world opens to reveal the marvelous in all its dimensions and variety.
Sixteen Rivers Press was founded in 1999 by seven San Francisco Bay Area writers with a goal to create a sustainable, shared-work publishing collective run by and for Bay Area poets. The original model was Alice James Books, which in the 1970s created a regional collective press in the Boston area.
This is an opportunity to meet one of the most remarkable women of our time. Mary Robinson was the first woman president of Ireland, and after that she was appointed the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights. In Everybody
Matters: My Life Giving Voice ($26.00), she talks about her struggles on behalf of woman’s rights, the separation of church and state, and world peace. In recent years she has served as the honorary president of Oxfam and as one of the “Elders,” a group led by Nelson Mandela dedicated to bringing peace and justice.
President Robinson will be introduced by Judith Kell, president of the United Irish Cultural Center of San Francisco.
Mary Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, president of Ireland from 1990-1997, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. Robinson has been honorary president of Oxfam International since 2002, and has chaired numerous bodies, including the GAVI Alliance, vaccinating children worldwide, and the Council of Women World Leaders (of which she was a cofounder).
Left Coast Writers Event!
Join Left Coast Writers and the Southern Sampler Artists Colony as they evoke the dreamy, sometimes steamy world of Charleston and beyond in an exciting sampler of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, and other treats in this celebration of all things Southern.
In writing Our Last Dance: A Memoir, Madeleine Zeldin sets out to honor her beloved husband, Gerald's, desire to have his story told, so that others may be helped. Zeldin shows her husband not just as a cancer patient, but as a person: an internationally renowned artist, professor, mentor and husband and father.
Professionally, Madeleine Zeldin has been engaged as a nurse and a teacher. She has successfully advocated for changes in the medical field, along with pioneering efforts in homebirth and Midwifery.
Eight Thursdays: Apr. 4-May 30 (no class May 23) • 2:00-4:00 pm • $235
The class will include the imperfect past tense, the simple past, and the conditional tense.
Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan has taught French at College of Marin for over 30 years. She graduated from the Sorbonne with degrees in French, Russian, and Bulgarian.
Eight Tuesdays: Apr. 9-June 4 (no class on May 28th) • 1:00-3:00 pm • $235
This class offers selections from French authors and a review of French grammar. Articles from the French press and videos from TV5 will also be discussed in class.
Genevieve Blaise-Sullivan has taught French at College of Marin for over 30 years. She graduated from the Sorbonne with degrees in French, Russian, and Bulgarian.
To inquire about availability, call (415) 927-0960 ext. 239
Roundtable Discussion with Michael Romano
5:15pm to 6:15pm
Join us in advance of the Cooks with Books event on April 9th at Left Bank in Larkspur for a private roundtable discussion with Chef Michael Romano. Chef Romano will lead a discussion on the concept and importance of Family/Staff Meals (e.g., the daily pre-shift meal and meeting) at his restaurants. The concept of Family/Staff meals extends beyond restaurants to all businesses. Space at the roundtable is limited. RSVP today.
The price includes the meal, wine, tax, tip & a signed copy of the author’s book.
They’ve been called trophy kids, entitled, narcissistic, and even the dumbest generation. But in Fast Future ($25.95), David Burstein aruges that the millennial generation’s unique blend of civic idealism and savvy pragmatism will enable us to overcome the deep divides of a nation facing economic and environmental calamities.
In Whitney Houston: The Voice, the Music, the Inspiration ($24.95), Narada Michael Walden's intimate stories of their unforgettable times together, both inside and outside the recording studio, draw a portrait of a smart, funny, compassionate woman whose striking physical beauty was matched by her inner strength and justifiable self-confidence.
How to Get “Eyes” for Your Blog, Book or Website
Rebecah Freeling is a master storyteller, experienced early childhood educator, and parent coach. New to California, she recently joined the faculty of Marin Mountain School Early Childhood Center in Corte Madera. For thirteen years she was owner, Director and Lead Teacher of Briar Rose Children's Center in her home state of Ohio. Her magical stories, both original and drawn from the folk and fairy tale traditions, are enhanced by handmade table puppets and simple marionettes. One often observes the children hearing her stories to be sitting on the edge of their seats, eyes wide and mouths open in anticipation!
Thomas McNamee talks about The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat: Craig Claiborne and the American Food Renaissance ($16.00). Claiborne was was determined to better American eating habits, and in the course of his career he influenced all of today’s good critics. McNamee is the author of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. His writing has been published in the New Yorker, Life, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He lives in San Francisco.
Sat., Apr. 13• 2:00-5:00 pm • $65
The search for meaning and purpose can be overrated and distorted in a driven and future- oriented culture like ours. Using poetry as our prompts, participants will use writing exercises to orient themselves towards deeper values and aspirations — those that place us as an active participant in the great web of belonging.
Housden is the author of twenty books on poetry, art, and travel,including the bestselling Ten Poems series which started in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life. His next book, due to be published by Sounds True in March 2014, is called Keeping the Faith Without a Religion.
Click here to listen to an audio clip of Roger Housden!
Zero Waste Home ($16.00) is Bea Johnson’s practical, step-by-step guide that gives readers the tools and tips to improve their overall health, save money and time, and achieve a brighter future for their families—and the planet. Johnson’s home has been widely featured, including a spot on the Today show and in People magazine.
Please note: the correct time for this event is 7:00pm
Patrice Vecchione’s new book of poems, The Knot Untied ($15.00) shines a light on friendship, and on the mother-daughter relationship, the aging process, falling in love, the natural world, the small, often unnoticed moments, and how within these experiences there is something ineffable which can’t be explained.
Left Coast Writers Book Launch
Sugar and carb addicts, get help to free yourself from your potentially deadly habits with The Sugar Liberator, Connie Bennett, author of the international bestseller Beyond Sugar Shock: The 6-Week Plan to Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction & Get Slimmer, Sexier & Sweeter ($15.95).
In this Book Passage program, Connie will give her insights and simple starter secrets to:
• Activate the positive power of one of your worst habits—procrastinating.
• Dodge the #1 mistake nearly everyone makes when quitting or reducing sweets.
• Decode and even welcome your nagging sugar cravings.
• Pick yourself up after you’ve “slipped” and fallen off your sugar-free or no-sugar plan.
• Dissolve your desire for dangerous sweets, while still enjoying your cherished chocolate. (You’ll even get healthy recipes for tasty treats.)
• Stop being duped by innocent-looking foods that are actually sugar traps.
Connie’s sour-to-sweet journey began in 1998, when she was pummeled by 44 ailments, including crushing fatigue, brain fog, horrible headaches, rollercoaster mood swings, and severe PMS. When Connie’s new doctor blamed every single symptom on her excessive sugar habit and ordered her to quit consuming her cherished sweets, Connie reluctantly complied. She succeeded, because while shedding her dangerous habit, Connie created cool tools to ease her dreaded and difficult transition and turn it into a positive, fun-filled, life-changing adventure. Much to her surprise, all her ailments vanished, and Connie became energetic, focused, and free. Since 2001, Connie has been coaching, guiding, and inspiring thousands of people worldwide on how to easily triumph over beat their carb addiction.
A story of love, war, and life as a Jewish immigrant in the squalid factories and lively dance halls of New York’s Garment District in the 1930s, My Mother’s Wars ($25.95) is the memoir Lillian Faderman’s mother was never able to write. The daughter delves into her mother’s past to tell the story of a Latvian girl who left her village for America with dreams of a life on the stage and encountered the realities of her new world: the battles she was forced to fight as a woman, an immigrant worker, and a Jew with family left behind in Hitler’s deadly path.
Lillian Faderman is an internationally known scholar of ethnic history, and of lesbian history and an acclaimed memoirist. She is the author of many books, including To Believe in Women, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, Surpassing the Love of Men, and I Begin My Life All Over. Among her many honors are Yale University’s James Brudner Award for exemplary scholarship in lesbian and gay studies, the Monette-Horwitz Award, and the American Association of University Women’s National Distinguished Scholar Award.
West Marin Review ($17.95) is a collaborative effort of the local, independent Point Reyes Books and friends and neighbors from the rural West Marin community. Featuring readings from Donald Bacon, Susan Trott, Frances Lefkowitz, Gina Cloud, William Masters, and Jody Farrell, with MC Doris Ober.
2nd Sunday of Every Month, 5:00 - 8:00pm
$40 per session
Critique Circle for Developing and Revising your Children's Book is a monthly workshop led by Andrea Alban for children's writers to deepen the craft of fiction, from initial concept through finished manuscript. Included is plotting a page-turning story structure, developing quintessential characters, creating vivid story worlds, and practicing the art of revision. Writers learn how to give and receive feedback in the spirit of generosity. The mission of this university-level workshop is to guide writers to publish their work. Included is research into publishing houses and literary agencies, and the art of writing cover/query letters, synopses and sample chapters that stand out from the crowd.
Testimonials:
What I most appreciate about Andrea is her optimism and support--a self-described "cheerleader." She has been like a college professor giving me valuable lessons in picture book creation. Her honesty and writing exercises helped me find my voice. It's been an incredible journey with Andrea as my story midwife!
Andrea Alban is the author of nine books, including the YA novel, Anya's War, (shortlisted for China's 2012 Panda Awards and an ALA honor book), and the bestseller, The Happiness Tree. She is a dynamic speaker at schools, writing conferences, and literary festivals. Andrea edits manuscripts and coaches writers in manuscript development and revision as well as how to prepare submissions to editors and agents.
Third Monday of Every Month • 6:30-8:30 pm
$200 per year/$40 Drop-in fee ($150 for Left Coast Writers® members)
Register for annual membership
(Left Coast Writers Salon Rate):
Register for annual membership
(For Non-Salon Members):
Register for one session:
Finally, the writing group everyone has been asking for! Get in on the latest Left Coast Writers® literary adventure: The Left Coast Writers® Monthly Writers' Workshop. Bring your work and your imagination as well as humor, honesty, and attention to an evening of sharing recent writings, discussion on craft, and fabulous literary prompts. Either author/instructors Linda Watanabe McFerrin or Joanna Biggar will be on hand to contribute editorial direction and orchestrate sessions. This is a chance to get feedback on your work and hone your skills in a stimulating, supportive, and highly professional environment.
Led by Linda Watanabe McFerrin & Joanna Biggar
Corte Madera store
Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline returns with Don’t Go ($27.99), the story of a soldier who discovers what it means to be a man, a father, and ultimately, a hero. Gripping, thrilling, and profoundly emotional, Scottoline’s newest novel may be her finest yet. Scottoline is the recipient of an Edgar Award for her novel Final Appeal.
St. Andrew Church
Tickets: $25 (includes signed book)
Please note this event is now at 8:00pm. Tickets available at the door.
In Some Assembly Required, Anne Lamott enters a new and unexpected chapter of her own life: grandmotherhood. Stunned to learn that her son, Sam, is about to become a father at nineteen, Lamott begins a journal about the first year of her grandson Jax’s life. Anne Lamott is the author of many acclaimed books, including Help, Thanks, Wow; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; and Operating Instructions.
Author Pam Houston discusses her trio of recent releases with writer Joshua Mohr. The wanderlust memoir A Little More About Me ($14.95) follows Houston across five continents, from the Alaskan outback to the mountains of Bhutan. In the novel Contents May Have Shifted ($14.95), a woman stuck in a dead-end relationship leaves her metaphorical baggage behind and finds comfort a whirlwind trip around the globe. Eleven linked short stories featuring a photographer named Lucy O'Rourke make-up Houston's collection Waltzing the Cat ($14.95).
Pam Houston's previous works include Cowboys Are My Weakness. Her stories have been anthologized in the Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and The Best American Short Stories of the Century. She is also the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. She has been a contributing editor to Elle and Ski and writes regularly for Condé Nast Sports for Women.
Joshua Mohr is the author of the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, Some Things That Meant the World to Me, and Termite Parade, a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice.
Join us for the culminating event for One Book One Marin 2013. Marin County residents started reading and discussing the 2013 selection, Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars in January.
In Conversation with KQED's Michael Krasny
From getting tattoos to bungee jumping to eating maggoty cheese, humans undoubtedly do some strange things. But none of these activities comes close to the sheer weirdness of voluntarily - eagerly, in fact - confining oneself to a tiny room without a proper shower or toilet within a wasteland that lacks water, gravity, or oxygen for a month or even a year. Welcome to space. In Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void ($15.95), Mary Roach enters the final frontier - not the grand triumphs and tragedies that you see on TV but all the stuff in between - the small comedies, the odd experiments, and the everyday victories.
Mary Roach is the author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.
Please note: due to unforseen circumstances, this event has been postponed. To be notified when this event is rescheduled, please write alison@bookpassage.com.
The American legal system changed dramatically in 1994, when the O. J. Simpson trial became a television-ratings bonanza. Now it’s all crime, all the time, on TV, from tabloid news to police procedurals on every network. Americans know more about the criminal justice system than ever before. Or do they? In Mistrial: An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't ($27.00), Mark Geragos and Pat Harris argue precisely the opposite: In pursuit of sensationalism, the media shows the public only a small, distorted sample of what really happens in our courtrooms. So, ironically, the more the public thinks it knows, the less informed it really is. Geragos and Harris debunk the myth of impartial American justice and draw the curtain on its ugly realities—from stealth jurors who secretly swing for a conviction to cops who regularly lie on the witness stand to defense attorneys terrified of going to trial. Ultimately, the authors question whether a justice system model drawn up two centuries before blogs, television, and O. J. Simpson is still viable today.
Mark Geragos is the head of Geragos & Geragos, a Los Angeles-based law firm that focuses on both criminal and civil trial work. He lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife and two children.
Pat Harris is a leading criminal defense attorney and a partner at Geragos & Geragos. He is the coauthor of Susan McDougal’s New York Times bestselling memoir, The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk. He and his wife live in Studio City, California.
Sponsored by Book Passage and WildNature Calendars and Cards
Just added: Tom Killion!
Author Elisabeth Ptak will be joined by Mountain Play Association Executive Director Sara Pearson to celebrate the release of Marin's Mountain Play: One Hundred Years of Theatre on Mount Tamalpais.
This year's musical is Sound of Music, so the afternoon will also feature a Sound of Music singalong with Mountain Play performers plus a variety of cookies from West Marin's own Bovine Bakery!
"Awakening is a living transmission of silence and freedom," writes Eli Jaxon-Bear, "granting final liberation to everyone." A teacher in the self-realization movements of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Poonjaji, and Gangaji, Jaxon-Bear presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for self-inquiry and a final realization of freedom.
Sudden Awakening: Into Direct Realization puts spiritual awakening in a larger context: that it is humankind's next evolutionary leap. Based on ancient Indian teachings and years of contemplation, this book offers the key to the possibility of ending world destruction. The book is written in clear, beautiful prose, and readers can peruse each chapter as a meditation, or as a gateway into awakening the highest self-attainable. It offers insight into the nature of the true spiritual quest and shows the traps as well as the signs of confirmation along the journey.
Deborah Madison is the founding chef of the highly acclaimed Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. She’s the author of nine cookbooks and award winner of the M.F.K. Fisher Award, the I.A.C.P. Julia Child cookbook of the year award, and a 3-time winner of the James Beard Award. In this ambitious new cookbook Vegetable Literacy, Madison celebrates the diversity of edible plants in over 300 recipes. Her cooking style is intuitive and inspired from a deep knowledge of food, flavors, markets, farming and time in the kitchen. Home chefs will discover this is more than a cookbook—it is an incredible resource of botanical, historical and horticultural information.
Meet and Greet!
Home Made and Home Made Winter blew readers away with their delicious recipes, and hand-drawn artwork. Now, in Home Made Summer ($35.00), Yvette van Boven takes the same signature approach and presents her absolute favorite recipes for spring and summer.
Please join us for soft drinks, wine, cheese, and refreshments, as we prepare for another wonderful World Book Night event. All local givers are invited in to meet other givers as we share in the good feeling of something shared and important.
RSVP Sam Barry at sbarry@bookpassage.com.
About World Book Night
Each year, 30 books are chosen by an independent panel of librarians and booksellers. The authors of the books waive their royalties and the publishers agree to pay the costs of producing the specially-printed World Book Night U.S. editions. Book Passage has signed up to be community host locations for the volunteer book givers.
After the book titles are announced, members of the public apply to personally hand out copies of a particular title in their community. On World Book Night—April 23rd—we join together to give books to those who don’t regularly read and/or people who don’t normally have access to printed books, for reasons of means or access.
Learning to ride a bike is one of the most important milestones of childhood, and no one captures the emotional ups and downs of the experience better than Chris Raschka, who won the 2012 Caldecott Medal for A Ball for Daisy. In Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle ($16.99), a simple yet emotionally rich work, a father takes his daughter through all the steps in the process — from choosing the perfect bicycle to that triumphant first successful ride. Using very few words and lots of expressive pictures, here is a picture book that not only shows kids how to learn to ride, but captures what it feels like to fall . . . get up . . . fall again . . . and finally "by luck, grace, and determination" ride a bicycle.
Chris Raschka, the 2012 Caldecott Medalist, is an avid bike rider and wrote a 2010 New York Times op-ed piece, "Braking Away," about the importance of obeying the rules of the road while on a bicycle. He has written and/or illustrated over 30 books for children, including the 2012 Caldecott Medal winner A Ball for Daisy, which was also a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and described byThe Horn Book in a starred review as "noteworthy for both its artistry and its child appeal." His other books include the 2006 Caldecott Medal winner, The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster; the Caldecott Honor Book Yo? Yes!, and the ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book Good Sports.
