Reading In Public

Dining In Public

2012-01-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

If you happened to stop by ARTS Obispo on the evening of December 10th in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, you would have learned about turducken, the deboned chicken/duck/turkey almost-matryoshka, where each bird is tucked into the other, starting with the chicken and finishing with the turkey. You would have also learned from reader Pam Bleisch the term "farce", which means to improve as if by stuffing. To serve a dish of one thing stuffed with something else, Pam read aloud to the assembled company, is theater. To stuff a dish with anything which already has something else inside of it, is also, undeniably, theater.

The selection being read to a dedicated crowd of bibliophiles gathered in ARTS Space Obispo was The Dinner at Trimalchio's, from "The Satyricon" by Petronius. For our end-of-the year event Reading In Public had decided to pay homage to the world of food, attempting a multicourse exploration of the connection between belly, mind and funny bone. Dining In Public, or DIP as we affectionately called it, was a riotous few hours of listening to people read from their favorite written works: everything from the 1988 interview conducted with then 91-year-old South Carolina farmer Bubba Henry, on butchering a hog back when lye was in common use ("you don't use that much, just test it with your finger, just to get the hair off. If you put too much, it will chop up your hand and tear the hog up ... "), to the right way to kill a coconut, a hilarious account from a recipe for Coconut Curry Chicken Explosion ("Force a sharp skewer into one of the coconut's eyes ..."), and on to cosmetics companies and their promotion of skin as a living, hungry entity which must be externally fed and nourished, an essay aptly titled Beauty and the Feast. Isabelle Gillette and Hannah Fowler, ages 11 and 10, read Shel Silverstein's "Where The Sidewalk Ends". Artist Lena Rushing wore a Pingu-like prop, and seven-year-old Eliot Báez composed a piece which he sang in Spanish, lamenting the fact that to him canned beans tasted like metal.

RIP had brought together local artists as well as readers, assembling an exhibit of 22 plates in various media, which represented the artists' favorite food-related book titles. Painter Cynthia Meyer finished first with a handsome tribute to the book "Naked Lunch" by William S. Burroughs, despite the difficulty she encountered with bamboo veneer turning out to be a sponge for oil paints. There were also a number of wonderful (and funny!) illustrated recipes done by several children, ages 3 through 12. To round out the experience, potter Mark Sensenbach loaned us several handmade dishes on which we set out, not dinner, but a small banquet of appetizers.

We didn't overstay our welcome that night. Allan Cooper, reading to us about dinner etiquette from "Home Dissertations", compiled by Mrs. E. Stevens Tilton in 1885, informed the audience that "after coffee, guests may at any time take their leave, all going within two hours". Our own feast had lasted for three, and even on a Saturday night there were still some readers and people in the audience who lingered, stopping to help with dinner's least favorite chore: clean-up. Thanks to all of the lovely people who stayed we were done well within Mrs. Tilton's 2-hour window. No one had actually sat down to dinner, but, as poet Francesca Nemko proclaimed, her voice ringing in the small space, it was a lovely evening with friends and "fabulous, beautiful, glorious food."

Pictured above: Mary Kay Harrington. Photo by Jano Kray

Come join us on Saturday night!

2011-12-05T04:25:00.000-08:00

The list of readers is at left, come feast with us on Saturday night, from 6-9pm at ARTS Obispo!
And for those who can't join us in person, our exhibit is now on Flickr.

We're looking for readers!

2011-11-14T04:01:00.000-08:00

Update: Online sign-ups are now closed. A big thank you to everyone who answered our call!

Words are of course an essential part of any balanced diet, so this time around Reading In Public will be paying homage to the world of food and drink. Dining In Public, or DIP, will be a multi-course, free-range event exploring the connection between belly, mind and funny bone. ~~If you'd like to read at our December 10th event here is a link to our online sign-up form.~~

Part of our exhibit is now on Flickr. This will go live at ARTS Obispo in San Luis Obispo on December 2nd.
Above: Plate by Donna Kandel, photograph by Marta Peluso

2 sneak peeks

2011-10-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Meyer sent us her in-progress plate for the exhibit which goes up on the 2nd.

And Donna Kandel gets ready to paint. Thanks, Cynthia and Donna!

The exhibit goes up on December 2nd. Please note that we've moved the live event to Saturday, December 10th from 6-9 pm at Arts Obispo (December 2nd is also the night of the downtown holiday parade).

A call for artists

2011-07-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Above, top left, clockwise: "The Grapes of Wrath," "Stone Soup," "James and the Giant Peach" (in progress and very hard to photograph), and "Blueberries For Sal" (also in progress, equally hard to photograph, see Flickr for truer color).
More photos on Flickr.

Dining In Public (DIP) will be a multicourse, free-range event exploring the connection between belly, mind and funny bone. DIP consists of a live event, with invited members of the public reading excerpts from books and articles of their own selection, in combination with a 2-week exhibit.

The exhibit will be driven by a set of painted plates (RIP will supply the 9-inch bamboo veneer plates), each bearing the title and author's name of a book which has a connection with food. San Luis Obispo County artists are invited to take part in the Dining In Public exhibit of handpainted plates.
Send an email to info@readinginpublic.com with an url to your portfolio or email us two representative samples of your work (no large files please). Let us know the name of the book you'd like to paint (we need that information upfront to avoid duplicates).
The Reading In Public exhibit committee will review and make final decisions on the DIP artist pool.

Rules:
1. All plates will have the title of the book and the author's name as part of the painting
2. We need a commitment from artists in the form of a rough sketch (done in a 9-inch circle) no later than August 31, 2011. Send an url of the image or email your sketch to info@readinginpublic.com. Regretfully, artists who submit late sketches will have to be dropped from the pool.
3. Final painted plates are due NO LATER THAN Monday, November 7th, 2011.
4. Please indicate if your piece(s) can be sold (artists receive 70% of the price for which the piece is sold, and the remainder goes to support programs at ARTS Obispo, the designated local partner of the California Arts Council).
5. If you’d like to participate but do not have time for a plate, we are also accepting handpainted wooden/paper-mache/ceramic/other spoons. Each spoon must have a hole drilled into the top of the handle for hanging and should accommodate a loop of fishing cord. We do have a portfolio requirement for this portion of the exhibit. Interested artists can email info@readinginpublic.com for more information.

When & where:
ARTS Space Obispo, 570 Higuera St., #165 in San Luis Obispo, California
Exhibit opens with the live event on Friday, December 2, 2011 from 6-9

Email info@readinginpublic.com for more information.

Thank you!

2011-01-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

We'll have a longer post about the night's events soon, and what we'd quickly like to say is one great, big thank you to everyone who read and the many people who came to listen. It was a truly amazing event and we all had a great time.
We have a TON of great images on Flickr so do visit our photostream there.

Photos by Mark Velasquez and Catherine Trujillo

HIP in New Times

2011-01-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

New Times arts editor Anna Weltner did an article on Happy in Public. Read the full article here: http://www.newtimesslo.com/art/5487/hows-this-for-a-feelgood-story/
Thanks, Anna!

Schedule of readers for HIP

2011-01-04T03:15:00.000-08:00

When: Friday, January 7, 2011, from 6 pm-9 pm at ARTS Space Obispo, 570 Higuera St., #165 in downtown San Luis Obispo.

6:05pm Steven deLuque

6:15pm Linnaea Phillips
6:25pm Jan Marx
6:35pm Pamela Bleisch
6:45pm Ron Colvin
6:55pm Bob Whiteford
7:05pm Adam Monkaba
7:15pm Hannah, Isabelle, Trevyn
7:25pm Adam Hill
7:35pm Mark Bryan
7:45pm Tom DiSanto
7:55pm Online submissions
8:00pm Joyful 3
8:15pm Josephine Crawford
8:25pm Margaret Yun
8:35pm Julie Frankel
8:45pm Russell Swanagon
8:55pm Brett Bodemer

What makes people in SLO so darn happy?

2010-12-29T06:38:00.000-08:00

See more images in our set on Flickr.

The happiest place on earth*

2010-12-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

(* According to "Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way")

San Luis Obispo? One of the happiest places on earth?? Well, of course we just couldn't resist. Presenting Happy in Public, three hours of San Luis Obispo readers sharing the words that make them happy.

There are three ways to participate:
1. Become a reader
Sign up online now and secure yourself a 10-minute reading spot on the Reading Chair. Places are going fast!
2. Join us to listen to all those happy words on Friday, January 7th, 2011, from 6pm-9pm at ARTS Space Obispo, SLO Creamery, 570 Higuera St., #165, in San Luis Obispo, one of the happiest places on earth.*
3. We want to know: What makes you happy about living in San Luis Obispo? What makes you unhappy? TXT (805) 628-2283! We'll post your responses online.

This event is co-sponsored by Reading in Public and ARTS Obispo, SLO County Arts Council.
Photograph by Mark Velasquez.

We made a magazine

2010-08-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.sanlouie.com
Preview Issue 2 and Issue 2
by clicking Show Preview to the right of the magazines' cover images

Coming soon

2010-06-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

A quick post about our next project which is still under wraps. It's a hefty one and we'll have details soon.
Photo above by the lovely Jennifer Young.

Thank you

2010-05-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

An ENORMOUS thank you to everyone, both volunteers and all the folks in San Luis Obispo who came out and typed. And an equally HUGE thank you to Jen and Brandon of Sally Loo's, our readers and our amazing musicians!

(Photos are on Flickr)

Everything you need to know :)

2010-05-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Typing in Public, Reading In Public's 2010 community event. Tomorrow, Saturday May 15th, between the hours of 8am to 2pm, you are all invited to type on any of our typewriters at these locations in the city of San Luis Obispo:
BlackHorse Espresso - 1065 Higuera Street
Linnaea's Cafe - 1110 Garden Street
Sally Loo's Cafe - 1804 Osos Street
San Luis Obispo Public Library - 995 Palm Street
Steynberg Gallery - 1531 Monterey Street
The Sanitarium - 1716 Osos

How long can I type?
If there are people waiting in line, about 10 to 15 minutes.

What do I type?
At the SLO Library we have Anna & Dan Gold transcribing love letters from 12-1pm. So, in that spirit, type whatever you like -- we want you to have fun with this. If you need inspiration, look through our Opening Lines, and if something piques your interest, you can type your own version of how it continues. If you're not the first typist, please feel free to take a look at what other people have done. Or start something and leave enough of a thread for someone else to pick up.
For inspiration, here is what a group of kids are doing. If you have a few minutes, look through the site, we posted many contributions from various people. We even have a contribution written in Na'vi!

When is this over?
At 2pm we’ll collect all the compositions for a 6pm installation and public reading (with live music!) at Sally Loo’s Cafe, 1804 Osos (not all of them will be read in public or used for the installation).

The fine print
By participating in Typing In Public you are granting RIP permission to publish works on the web and in future promotional venues, and you’re also giving us permission to read your words in public. Please don’t forget to sign your page(s) with your first name and an initial of your last name. Thank you!

Please be gentle with the typewriters. But...
- They are not anything like a modern keyboard, and each key needs to be tapped a little bit harder.
- Sometimes the ribbons will not advance and you may have to manually advance them.
- This is definitely not about words per minute -- type slowly or the keys will stick. Remember, many of the typewriters are older than most of us.

Bonus! All participants of Typing In Public will have an opportunity to have their names entered in a drawing, which will be held at Sally Loo’s Cafe, 1804 Osos, between 6pm-8:00pm. Winners must be present to claim their prizes. Please join us at Sally Loo's at 6pm and meet the Reading Chair, designed by (the amazing) Chris Allen of CWA Studios, from Reading In Public 2009!

Please say hi to our WONDERFUL volunteers as you see them -- they have unbegrudgingly given up some of their weekend time to stay with this project. Say hi to
♥ Vanessa Amerson -- The Sanitarium, 8-11
♥ Brett Bodemer -- Linnaea's, 8-11
♥ Josephine Crawford -- SLO Library, 10-12
♥ Tom Di Santo -- Sally Loo's, 10-11
♥ Pete Evans and Lucy -- Sally Loo's, 9-10
♥ Tom and Hannah Fowler -- Linnaea's, 12-2
♥ Anna and Dan Gold -- SLO Library, 12-1
♥ Kelsie Greer -- Blackhorse, 8-10
♥ Zoie Harmon -- Sally Loo's, 11-2
♥ Mignon Khargie -- All locations
♥ Sara MacGrath and Lupe -- SLO Library, 10-11
♥ Francesca Nemko -- Steynberg, 11-12
♥ Marta Peluso -- BlackHorse, 10-12
♥ Linnaea Phillips -- The Sanitarium, 11-2
♥ Ashley Schwellenbach -- BlackHorse, 12-2
♥ Bruce Silverberg -- Sally Loo's, 8-9
♥ Laura Sorvetti -- Steynberg, 8-11
♥ Cate Trujillo -- All locations
♥ Cruz Trujillo -- All locations

Other ways to participate: If you take a photo you'd like us to post to Flickr, please email it to info[at]readinginpublic.com. You can tweet us @readinginpublic with contributions and text us too at (805) 628-2283. TXT contributions will be sent to Twitter.
If you know something about typewriters, please identify yourself to our volunteers! We'll take all the expert help we get :)

Posters from first year students at Cal Poly

2010-05-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

First year Digital Illustration and Design students did a series of posters which were inspired by Reading In Public. Thank you all, and a HUGE thank you to Enrica Lovaglio Costello, Assistant Professor Digital Media!
Above right: Poster by Bryn Hobson and we'll id the other as soon as we have that student's name.
(See more posters on Flickr)

Typing in Public at Cal Poly's Kennedy Library

2010-05-13T16:34:00.001-07:00

Please join us tomorrow in the 2nd floor Cafe Lounge of Cal Poly's Kennedy Library for the very first event of Typing In Public, from 11am-2pm.

Image above courtesy of University Archives, Cal Poly SLO. Below, Dr. Kennedy types at Kennedy Library on Friday, May 14th, 2010. Kennedy Library is named after him. Photo by Patrick Kammermeyer.

We ♥ Dave Congalton

2010-05-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

Our friend Dave Congalton of KVEC 920 made time for us on his show this past Tuesday, and you can listen to the clip here with Catherine and Brett (Mignon was out on jury duty). We loaned him a typewriter for a few days and were just delighted to read what the KVEC staff typed.
Thank you, Dave!

Meet our musicians for Saturday 15th!

2010-05-12T23:37:00.001-07:00

Anna Novotny and Ezra Henderson are 10 years old and classmates at Bellevue Santa Fe Charter School. They most recently were selected to the top 5 of the Clark Center's Star Search.

Anna, a singer and dancer, has performed in over 20 local shows and musicals. Math is her favorite subject in school, which helps her piece together rhythms and music. Her goal is to sing and dance around town and her dream is to collaborate with Taylor Swift.
Ezra is a one man band; he plays drums, guitar, piano and also writes his own songs. He has performed his music at restaurants and coffee shops around town. Ezra wrote 'Everything's Alright' this year and shared it at school. Anna loved it and their duo was born.
Many of their songs are written by Ezra's mother, Deborah Kirk. She accompanies them on guitar or keyboards.

The Booker Tease: www.myspace.com/thebookertease
Four musicians Deconstructing the Rock & Soul music of Booker T. and the MG's.

Artist and musician Vincent Bernardy was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s the home of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. Growing up in the extremely cold Midwest, he learned from a young age that sometimes you can go outside and play in the snow and sometimes you simply can’t. This gave him much time to learn and perfect his art. He was born a creative child: painting, drawing, and musically inclined. Some of his music has been played on the radio and in some indie films. He opened for bands such as GREEN DAY and THE SUBURBS, and worked with popular musicians such as Andy Bernardy and Bob Stinson of the REPLACEMENTS. However, one of his most cherished moments in music was working with Brown Mark from PRINCE & the REVOLUTION.

Vincent's vision for his work is to invoke feelings in people that will cause them to be more creative & positive. Also to live more healthier lives filled with wonderment and awe.
stvincentfolk.com and www.cdbaby.com/Artist/stvincent

Jane Kostiw

2010-05-12T23:26:00.001-07:00

…was halfway between a rock and a hard spot. She had been there before and loathed the idea that she had again arrived at a point where a salvageable solution seemed out of reach. Taking a deep sigh she continued up the path letting her mind run its course of all the possible scenarios trying to capture the one that would have the least impact on the firm. After the unfortunate events that caused her predecessor to leave unannounced one day and the law suit that followed, Liz made sure she did everything with intention. Nothing was left to chance. This project started out well defined with a clear goal. Steps for contingencies had been worked into the process. Liz had even gotten blessing from the investors on the project in advance, not an easy task with Hal in the driver's seat and Sabrina taking a hard ball approach. How it had spiraled out of control without her knowing until now made her question Meg's loyalty. Had she let something slip without realizing it? Surely it couldn't have been an intentional breach and yet each idea Liz played out in her mind led her straight back to that day when Meg came rushing in her office to announce…

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

A story in many parts

2010-05-09T18:43:00.001-07:00

he was there, sitting, crying, weeping. He asked, “What’s the matter with your dolls?” She replied back, “I wasn’t crying. I was acting.”
◊ Trevyn Wong, age 9 (San Luis Obispo, California)

He asked her, "Can I see that doll?"
"OK but be careful with her," she said.
Carefully he lifted the doll up and looked at her. She had long, straight blond hair. The doll was wearing a red and white dress and purple shoes.
He laughed and said, "Your doll's hair is a rat's nest!"
The doll was mad. She pinched the little boy. He was so surprised he dropped the doll. The doll yelled out, "My name is Matilda, and I say shut your lip!"
◊ Hannah Fowler, age 9 (San Luis Obispo, California)

Matilda, the fabulous doll with blonde hair pushed her head up to look at the little boy as he disappeared down the street. She had a huge grin on her face and when she looked at her crying friend, she said, "I wasn't really mad, honestly.... I was trying to be an actress just like you." She hugged Matilda close to her chest and ran home laughing as loud as she can. She and Matilda agreed that they should visit another world and meet new characters.
◊ Kate Sarrami, age 8 (Canada)

Matilda and Grace had a secret. Once they were home, they opened the heater vent under the special toy box in their room. They first looked around to make sure no one was watching, then jumped down the heater shaft.
They slid on cushy pillows in dim light until they came to an abrupt stop in a candlelit, orange chamber. In the chamber was a time machine.
Matilda and Grace stepped cautiously into the time machine probe, pressed the green button, and were off.
After they stopped they stepped out and couldn't believe their eyes.
◊ Isabella Zuniga, age 9 (Los Osos, California)

They were now in a colorful world where the trees were made of lollipops, the roads were made of flowers, and the fields were growing chocolate carrots. The sun was a giant, yellow gumdrop and the clouds were made of marshmallows.
Matilda said, "I smell cookies!" They turn around and see a river flowing with chocolate chip cookies. They now look up and can't believe what they see.
◊ Marguerite Zuniga, age 6 (Los Osos, California)

A gigantic ship was floating in the sky, gliding gently towards them.
A few seconds later, it had landed right in front of them. A woman came out, and Matilda and Grace gasped.
The woman who had come out had a lion's head!
"Hello." said the lady with the lion's head. "My name is Lily."
Matilda and Grace were staring with very large eyes.
"Are you going to eat us?" Matilda whispered.
"No." said Lily. "I have a delivery for you. Mr. Silver, would you bring the package please?" She called to the ship.
A short man with a horse head came from the ship, holding a little package covered in brown paper. He gave it to Grace, and walked back to the ship.
Grace unwrapped the package.
◊ Sophia Greco, age 11 (San Diego, California)

In the package there was a golden lollipop.
"Ooh, that looks so yummy!" said Matilda.
"It's so shiny," said Grace.
Lily walked up to them and handed them the lollipop. "You better eat it soon because the gummy dolphins might try to steal it from you." said Lilly.
"What gummy dolphins?" asked Grace.
"Those," said Lilly and she pointed at the river with a bunch of colorful dolphins.
"Wow! This place is cool," said Grace looking at the happy dolphins.
Matilda came running over to the dolphins with the lollipop in her hand. "Can we pet them?" asked Matilda.
"Why not? They're harmless, but they do like the gold-colored candy." said Lily.
Just then, the dolphin jumped up, grabbed the lollipop, and swam away.
"Oh, no!" said Matilda.
◊ Enzo Greco, age 9 (San Diego, California)

"Chase that dolphin!" screamed Grace. They started running down the river side after the dolphin. They ran faster and faster until they were a blur.
"Oh no he is getting away, run faster" yelled Matilda.
"I can’t run any faster I’m getting tired" said Grace.
"Look the river is flowing into a lake. We’ll never catch them now." Suddenly they came to a stop. There was a speed boat in front of them made of candy. They jumped into the boat and took off for the dolphin and their candy.
◊ Clara Moore, age 9 (Whitehall, Michigan)

They said to the captain "Go faster!"
Grace reached her arm down and grabbed the candy from the dolphin. Matilda, Grace and the captain shared the golden candy. When they ate the golden candy they all turned into different colors. Grace was pink. Matilda was blue. The captain was purple. They all laughed at each other.
Grace said, "You guys look funny!"
Suddenly, they saw something enormous coming out of the lake.
◊ Alice Moore, age 7 (Whitehall, Michigan)

It was an alien holding a big laser gun. He had a green body and five dark blue eyes. He was so tall that if you stood at his feet and looked up you wouldn’t be able to see his head. He took his laser gun and pointed it right at the boat. Suddenly the boat started moving upwards.
"What’s happening," whispered Matilda.
"Oh, it’s just George," replied the Captain.
"Okay, but who’s George?" asked Grace.
"That’s George, there, the one in green," laughed the captain.
◊ Isabelle Gillette, age 9 (Arroyo Grande, California)

We'll be continuing this over the next few days with contributions from various children around the country. Please e-mail info[at]readinginpublic.com if you would like your child to participate.

Drawing by Hannah Fowler

Cruz Trujillo

2010-05-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

Cruz Trujillo is thirteen.

(Photo by Anna Landa)

Soul Beach: Behind Rusty barbed wire fences
And flimsy wooden signs ignored,
Lies the beauty grace and tranquility
Of a quiet patient sea.
Waiting for the world to turn,
The wind to blow,
And for the waves to rise and fall again.

Allan Cooper

2010-05-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Allan Cooper, FAIA, is a retired professor of Architecture at Cal Poly, and has served as Director and Associate Dean of the department. He is the recipient of a multitude of professional and teaching awards, including the AIA Presidential Citation (awarded four times) and the AIACCC Award of Merit for design of the Cooper Residence. Allan has given many years of service to the community of San Luis Obispo, serving on the boards of various local organizations, including the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission and the San Luis Obispo Arts Council. He is the current president of Obispo Beautiful.

Allan is currently reading Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine - The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," which inspired his ~~rant~~ contribution :

In 1967 Senator Everett Dirksen, a Republican Senator from Illinois, summarized the two basic principals then guiding the Republican party:
1) Conserve assets (i.e., through balancing budgets) and conserve values (primarily 20th century Christian values);
2) Oppose incursions of the government through rule of law into the liberties of the American people (i.e., regulation of so-called "free market" forces, regulation of guns, redistribution of wealth, etc.).

Naomi Klein's thought-provoking book "The Shock Doctrine" carefully documents how the University of Chicago School of Economics under Milton Friedman's leadership managed to impose these values (through clandestine CIA and corporate intervention) on developing third world nations that had been leaning toward socialism and democracy. The net result were quasi-fascist kleptocracies, the dissolution of all social welfare programs (including unions) and the elimination of trade barriers (which benefited multi-national - mostly U.S. - corporations). As Tom Neuhaus so eloquently stated in his April 29th Tribune Letter to the Editor: "The rise of fascism is often preceded by populist anger, fueling the success of the future dictator and founded on the repetition of stereotypes." The most effective strategy is to stereotype liberals or progressives as Socialists, Marxists or Communists (or, in some cases, even as "terrorists"). A study, published in the March 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Social Psychology Quarterly, advances a new theory to explain why people form particular preferences and values. More intelligent people are statistically significantly more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are novel to the human species in evolutionary history. Specifically, liberalism and atheism, and for men (but not women), preference for sexual exclusivity correlate with higher intelligence. In the current study, Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science, argues that humans are evolutionarily designed to be conservative, caring mostly about their family and friends, and being liberal, caring about an indefinite number of genetically unrelated strangers they never meet or interact with, is evolutionarily novel. So more intelligent children may be more likely to grow up to be liberals. To be fair to all of those "conservative" readers out there, there are many exceptions to these findings and all of us share the following values: Emphasis on tolerance; Concern for the collective good; Moral and religious values; Trust in authority, and; Self interest. But the first two values appear to be the hallmark of liberals and the last three are the hallmark of conservatives.

Josephine Crawford

2010-05-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.josephinecrawford.com
Josephine Crawford is 72 years old. Of those 72 years, she has danced 20, been a costume designer for another 20, and has painted for 30 years.
Born and schooled in England, she has done a lot of travelling and currently lives in California.

Josephine's contribution:

"You can't come in here, you're not big enough, move on, and take that other one with you."
The man moved so quickly to kick the bundle in the corner and then sprang back where he had been before, it seemed that not much harm could had been done....then I heard the whimpering and saw the blood.

Paul Frommer

2010-05-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Paul Frommer, a communications professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and a linguistics consultant, created the Na'vi language for the fictional indigenous race in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar.

He is the former Vice President, Special Projects Coordinator, Strategic Planner, and Writer-Researcher at Bentley Industries and served as Director of the Center for Management Communication at the USC Marshall School of Business. Frommer graduated from college at the University of Rochester with a bachelor of arts in mathematics. He taught English and math in Malaysia with the Peace Corps, and earned his masters degree and doctorate in linguistics from the University of Southern California under Bernard Comrie; his doctorate was on aspects of Persian syntax.

Paul's contribution, written in Na'vi for Reading In Public:

Tengkrr palulukan moene kxll sarmi, poltxe Neytiril aylì’ut a frakrr ’ok seyä layu oer.

And the translation:

As the thanator was charging towards the two of us, Neytiri said something I will always remember.

We've had a lot of great additions to Paul's opening line above and some of them have been too long for our comments! So we pulled them out of comments and are extending the post below.

Written and translated by Kayrìlien Rolyu (Alton DeHaan)

Neytiril oeru poltxe san nga oehu ’awsiteng lasyu frakrr sìk.
Ngaru seiyi irayo, ma karyu ’eylansì, ulte Eywa ngahu tì’i’avay krrä!

Translation: Neytiri said to me "You will always be together with me." / I thank you, my teacher and friend, and may Eywa be with you until the end of time.

----------------------------

Written and translated by IRAMightyPirate

"Poel oeti kä’olärìp nekll ne kllte tengkrr palulukan spolä moene. Oe tolawng tengkrr tsaw ftem em moe, tsawä pxia sre’ìl merun’i oeyä pxunit a krr tsaw ftolem."

Translated:
"She pushed me down towards the ground just as the Thanator jumped at us. I ducked as it passed over us, it’s sharp teeth cutting my arm when it passed by."

----------------------------

Written and translated by Mirri

Tengkrr palulukan moene kxll sarmi, poltxe Neytiril aylì’ut a frakrr ’ok seyä layu oer.
(As the thanator was charging towards the two of us, Neytiri said something I will always remember.)

San txo takuk tsakem steyki nì’aw sìk.
("If you hit it, you’ll only make it angry.")

Tolul moe ne tìhawnu ulte swirä fewi.
(We ran for safety and the creature chased.)

Terul kxamlä na’rìng tengkrr ayvulìl takuk oeti sì kì’ong seyki.
(Running through the forest, the branches hit me and slowed me.)

Palulukanìri ska’a fra’ut a mì fya’o.
(The thanator crushed everything in his path.)

Oeri tolìng nari ne’ìm ulte tse’a apxa aysre’it a rerikx oene. Kxal re’ot oeyä frìyìp a krr tsyokxìl za’olärìp neto oet.
(I looked back to see the large teeth coming towards me, and just before its mouth closed around my head, a hand pulled me away.)

Neytiril za’ärìp oeri tangeksìn oel nìwin nìspawnä nong pot, nefä sì nefä tsawla ayvulne.
(Neytiri pulled me onto the trunk of a tree and I jumped after her, upwards and upwards towards the tall branches.)

Woka pamit stawm aysre’ä ulte utral rikx a fì’u ’efu tengkrr sperä fäpane.
(I could hear the loud sounds of teeth and claws and felt the tree shaking while we jumped higher.)

Ke txey vaykrr a tse’a eana taw kxamlä ayrìk.
(I did not stop until I could see the blue sky through the leaves.)

Palulukanìri utralpxaw ulte nguway seri txankrr.
(The thanator circled the tree and howled for a long time.)

Tsakrr hum ne na’rìng nìmun.
(Finally, it left and walked into the deep forest again.)

Nìn Neytirit ulte po plltxe san oe kawkrr tsame’a uniltìrantokx a tul nìwin na tsakem. Nga keteng lu to aylahe sìk
(I looked up at Neytiri and she said "I have never seen an avatar run so fast. You are different from the others.")

Peyä menariri atanatan na sanhì soli ulte lrrtokìl tsweykayon oeyä txe’lanit.
(Her eyes shined like stars and her smile made my heart fly.)

Po lu nìlaw keteng to aylahe nìteng.
(She was certainly something different too.)

----------------------------

Written and translated by Kayrìlien Rolyu (Alton DeHaan)
(Many thanks to LearnNavi.org members Plumps and Lance R. Casey)

As the thanator was charging towards the two of us, Neytiri said something I will always remember. She was always so brave; the bravest hunter I have ever known. On that day, when my heart was not strong, she threw me to the ground and leaped into the air. She shouted to the creature, "Go back! This is our hunting land!" and it walked back into the forest. I did not understand, but I soon would.

Tengkrr palulukan moene kxll sarmi, poltxe Neytiril aylì’ut a frakrr ’ok seyä layu oer. Frakrr fìtxan tstew lamu poe; lamu frato tstewa taronyu a olomum oeri. Krr a txe’lan oeyä ke lamu txur, tsrole’i ne kllte poel oeti ulte spolä yanemfa. Poel swiräru zolawng san "Tìng tseng! Fìtsenge lu awngeyä atxkxe letaron!" sìk, ulte na’rìngnemfa ne’ìm tolìran palulukan. Tsakrr oe ke tslamam, slä ye’rìn tslivam.

I will always remember the day of Neytiri’s Dream Hunt. Eywa showed to us that Neytiri’s spirit animal was the thanator. Now I understood. This was a terrifying omen; no one had ever met an angry thanator and lived to tell the story. I give thanks to Neytiri every day for allowing me to be one of the first two.

Frakrr ‘ok trrä Uniltaronä Neytiriyä layu oer. Eywal ayoer wamìntxu futa palulukan livu tireaioang Neytiriyä. Tsakrr oe tslolam. Fì’u layu aungia a txopu seyki ayoer nìtxan. Kawkrr tuteol palulukanit a steri ke ultxaralmun ulte mi rarmey fte tsivun vurit piveng. Neytiriru irayo seiyi oe fratrr talun poel tolung futa oe slivu ‘awvea mesuteyä hapxì.

I will always remember the day we first saw the skypeople. I want to kill them all. They attack us from above in their gunships. They destroy the land. My father thinks that they will leave soon. Doctor Grace tells us that they only want a little bit of land to dig up their sacred rock. Screw that! The skypeople will not leave until they have completely destroyed the forest for their useless rock. Their gunships and metal demons will never stop.

Frakrr oel zayerok ’awvea trrit a tsame’änga ayoel sawtutet. Fori oe new tspivang nìwotx. Fol ayoeti ‘eko ta’em hunsìpfa feyä. Fol atxkxeti ska’a. Oeyä sempulìl fpìl futa ye’rìn hayum fo. Toktor Kìreysìl ayoer peng futa sawtutel ’itit atxkxeyä new nì’aw fte tsivun kllkivulat feyä tskxet aswok. Pxasìk! Sawtute ke hayum vaykrr fol na’rìngit skola’a nìwotx fpi feyä tskxe akelsar. Kawkrr ke fpayak ayvrrtep lefngap hunsìpsì feyä.

We went to where the metal demons were sleeping. I knew that we could not kill them with bow and arrow. There was only one way, and that was the way of the skypeople. Fire. But the skypeople’s alarm cry screamed across the land, and their warriors quickly tried to capture us. We ran faster than even the mighty Toruk can fly, hoping that perhaps they could not find us in the forest, but their gunships flew faster still. There was only one other way. Doctor Grace must know what to tell to them.

Ayoe kolä tsengne a ayvrrtep lefngap harmahaw. Omum oel futa ayoel ayfoti ke tspivang fa tsko swizaw. Nì’aw lamu ‘awa fya’o sawtuteyä. Txep. Slä (alarm) sawtuteyä atxkxeka zayawng ulte ayoeti feyä samsiyul fmi spive’e. Ayoe to Toruk nìwin tamul, ulte sìlparmey tsnì mì na’rìng fol awngati ke tsun rivun, slä ayhunsìp feyä tswamayon nìwin frato. Nì’aw lamu ‘awa fya’o alahe. Zene ivomum Toktor Kìreysì foru futa piveng.

So we ran to the school. Neytiri was there; Oh Neytiri, you were always so beautiful, so strong. And Doctor Grace was there too, even after many years her small eyes still looked strange to me. When we arrived, she said to me, "I see you, my friend, but why have you come so quickly?" I said to her, "We have killed one of your metal demons. The forest is safe once again!"

Tafral awnga ne numtseng tolul. Neytiril tarmok tsatsengit. Ma Neytiri, frakrr fìtxan sevin lu nga, fìtxan txursì. Ulte Toktor Kìreysì tarmok tsatsengit kop. Oeri mi hì’ia menari poeyä hiyìk leram. Krr a polähem ayoe, poe oeru poltxe san "Oel ngati kameie, ma ‘eylan, slä pelun zola’u ayoel fìtxan nìwin?" sìk. Oe poeru poltxe san "Tspolang awngal ayngeyä vrrtepoti lefngap. Set na’rìng leiu kxuke nìmun!" sìk.

Her face told me everything. I had never seen a skyperson be afraid before, and it frightened me as well. She said to us, "Run! Go to Hometree now; I will protect you!" I did not need to see the warrior skypeople behind her to know it was a lie. And then the shooting began.

Keyìl ngeyä fra’ut oeru poleng. Oel ke tsole’a futa tawtute txopu sivi srekrr, ulte kop tsal oeti txopu seykängi. Poel awngati poleng san "Tivul! Kivä Kelutralne set, ulte oel ayngati hìsyawnu!" sìk. Sawtuteti letsamsiyu uo poe oel ke kin tsive’a fte ivomum futa livayu lay. Ulte tsakrr sngolä’i tìtem.

Yes, I will always remember what Neytiri said to me, even as my blood now flows toward the leafy ground from the body the skypeople have destroyed. My sister said to me, "Sìlwanin, Eywa brings harmony to the people if the people bring harmony to Eywa." And all I could think as I lay there dying among the howling guns and the screams of my friends was, "Have I failed, sister? Have I failed?"

Srane, frakrr oel zayerok aylì’ut a poleng Neytiril oeru, tengkrr reypay oeyä rerängikx klltene alerìk ftu oeyä tokx a sawtutel skola’a. Oeyä tsmuke oeru poltxe san "Ma Sìlwanin, Eywal Na’viru tìme’emit zamayunge txo Na’vil Eywaru tìme’emit zamivunge." sìk. Ulte tengkrr tarmerkup oe ayhunkip anguwaysusi aysìzawngkipsì eylanä oeyä nì’aw tsun fpivìl san "Oe ke flolä srak, ma tsmuke? Oe ke flolä srak?" sìk.

-- The last thoughts of Sìlwanin te Tskaha Mo’at’ite

-- Syena aysäfpìl Sìlwaninä te Tskaha Mo’at’ite

Ashley Schwellenbach

2010-04-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

Prunedale native Ashley Schwellenbach has been a bibliophile since the age of seven, when she was first compelled to stay up all night to finish an incredible book. (The dog died in the end, as they somehow always do, but that didn’t stop her from majoring in English at UCLA) After college, she moved to San Luis Obispo where she has been working as New Times' Arts and Entertainment Editor for the past four years. In her spare time she climbs trees, organizes flash mobs, dreams about faraway places, instigates, and collaborates.

Ashley's contribution:

"I realize, in retrospect, that in my naïveté I had traveled around Morocco looking like a 20-something Indiana Jones imitation. Baggy brown cotton pants. An off-white button up shirt. And a straw fedora that, if I had to be completely honest with myself, had cost more than a hat that would spend three sweaty weeks in North Africa should. But I needed a witness to my adventure. And brown cotton pants could not be trusted to recall anything of any importance. Or so I had justified my purchase.
The hat survived exactly nine days of the journey before I forgot it in the back seat of a taxi in Fez, the newest acquisition of a man who tried to cheat me out of 20 dirham (roughly two and a half dollars)."

Francesca Nemko

2010-04-29T05:05:00.001-07:00

Francesca Nemko is a writer, poet, performance artist and creative consultant. Her byline has appeared in numerous magazines and publications, such as Down Beat, Jazz Times, Los Angeles Times, New Times, The Tribune and others. As a poet,she published two books of poetry, "Childless Mother," and "Of Parrots and Paradigms. She has been seen frequently presenting her poety-and-jazz with such musicians as Darrell Voss, Ken Hustad, Gary Drysdale, Clint Iwanacha and Dylan Johnson. She recently appeared with Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Ray Pizzi at The Inn at Morro Bay.

She conducted a highly successful creative writing class, "Excavating Your Buried Treasure" for six years, and published a book of the same name, consisting of poetry by the participants. She continues to write and perform locally in many different contexts, including last year's "Writing in Public" event. She will be seen in August at the Day With Creative Women.

Francesca is a friend of Reading In Public and her contribution is a short haiku she wrote recently, while listening to a rehearsal by the Unity Community Players:

"Music fills the air
Young people reaching their heights
A new show opens."

Brett Bodemer

2010-04-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Brett Bodemer is a Seattle native who spent most of the last decade in Honolulu and Hanoi. He has published poems, essays, short stories, book reviews and one biographical book, "John Hedley in North China and Inner Mongolia, 1898-1912." His novels have never seen the light of day, which is probably a good thing for both readers and his own reputation. Now he only answers the call to write when there is no other solution to working through a deep puzzle. He is currently the Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Brett is also a friend of Reading In Public, not only reading at our first event in 2009, but staying with us for that entire day. And he still wants to be part of this year's event :)

Brett's contribution:

"The hand clamped onto the top of my hand and wouldn't let go. I ran into the kitchen, turned on the burner, and pressed the detached hand onto the coil. It screamed, felt pain, but did not burn. I turned up the heat. Its cries grew more intense but still it did not burn. A smaller hand with two missing fingers crawled out from the woodwork to console it."

Bruce Silverberg

2010-04-27T01:26:00.000-07:00

Architect, educator, and sometime journalist Bruce Silverberg lives in San Luis Obispo, California, where he is on the full-time faculty of CuestArc, the architecture program at Cuesta College.
Bruce learned touch-typing on a manual Royal FP typewriter, a model featuring that company's famous "magic margins," when he was in the ninth grade at a public school near Philadelphia. "Typing was a required course for all students on the college-preparatory track back then," Silverberg says. "They also taught me to write, in the hope that I might someday have something to say with my newly acquired skill!"
Bruce lives in San Luis Obispo and his contribution is the first from the Central Coast:

"There was a time when words mattered, when the effort expended to get something onto a page made writing less casual. Those were the days!"

Dr. James J. Duderstadt

2010-04-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Dr. James J. Duderstadt is President Emeritus and Professor of Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. A graduate of Yale (B.S.E. in electrical engineering) and Caltech (M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering science and physics), Dr. Duderstadt’s teaching, research, and publishing activities include nuclear science and engineering, applied physics, computer simulation, science policy, and higher education policy. He has served on and chaired numerous national academic and federal commissions including the National Science Board; the National Academies' Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy; the DOE's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee; and the NSF’s Advisory Committee on Cyberinfrastructure, and the Intelligence Science Board. He has received numerous awards including the E. O. Lawrence Award for excellence in nuclear research, the Arthur Holly Compton Prize for outstanding teaching, the Reginald Wilson Award for national leadership in achieving diversity, and the National Medal of Technology for exemplary service to the nation. He is currently co-director of the program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy in the Ford School and director of the Millennium Project, a research center exploring the impact of over-the-horizon technologies on society, located in the James and Anne Duderstadt Center on the University's North Campus.

Photo by Mark Washburn

Dr. Duderstadt's contribution to Typing In Public:

THE LIBRARY AS THE POSTER CHILD OF THE IT REVOLUTION: "...the library has become the poster child for the impact of IT on higher education." "...the library may be the most important observation post for studying how students really learn. If the core competency of the university is the capacity to build collaborative spaces, both real and virtual, then the changing nature of the library may be a paradigm for the changing nature of the university itself."

Grace Bonney

2010-04-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

Website: Design*Sponge

Grace Bonney is the Brooklyn-based editor of Design*Sponge, a daily website dedicated to home and product design. Grace has a unique angle on the industry, working as a contributing editor at Domino Magazine and CRAFT magazine, and as a freelancer with top publications like House and Garden, New York Home, Food and Wine, In Style, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Magazine, CITY Magazine, Time Out New York Kids, Archinect, The New York Post, Everyday with Rachael Ray and others. In addition, she wrote a weekly design column for the Philadelphia Inquirer for two years and has worked as Style Editor of HGTV’s Ideas Magazine.

Grace has been a featured guest on Good Morning America and the Martha Stewart Radio Show and has been invited to speak with wide variety of organizations ranging from design schools to professional trade organizations. Recent engagements include: "Design and the Media" (RISD, 2007), "Getting Your Work Online" (SCAD, 2007), "Design and the Internet" (AIGA, 2007), Design and Marketing Online (FIT, 2008), Design Panel Discussion (SURTEX, 2008), Design Panel Discussion (Interior Design Show (IDS), Canada, 2009)

Grace also runs a national series of meetups for women running design-based businesses called the D*S Biz Lady Series. Grace hosts and speaks at these events designed to connect local designers and provide free advice on the subjects of PR/marketing, legal concerns, business/financial decisions and wholesaling. Meetings have been held in Brooklyn, Chicago, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles and Boston.

Design*Sponge also hosts an annual D*S Scholarship to support up-and-coming art and design students. So far over $16,000 in prize money has been awarded to students across the country.

Photo by Anna Wolf

Grace's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Kate Bingaman-Burt

2010-04-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Website: http://katebingamanburt.com/

Kate Bingaman-Burt was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1977. She founded Obsessive Consumption in 2002 and has documented her personal consumption in many different mediums. Her first book, Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? will be published by Princeton Architectural Press in April 2010.

Bingaman-Burt is active in the indie craft and craftivism movements. She provided all of the illustrations for the book Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design as well as the promotional materials for the documentary of the same name. She lives in Portland, Oregon where, along with being an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University, she also makes piles of work about consumerism (zines! pillows! dresses! drawings! paper chains! photos!). She happily draws for other good people too (IDEO, Madewell, ReadyMade Magazine, The New York Times, Wieden + Kennedy). Kate also conducts zine workshops and spreads the craftivism word. Her Obsessive Consumption work is represented by Jen Bekman in NYC and she has produced several editions with Jen and 20x200.

Photo courtesy of Kate

Kate's contribution to Typing In Public:

George Oates

2010-04-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

Website: http://george08.blogspot.com

George is a writer by mistake. After taking up the weblog challenge from Vancouver in August of 2003, she inadvertently wrote the equivalent of a short thesis in her role as designer of Flickr, arguably the world's best photosharing website. She is a voracious fiction lover, and some favorite authors include Iris Murdoch, Martin Amis, Peter Carey, and Philip Roth.

She currently resides in San Francisco, where she runs the Open Library project for the Internet Archive. She's thinking about getting two kittens, if she gets a Green Card.

Photo courtesy of George

George's contribution to Typing In Public:

Marian Bantjes

2010-04-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

Website: www.bantjes.com

Marian Bantjes is a designer, artist and writer working internationally from her base on a small island off the west coast of Canada, near Vancouver. She was trained as a book typesetter (1984–1994) and was a straight-up graphic designer from 1994–2003. But it is since 2004 that her highly personal, obsessive and sometimes strange graphic work has brought her international recognition. Marian is known for her custom typography, detailed and lovingly precise vector art, her obsessive hand work, her patterning and ornament. Often hired to create custom art for magazines, advertising and special projects, Marian’s work has an underlying structure and formality that frames its organic, fluid nature.

Her clients include Pentagram (Michael Bierut), Stefan Sagmeister, Saks Fifth Avenue, Maharam, Ogilvy & Mather Chicago, Young & Rubicam Chicago, Random House, Houghton Mifflin, Wallpaper*, WIRED, The Guardian (UK), The New York Times, among many others. She has also designed materials for the AIGA, TypeCon 2007, and the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC).

Her work has been featured in design magazines around the world, including IDEA (Japan), Eye (UK), Communication Arts (USA), STEP (USA), Varoom (UK), Grafik (UK), DPI (Taiwan), Concept (Indonesia), Form (Germany), D2B (Brazil), Design Indaba (South Africa) and étapes (Paris); appears in numerous design compendiums, and has been published in a 120-page book by Pyramyd (France), as part of their design&designer series. In 2007, five pieces were accepted into the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (Smithsonian) in New York. In 2008, she was accepted as a member of the prestigious international design organization, Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). In 2010, she spoke at the reknowned TED Conference in Long Beach, California. Her book, "I Wonder" is due out in the fall of 2010, published by Thames & Hudson.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Marian's contribution to Typing In Public:

Jorge Colombo

2010-04-14T11:22:00.001-07:00

Website: www.jorgecolombo.com

Jorge Colombo was born in 1963 in Lisbon, Portugal; moved to the USA in 1989. Has lived in Chicago and in San Francisco. Living in New York City since 1998 with his wife, artist Amy Yoes.

He has worked as an illustrator, as a photographer, and as a graphic designer. He was the art director of Chicago's NewCity, San Francisco magazine, and Jungle Media in NYC. He has three books published in Portugal: "Fullerton," a collection of his watercolor drawings from the 1990s; "Of Big and of Small Love," a photographic novel created in collaboration with novelist Inês Pedrosa; and "Lisboa Revisitada," photographs after poems by Álvaro de Campos, which were exhibited at Casa Fernando Pessoa in Lisbon. Since 2003 he has been working on digital videos, initially restricting himself to one-minute movies, later moving into longer projects.

His cover illustration for the June 1, 2009 issue of The New Yorker was the first one created on an iPhone for a major magazine. Video animations of his Finger Paintings have since appeared weekly in www.newyorker.com.

Photo by Daniel Murtagh

Jorge's contribution to Typing In Public:

Birds & Batteries

2010-04-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

Website: www.birdsandbatteries.com
Tumblr: www.birdsandbatteries.tumblr.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/birdsbatteries

Never easy to categorize, Bay area band Birds & Batteries continue to cut their own path of genre-less music. Previously revered by some as alt-country garage, fuzzy synth psych, or electronic pop, Birds & Batteries again find themselves in new territory with their latest EP, Up To No Good. Songwriter Mike Sempert describes it as "a spooky-funky adventure."

Photo courtesy of Birds & Batteries

Birds & Batteries' contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Paulo Coelho

2010-04-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

Brazilian author Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theater director, actor, lyricist, and journalist. Paulo wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music, such as Elis Regina and Rita Lee, yet he is best known for his work with Raul Seixas. Together they wrote such successes as "Eu nasci há dez mil anos atrás" ("I Was Born Ten Thousand Years Ago"), "Gita," and "Al Capone." He wrote "The Alchemist," one of the bestselling Brazilian books of all time. He also adapted "The Gift" (Henry Drummond) and "Love letters of a prophet" (Kalil Gibran). His work has been translated in 67 languages and edited in more than 150 countries.

Photo by Philip Van Volsem, courtesy of the author

Paulo's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Victor Valle

2010-04-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Victor Valle is a professor and former chair of the ethnic studies department at California State Polytechnic University. An investigative reporter formerly with the Los Angeles Times, he is the coauthor of "Latino Metropolis, Recipe of Memory," as well as several other books, articles, and literary collections.
"The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Victor Valle is the pit bull of Los Angeles writers." -- Mike Davis, author of "City of Quartz"

Photo courtesy of the author

Victor's contribution to Typing In Public:

Excerpted from his new book, "City of Industry: Genealogies of Power in Southern California" (Rutgers University Press, 2009)

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Max Silvestri

2010-04-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.maxsilvestri.com/

Max Silvestri is a comedian, writer and actor living in Brooklyn. Named by New York Magazine as one of the "Ten Comedians People Find Funny." He's written for The Onion, Gawker, the Huffington Post and other places on the interwebs. Paste Magazine calls him 'World Wide Witty.' Along with Gabriel Delahaye, he makes videos as Gabe & Max for places like Details Magazine. Max has been in some TV commercials. He co-hosts Big Terrific, Time Out New York's Best New Variety Show, every Wednesday in Williamsburg alongside Gabe Liedman and SNL's Jenny Slate.

Photo: Fred Benenson

Max's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Michele Serros

2010-03-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.muchamichele.com

Named by Newsweek as "One of the Top Young Women to Watch for in the New Century," Michele Serros is the author of "Chicana Falsa and other stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard," "How to be a Chicana Role Model," "Honey Blonde Chica," and her newest young adult novel, "¡Scandalosa!"

A former staff writer for The George Lopez Show, Serros has written for the Los Angeles Times, Ms. Magazine, CosmoGirl, and The Washington Post and contributes satirical commentaries for National Public Radio. Originally from Oxnard, CA, she is currently working on a new novel, "A (Sorta) Unmarried Mexican."

Photo: Marie Gregorio-Oviedo

Michele's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

David Shields

2010-03-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.davidshields.com

David Shields is the author of "Reality Hunger: A Manifesto." His previous book, "The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead," was a New York Times bestseller. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Yale Review, Village Voice, Salon, Slate, McSweeney's, and Utne Reader; he's written reviews for the New York Times Book Review, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer.

Shields has received a Guggenheim fellowship, two NEA fellowships, an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, a Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. He lives with his wife and daughter in Seattle, where he is a professor in the English department at the University of Washington. Since 1996 he has also been a member of the faculty in Warren Wilson College's low-residency MFA Program for Writers, in Asheville, North Carolina. His work has been translated into a dozen languages.

Photo: Ben Wirth

David's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Devo

2010-03-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.clubdevo.com

Formed in 1974 by Kent State art students Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo took its name from their concept of "de-evolution" - the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed. Their music echoed this view of society as rigid, repressive, and mechanical, with appropriate touches -- jerky, robotic rhythms; an obsession with technology and electronics often atonal melodies and chord progressions - all of which were filtered through the perspectives of conceptual misfits. Devo became a cult sensation, helped in part by their concurrent emphasis on highly stylized visuals and groundbreaking music videos directed by Gerald Casale.

Devolved and devoted, Devo is posed for retro greatness, returning to their most conceptual roots as a virtual agency hatching ideas and projects from the ground up.Devo is releasing their first new studio album in 19 years via their Devo Song Study, a musical experiment on the internet.

Devo's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Marilyn Johnson

2010-03-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Website: http://www.thisbookisoverdue.com

Marilyn Johnson is the author of two books: "This Book Is Overdue!" about librarians and archivists in the digital age and "The Dead Beat," about the art of obituaries and obituary writers. She is a former editor and staff writer for Life and other magazines, and lives with her family in New York.
Below: Marilyn Johnson reading from "This Book Is Overdue!" at the Village Bookstore in Pleasantville, NY. Photo by Margaret Fox.

Marilyn's contribution to Typing In Public:

If this contribution has piqued your interest, feel free to build on it: Post your own version of the story's continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or text us at (805) 628-2283. You can also wait for the May 15th SLO event and type it all on a real live typewriter.

Typing In Public from... Pandora!

2010-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

We're asking for contributions from various writers and were just blown away when Paul Frommer, creator of the Na'vi language for the movie Avatar, gave us our truly amazing first entry written just for Typing In Public. We have one sentence from Paul, written in Na'vi , which members of the public can build upon.
The Na'vi sentence will be posted in its entirety on Monday, May 3rd here, on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
We'll provide the translation ~~on Friday, May 14th~~ then.
Typing In Public in San Luis Obispo will begin at 8am on Saturday May 15th in San Luis Obispo, California, and we will be collecting Twitter contributions.

Keep checking back! We'll post our contributions as we get them.

Lucy & Sally launch Typing In Public

2010-03-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

This year, our focus is a little different: not only are we paying homage to the printed word but we're also honoring a much-venerated tool of the industry, the typewriter. We've traded ideas with the city of Chico to bring you the SLO(wer) version of Reading In Public-- Typing! in Public. In 2010 RIP will have a typographic twist.

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, volunteers paired with typewriters will be stationed at various locations in the city of San Luis Obispo. Anyone is allowed to sit and type for 10-15 minutes (we'll have timers). It can be something you've composed or something you've read (with attribution). As you're seeing on this site, we've been collecting contributions, and anyone is free to tease any of these out into a longer narrative. If you read something that piques your interest, please build on it: Post a continuation here in comments, on Twitter, on Flickr, or you can wait for the May 15th event in San Luis Obispo).

SLO Locations so far:
BlackHorse Espresso
Kennedy Library at CalPoly
Sally Loo's Cafe

San Luis Obispo Public Library
Steynberg Gallery
The Sanitarium
SLO creek by the Network
(And there will be a few wandering typewriters)

With your first sentence, you'll be asked to creatively link your contribution to the author immediately preceding you, in whatever fashion you like. You can continue what's been written or simply acknowledge that person's last typed word. At the end of the day we'll be collecting all the compositions for a public reading* at Sally Loo's Cafe, and because you've taken the time to acknowledge the work of the person before you, it will all read as one narrative. That narrative may be a little choppy and scrambled but we promise you this: it will be heavy on FUN. So come join us at Sally Loo's (that's Sally below)! Readings will begin promptly at 6:00 and if you're late you may be called on to read :) Come on out and meet the Reading Chair, specifically designed and created in 2009 by Chris Allen of cwastudios.com for the very first Reading In Public San Luis Obispo.

Follow us on Flickr! We'll be posting lots of images in the days to come. We'll also be posting to Twitter and Facebook.

*Readings will be juried. Not all entries will be read in public or used for the installation. Readers are not allowed to read their own work. C'mon, what fun would that be?

Borrow a book to read in the park

2009-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

(More photos on Flickr)

Library! is an abandoned newspaper rack, repurposed into an informal traveling book and culture exchange within the city of San Luis Obispo, a venue for creative readers who care that reading not become a lost art.
Readers of all ages will be able to find books, magazines, sketchbooks, or an actual piece of book art, and borrowers are encouraged to leave an item for lending. Each piece will have a library card documenting its travels. When a reader checks a piece out, they're asked to sign the card and leave those in a box located on top of the rack. We welcome creative annotation to all the art pieces, and we encourage personal notes in the books left by readers.
Each new location of Library! will be posted here.

Current location of Library!
The link above will take you to a page with the current address of Library!

(Image: http://www.lapl.org/)

Where is the reading chair?

2009-08-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

5. Back in Catherine's van!
4. ~~Week of Oct. 27: Science Cafe at Cal Poly -- "Is it still a book?"~~
3. ~~Catherine's van :)~~
2. ~~The Central Coast Book & Author Festival~~
1. ~~Steynberg Gallery~~

Photo by Brian Lawler

Thank you, everyone

2009-08-03T06:59:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, one of the questions we were repeatedly asked was how this all started. Where did the idea come from? The project began with a May 12th e-mail from Ashley Schwellenbach (below), arts editor of New Times, San Luis Obispo. Ashley wanted some help "brainstorming and executing performance art and art installations around the county, in as highly visible a manner as possible. The goal was to explore what possibilities art affords when you take away the stage and canvas, to ask how we define art, and to question whether San Luis Obispo had the necessary critical mass for such projects (which usually take place in more urban venues)."

We met on Thursday, May 14th, and Reading In Public was born a few days after that first meeting. Reading In Public is the combined efforts of four people: Mignon Khargie and Catherine Trujillo, the creators and organizers of the project, Chris Allen, designer of the Reading Chair, who was also an invaluable collaborator as the project grew, and Allan Cooper, our mentor. Catherine and Mignon were also busy with another project, Live! On Aisle 9, which sadly never came to fruition. Reading In Public itself lost some traction when the original concept of a larger, single-location event was scuttled (we couldn't afford a million dollar insurance policy -- we were, after all, two working moms on no budget). Catherine brilliantly suggested we shift gears and rethink the project. So, the reading chair downsized, gained a couple of roller-blade wheels, and we became SLO booksters (not buskers, since we were doing this only for smiles).

There are so many great moments that remain with us from our first event on Saturday, August 1st, and we'll list a few of them here, in no special order:
♥ Brett Bodemer, lugging the ottoman around when we had trouble navigating uneven pavements. Chris built us a tank: A lovely chair, but formidable in its construction. We think it's earthquake-proof :) Brett stayed with us all day and never complained even though the ottoman got heavier as the day wore on
♥ Dawna Davies who brought some of us to tears with her delivery of the tale of an aged mother unable to sing her special song to her son, who then sings it right back to her. And all the brave readers at the Children's Museum who were battling a building full of loud, colorful distractions
♥ Don Swearingen, who gave cloth life
♥ Jennifer Allen-Barker, a visually impaired reader, whose contribution caused the littlest member of our audience to break into dance
♥ Linnaea Phillips (pictured above), who read from a book by Carl Sandburg, signed by Carl Sandburg, and given to her by her parents
♥ James Darden (pictured at the end of this post) who sang, got busted and was very gracious about it
♥ Francesca Nemko who brought her own bass player, Clint Iwanicha
♥ Margie Noble Englund who read her heart out at the creek when exhaustion peaked and audience dwindled
♥ Mauria Lynn Betts and Heidi Harmon (below), and Kevin Patrick Sullivan, who read in a metered parking spot (our thanks to Rebar for the inspiration)
♥ Shy Ariel Weininger with her amazing pink hair, who yelled out, "Books are cool!" as she cycled past us on her way to work, after she'd finished her stint on the chair
♥ Michael McLaughlin, a lovely man and our final reader, whose choice of location served as a coda of sorts: Bubblegum Alley, where our feet stuck to the ground if we strayed too close to the walls. We did the only thing we could do: We stuck one of our buttons to the wall, with a wad of gum :)
♥ Everyone who carefully selected the works to which they wished to pay homage, and some of whom, unable to decide on just one, brought a stack of well-loved books (see all of our WONDERFUL readers here)
♥ The reader who just signed up online! and left this message: "I WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR 2010
AS I LEARNED OF THIS PROJECT TOO LATE FOR THIS YEAR. THANK YOU. YESTERDAY WAS WONDERFUL."

It was truly great, and we had a blast. We have a few smaller (stealth) projects in the works, and we definitely think we need a repeat of this event for next year. In the meantime, if you see someone reading outdoors and they're willing to have their photo on our site, do e-mail one to us. We especially love photos taken with your cellphones :) Don't forget to bookmark us on Flickr to see who's reading out in the wide-open public, and you can also follow us on Twitter.

Our readers, times & places for August 1st!

2009-07-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

There are a few tbds, so do look for updates to happen throughout the day. Except for when we start at the SLO Library, all times are approximate. You can find a Google map here. If you live in San Luis Obispo, the chair is at Steynberg Gallery at 1531 Monterey, and will be there until 9:30 am on Saturday. Please feel free to sit in it and read. And send us a photo, we'll post to Flickr.

9:45 SLO Library
Sara McGrath, Bob Banner and Jennifer C. Allen-Barker
"On the day you were born" by Debra Frasier
"Thirteen Senses: A Memoir" by Victor Villasenor
Extracts from "Edible SLO"
Audiobook: "The Musical Life of Gustav Mole" narrated by Patrick McNee, story by Kathryn Meyrick

10:35 SLO Little Theater @ Bee Bee
Brett B. Bodemer, Britta Swearingen
A group of brief essays, collectively titled, "Back and There" by Brett B. Bodemer (written after spending a year in Hanoi, Vietnam)
Britta's new play, "Humble Boy"

11:00 Humankind at 982 Monterey
Catharine Krupp, Linnaea Phillips
"Papa, do you love me?" By Barbara M. Joosse
"Rootabaga Stories" by Carl Sandburg

11:30 Millennium Clock at Monterey and Osos
Mike Miller, James Darden
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" from the Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain
Poetry by James Darden

12:15 Children's Museum on Nipomo
Dawna Davies, Margie Noble Englund, Verla Neel, Don Swearingen
"I Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch
"Where the wild things are" by Maurice Sendak
Mouse making demonstration
"Town Mouse, Country Mouse"

1:00 Anam Cré Pottery at the Creamery
Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Bob Banner
"What Shall We Do Without Us" by Kenneth Patchen
"The Sacred Matrix: From the Matrix of Violence to the Matrix of Life -- The Foundation for a New Civilisation" by Dieter Duhm
(a 15 min section called "Night Thoughts about a New Friendship between the Sexes")

2:00 Blackhorse Espresso on Higuera
Ryan Miller, Ashley Schwellenbach, Tom Di Santo
"The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
"The Youngest Doll" by Rosario Ferre
"The Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac

2:30 Higuera at Court Street
Catherine Trujillo & Mignon Khargie
Silent reading

2:45 Marsh at Downtown Center
James Darden, Catherine Trujillo & Mignon Khargie
Poetry by James Darden and silent reading

3:15 The garden at Linnaea's Cafe
Josephine Crawford, Francesca Nemko, Brett Bodemer
"The Alphabet Versus The Goddess" by Shakti Gawain
"Living in the Light" by Shakti Gawain
"Childless Mother" and "Of Parrots & Paradigms" by Francesca Nemko
A group of brief essays, collectively titled, "Back and There" by Brett B. Bodemer (written after spending a year in Hanoi, Vietnam)

4:00 Creek by Mission Mall
Hannah Fowler, Margie Noble Englund
For kids, tbd

4:15ish Nothing Happened Here (at all)
Mauria Lynn Betts, Heidi Harmon

4:45 Mission Plaza, Amphitheater
Ariel Weininger, Hannah Fowler
and the general public (anyone wishing to sit on the chair and read)
Science fiction short stories, tbd
A Chet Gecko mystery
and whatever you like

5:30/duskish Bubblegum Alley
Michael McLaughlin
"Book of the Dead Man" by Marvin Bell

Map by Mignon

The Reading Chair

2009-07-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

We saw it today, and posted more photographs. It is just absolutely wonderful. The best part was realising how much fun Chris was having. And we're not making a cushion, it doesn't need any. The slight curvature of the seat and the back rest being at just the right angle all obviated the need for any cushion. It's perfect just the way it is.
Chris is adding another set of endcaps to conceal the screw holes, and constructing an ottoman for the cavity. Should all be done by this coming weekend, a full week before Saturday, August 1st.

See our specifications in the post below.

And now, the chair

2009-07-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

Online applications are now closed, and it's on to finishing the chair and mapping readers to venues (a schedule of readers and locations will be posted on Friday, July 24th). We've gotten to know so many lovely people along the way, thank you all so much! A special thank you to Linnaea Phillips, who really does know everyone in San Luis Obispo :) And to Allan Cooper, whose lovely house we invade every Sunday. Most of all, we'd like to say a HUGE thank you to Chris Allen. Words are not enough here, so we'll show you pictures. Here he is, hard at work. We've posted more images on Flickr (or click on any image below) so you can follow along as he finishes the reading chair.

Update: The chair was designed to the specifications below.
• Event marker: The design needed to have a connection to reading. The lid opens to form a chair (and closes into a cube), and both seat and back rest gently curve at the hinge, which are all design elements drawn from the shape of books. Chris Allen used laminated plywood, the striations of which are a reference to book pages. We installed the chair at Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo before the event so the public could sit on it.
• Mobility: We needed to be able to wheel it around easily, but not have it move once it was set down. Chris built in 2 rollerblade wheels at the rear, and we pushed/pulled it by the open lid/chair back.
• Size: It had to have a small footprint so as not to obstruct pedestrian traffic on city pavements as we wheeled it around
• Stability: Sturdy enough that it won't tip over if a kid climbed on it (they did, it didn't move)
• Comfort: The gentle curvature of the seat and backrest makes it comfortable to sit on
• Storage: For any reading material our readers brought with them. The space under the seat works as a small bookcase. Chris also made an ottoman which fits into that space, essentially a box with a lid, which functions as additional storage and seating (we used it for both, and we had all the readers sign the underside of the ottoman's lid). Chris Allen sawed a book in half and used the halves as handles for the ottoman. The name of the book was "Hand Luggage" by John Bayley, on the recommendation of our book-loving friend, Karen Templer.
• Ease of transport: The chair folds to a cube so we could lift it in and out of a car (the top edge of the lid is notched to prevent pinched fingers)

More photos are available here.
To see more of Chris Allen's work, visit CWA Studios.

Ready, set, read!

2009-07-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Location: San Luis Obispo, California. Applications ~~close on Thursday, July 16th~~ are now closed, and a schedule of readers and locations will be posted on Friday, July 24th.

Name:
E-mail address:
In 140 words or less, tell us why you've earned a place on the book chair:
And a few optional bits and pieces.
Favorite author:
All-time favorite book:
And we're curious about how you read. Nothing can substitute for the feel of paper? You love your Kindle? Can't stop tweeting? Tell us, we'd love to know.
Terms: I will abide by all the rules set by Reading In Public for the duration of the project in which I am involved. I will not do anything that breaks the law and interrupts the peace. Reading In Public has the right to stop me from taking part in the project at any time for any reason. I agree that Reading In Public can photograph me taking part in the project, and can publish photographs of my performance on the internet.
I have read and understood the terms

Volunteers needed

2009-06-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

A very fun flash mob is being planned for the evening of July 2nd, in San Luis Obispo. We need exactly 18 people (we'll take more, and older kids are very welcome). The event will last for roughly 45 minutes of your time (6:45 to 7:30 pm) if you have it to spare, and of course it will be tremendous fun, we promise. E-mail us if you want to be part of RIP's inaugural ceremonies!

We do have one requirement, that you'll let us post pictures of the event, with captions (only first names), here and over there.

Hard at work on the reading chair

2009-06-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

A new sketch from Chris: The chair is now smaller, and mobile, and has a pop-out ottoman which can hold books. The recess into which the ottoman fits is potential book storage also.

Above: One of three sketches from Chris Allen (see the rest here).

Who we are

2009-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Chris Allen is a LEED accredited designer at the San Luis Obispo firm of Kornreich Architects, and an award-winning furniture designer. He is a graduate of the Architecture program at Cal Poly and is currently working towards his architectural license. Chris is an avid furniture builder and has begun to expand his portfolio of work into residential cabinetry.
Website: CWA Studios
Favorite author: Tolkein
All-time favorite book: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Can't live without: Dwell

Allan Cooper, FAIA, is a professor of Architecture at Cal Poly, and has served as Director and Associate Dean of the department. He is the recipient of a multitude of professional and teaching awards, including the AIA Presidential Citation (awarded four times) and the AIACCC Award of Merit for design of the Cooper Residence. Allan has given many years of service to the community of San Luis Obispo, serving on the boards of various local organizations, including the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission and the San Luis Obispo Arts Council. He is the current president of Obispo Beautiful.
Favorite author: Kenneth J. Gergen
All-time favorite book: Always the next book on my list, and this week it's The Lost City of Z : A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Can't live without: Pistachios

Mignon Khargie is an illustrator and designer. She (and her daughter Hannah) loves to draw animals.
Websites: Zand2ohs.com, A plate a day
All-time favorite book: Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee

Curator Catherine Trujillo has worked with designers, artists, architects, and photographers to create long-standing contributions to the cultural life of the Central Coast. She believes reading is an art and is not lost.
Favorite author: This week -- Reif Larsen (The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet)
All-time favorite book: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Can't live without: My Sunday Morning Newspaper ritual of the Los Angeles Times + New York Times + a large soy, no-foam latte
Websites: San Louie, SLO Divas, Nothing Happened Here

Welcome

2009-06-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is the inaugural post for the Reading In Public project. We invite you to stay tuned as we finalize our plans for a celebration of the written word. In a couple of weeks, hopefully sooner, members of the public will be able to apply for a ~~thirty-minute~~ fifteen to twenty-five minute spot on the Reading ~~Bench~~ Chair, specially designed and built for the occasion by Chris Allen. The bench will be ~~centrally located~~ wheeled around to various locations within the downtown area of the city of San Luis Obiso, but ~~its exact location~~ locations will not be revealed until shortly before the day of the event. Reading In Public will take place ~~around the middle of July~~ on Saturday, August 1, and we'll make an announcement here when our dates are set and we're ready to do online signups.

Get as creative as you like -- spend some time thinking about what you would do to proclaim your love of reading, and let us know how you'd fill your 30 20 to 25-minute spot on the bench. We'll publish the full schedule here one week before the event, listing all the people selected to sit on the ~~bench~~ chair, what they'll be doing, and when. We hope you'll drop by. Bring something to read.

Updated to reflect change of plan/venue: The original concept for Reading In Public was a round-the-clock, multiday, single location event, where the Reading Chair would be accessible to the community. We wanted to sign up people online, each reader for 15-20 minutes at a time, and have the chair peopled by a continuous stream of readers.