The many voices of the San Gabriel Valley
From mystery to history, this fall’s literary events cover a wide terrain
By Nikki Bazar 08/10/2006
It seems only appropriate to begin our preview of the literary events in the fall with a moment of review. The local literary scene is much poorer for having lost the great Octavia Butler this past February. Although Butler moved to Seattle in 1999, she was always ours to claim, having been born and educated here. She broke the mold not only because she was an African-American female science fiction writer, but also because she had a unique and versatile style of storytelling that often blended political, historical and sociological themes with imaginative storylines without ever seeming forced or didactic.
Butler’s shadow stretches long, but not ominously. In her wake, the literary scene in Pasadena and surrounding areas has steadily blossomed. Authors here find a supportive and enthusiastic community and, in some cases, a wealth of material right in their own backyard.
Local author Dianne Emley, for instance, has found Pasadena to be the ideal setting for her new debut novel, “The First Cut,” about a female Pasadena homicide detective who returns to the force after surviving a brutal attack, only to become embroiled in an oddly similar murder case involving another local policewoman. Emley will be signing her new thriller twice on Sept. 15 in Pasadena locations: at 5 p.m. at Book ’Em Mysteries and at 7 p.m. at Vroman’s Bookstore.
Emley follows in the firm footsteps of ex-Los Angeles Times reporter and Glendale-based crime novelist, Denise Hamilton, who has just recently published “Prisoner of Memory,” the fifth book in her Eve Diamond series. In this latest crime thriller, Diamond, a Times reporter, finds herself drawn into the insulated world of Russian émigrés and the Russian mafia while investigating the murder of a Russian-American boy. Hamilton will be promoting her new book Sept. 10 at the Sisters in Crime monthly meeting at the South Pasadena Library, Oct. 25 at the Glendale Public Library, and Nov. 9 at the Arcadia Public Library.
Crime fans certainly will have no shortage of entertainment this fall. Altadena writer J.M. Burns will also be discussing the first installment of his David Endicott series, “Deadline: Stiff,” on Aug. 11 at Pasadena Central Library. In this debut novel, a young detective just returned from military police duty in Iraq enters into a whirlwind case involving an eccentric billionaire and a rare butterfly that may contain the secret to changing the face of crime in Southern California.
But hey, it’s not all crime and mystery in the San Gabriel Valley; poetry is still a thriving art here as well. In late August, Zora Press will be releasing “Looking Out of Pasadena,” featuring many local authors who have thrived in recent Pasadena writing workshops. The book includes poets Don Kingfisher Campbell, Lindy Hill and Regina Higgins, all of whom can be seen in the next few months at Campbell’s Monday Night Poetry readings at 8 p.m. every second and fourth Monday at the Santa Catalina Branch of the Pasadena Public Library. There will be a special celebration of the book’s release on Aug. 28.
Downtown LA also continues to deliver stimulating poetry events not far from home. Check out readings by USC Professor Mark Irwin and his undergraduate students Oct. 25 at USC’s Fisher Gallery, and by the great poet Suzanne Lummis, granddaughter of Southwest Museum founder Charles Fletcher Lummis, Sept. 13 at the Ruskin Art Club. Ruskin also welcomes the very prolific South Pasadena-based poet and young adult novelist Ron Koertge on Oct. 8. Koertge writes offbeat, witty poetry that has led to his being dubbed “the wisest, most entertaining wiseguy in American poetry” by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins.
Speaking of wiseguys, a couple of famous ones will be coming our way this fall. Smarty-pants Bob Newhart will be signing his new book “I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny” at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at Vroman’s Bookstore. And the editors of the highly acclaimed, tongue-in-cheek “A Fictional History of the United States (With Huge Chunks Missing),” a patchwork collection of stories and cartoons from diverse writers taking on mainstream American history, will be talking at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Skylight Books in Silver Lake.
From where she is, Octavia Butler must be smiling proudly at the multitude of voices resounding through the streets of her hometown. From gloomy crime novelists to wiseguy poets, there is a lot being written (and read) in the San Gabriel Valley. Consult our fall listings on the following pages to find out where to go to share in the wealth.
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