Charles Fracchia speaks on the history of San Francisco
Event held on January 26, 2010
Audience at the Charles Fracchia speaker event
Charles Fracchia with audience members
LITQUAKE panel on:
Consciousness : Where the Mind Meets the Brain
Event held on October 13, 2009
Audience at the LITQUAKE speaker event
Booksigning with author Tamim Ansary,
on September 17, 2009
Afghani cuisine - at Tamim Ansary speaker event
Booksigning at Tamim Ansary speaker event
Authors David Mas Masumoto (Wisdom of the Last Farmer) and Novella
Carpenter (Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer)
at speaker event, September 9, 2009
Cuisine served at "two farmers" speaker event
Audience at the "two farmers" speaker event
Author William T. Vollmann, Imperial,
booksigning event on August 6, 2009
Audience at William T. Vollmann speaker event
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at the
Mechanics' Institute
57 Post Street, San Francisco (between
Market and Kearny Streets)
Transporation: Montgomery BART / MUNI station
Events
Program is supported in part by Mark and Lisa Pinto |
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BOX OFFICE INFORMATION ****
For RESERVATIONS BY PHONE: call the 'Events Line' at (415) 393-0100
For RESERVATIONS BY EMAIL: rsvp@milibrary.org
Reservations are held at Box Office. Arrive 15 minutes before event for seat selection. OPEN SEATING
If you are not a Mechanics’ Institute member, JOIN NOW, and attend most of our Author events and CinemaLit Film Series for FREE. Membership application and information.
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AUTHOR & LITERARY EVENTS
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| Wednesday, March 10, 6:00 pm
The Essential Engineer:
Why Science Alone Will Not Solve our Global Problems
Henry Petroski
Moderated by Ransom Stephens, Ph.D. |
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The key to envisioning our future is understanding the answers to the problems we face today. A professor of civil engineering and history at Duke University, Henry Petroski explores the possible solutions in science and engineering to issues like climate change, natural disasters, and renewable energy sources. Is nuclear power an option? Biofuels? Battery operated cars? This book examines not only our future, but the ways that science and engineering combined in our history to create world-changing inventions like the steamship, the airplane, and stunning accomplishments like the moon landing.
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Henry Petroski |
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. The author of more than a dozen books, his previous books include Engineers of Dreams, The Evolution of Useful Things, and The Pencil. He lives in Durham, North Carolina and Arrowsic, Maine.
Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., is a professor of particle physics turned writer and speaker. During the tech boom he directed patent development for a wireless web startup and, a few years later led an engineering commando team in conquering a signal integrity problem for a Fortune 100 Company. Ransom lives in Petaluma, California and makes a living by writing novels, giving speeches, and helping engineers solve problems at the cutting edge of technology. His first novel, The God Patent, (Numina Press, www.TheGodPatent.com) is the story of a laid off engineer caught in a battle between science and religion as he tries to rebuild his life. |
Ransom Stephens, Ph.D. |
Members
Free : Public $12
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| Wednesday, March 17, 6:00 pm
Mark Twain's Other Woman:
The Hidden Story of His Final Years
Laura Skandera Trombley
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 Laura Skandera Trombley Photo: John Lucas |
Mark Twain’s last decade, following the death of his beloved wife Livy,
has often seemed both obscure and tragic to his biographers. Twain scholar Laura
Skandera Trombley attempts to answer the many questions about that time by focusing on
Isabel Lyon, the woman who for six years served as Samuel Clemens’ secretary, nurse,
housekeeper, gatekeeper, and adoring audience. First valued, then reviled by Clemens,
the role Isabel played in his final years was for years covered up by Twain heirs and
biographers. Now, at last, using Isobel Lyon’s own journals, new details about that
time are brought to light.
Laura Skandera Trombley was raised in Southern California and attended Pepperdine University, where she earned her BA and MA, and the University of Southern California, where she earned a PhD in English literature. She is the president of Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and is the author of Mark Twain in the Company of Women. She lives in Claremont with her husband and son.
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Free : Public $12
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| Thursday, March 25, 6:00 pm
Been Doon So Long:
A Randall Grahm Vinthology
Randall Grahm |
| The founder of the Bonny Doon Vineyard has for years written humor about the wine industry, often with the underlying seriousness of someone who cares passionately and knows a great deal about his subject. Now his essays, poems, lectures, and more are gathered into a single collection that’s sure to please lovers of wine and literature. Hilarious literary parodies, satires, song lyrics, and his own unique version of Dante’s Inferno, titled “Wine Hell” are included, along with snippets of history from the “Rhone Ranger wine movement” and Bonny Doon’s series of quirky labels. |
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Randall Grahm |
Randall Grahm founded Bonny Doon Vinyard in 1983. He was inducted into the Who’s Who of Cooking in America in 1989. Named Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in 1990 and 1993, he frequently contributes to the magazine World of Fine Wine. He lives in Santa Cruz. |
| Members
Free : Public $12
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| Thursday, April 1, 7:00 pm (café opens at 6:30 pm)
3rd Annual World Poetry Night in the Oral Tradition
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| Back by popular demand! Maurice Wren and his ensemble of presenters including Bill Denham, Sally Churgel and Barry and Maya Spector, return to recite poetry from diverse cultures and times in the “oral tradition”, where one poem inspires another creating a river of words, images and emotions. Enjoy the inspiring works of Rumi, Sappho, Hafiz, Whitman, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, Dickinson, Neruda, Amichai, Oliver, and others. |
Members $5 : Public $12
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| Tuesday, April 13, 6:00 pm
Co-sponsored by Asia Society & Japan Society
Kissing the Mask:
Beauty, Understatement, and Femininity in Japanese Noh Theater (Ecco/HarperCollins)
William T. Vollmann
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 William T. Vollmann |
Sweeping his readers from the subdued reverence of the dressing room of Japan’s most famous Noh actor, directly into a transvestite bar in the red-light district of Kabukicho, Vollmann explores the enigma surrounding Noh theatre and the traditions that have made it such an important part of Japanese culture for centuries. Interviewing mask makers, players, geishas, and others involved in this extraordinary tradition, Vollmann extracts from Noh’s intricate layers the secrets of femininity and the mystery of perceived, and expressed beauty—on stage and off.
William T. Vollmann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories, and a seven-volume critique of violence, Rising Up and Rising Down. In 2007 he also published Poor People, a world-wide examination of poverty through the eyes of the impoverished themselves, and in 2008 an examination of the train-hopping hobo lifestyle, Riding Towards Everywhere. His novel Europe Central won the National Book Award in 2005. He has also won the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction, a Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize, and a Whiting Writers’ Award. His journalism and fiction have been published in the New Yorker, Esquire, Spin, and Granta. Vollmann lives in Sacramento.
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| Members of MI and AS & JS
Free : Public $12
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Tuesday April 20, 6:00 pm
San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima
In conversation with writer Alan Kaufman |
| A revolutionary activist of the 1960’s and an important writer of the Beat movement, she co-founded the New York Poets Theatre, and edited the literary newsletter, The Floating Bear. She is the author of 43 books of poetry and prose, including Pieces of a Song, TimeBomb, Towers Down, and The Ones I Used to Laugh With. A long-time resident of San Francisco, she teaches private classes and workshops. In 2006 she received the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement and community service. In 2009, she was named the Poet Laureate of San Francisco.
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Alan Kaufman (Moderator) is author of the books Matches and Jew Boy and editor of several anthologies, including The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. His writing has been anthologized in W.W. Norton’s Nothing Makes You Free: Writings From Descendents of Holocaust Survivors. He has written for the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle and Salon.com. He has taught at the Academy of Art University and writing salons in San Francisco. He currently has a blog on the Huffington Post. His papers are in the Special Collections Library of the University of Delaware.
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Free : Public $12
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| Thursday, April 22, 6:00 pm
Reception 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm at Rangoni Firenze Shoes, 61 Post Street
Medicean Music and Francesca Caccini:
Virtuosa to the Medici
Kip Cranna, (Lecturer, SF Opera) & Richard Savino (Guitarist, CSU Sacramento)
Presented by Humanities West |
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Kip Cranna will introduce us to music in the Medicean world. Richard
Savino will perform and discuss Francesca Caccini, composer of the first published
opera by a woman, her role within the Medici court, her relationship with her father
composer/writer Giulio Caccini, who wrote an important singing treatise, and her
friendship with Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most important women painters of the
early seventeenth century.
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| Clifford (Kip) Cranna (PhD, Musicology, Stanford) is Director of Musical Administration at San Francisco Opera. He has served as vocal adjudicator for numerous groups including the Metropolitan Opera National Council. For many years he was Program Editor and Lecturer for the Carmel Bach Festival. He lectures and writes frequently on music and teaches at the SF Conservatory of Music. He hosts the Opera Guild’s “Insight” panels and intermission features for the SF Opera radio broadcasts, and has been a Music Study Leader for Smithsonian Tours. He was Il Cenacolo’s 2006 “Man of the Year.” In 2008 he was awarded the SF Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor. |
Clifford Cranna |
| Richard Savino's performances and recordings have been praised by critics throughout the world. In addition to receiving a Diapason d’Or from Compact (Paris) and a 10 du Rèpertoire (Paris), the latter has also placed his Boccherini recordings in their "Great Discoveries" category. He is director of the ensemble El Mundo, and in 1995 and 2005 he was Visiting Artistic Director of the prestigious Aston Magna Academy and Music Festival at Rutgers University. Mr. Savino’s articles and editions have been published by Cambridge University Press, Editions Chantarelle and Indiana University Press. He is a lecturer and instructor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Professor of Music at CSU Sacramento. His instructors have included Andres Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Albert Fuller and Jerry Willard. He received his Doctorate from SUNY at Stony Brook. |
Richard Savino |
| Members of MI & HW
Free : Public $12
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| Tuesday, April 27, 6:00 pm
Day and Noir - 5th Annual Noir Literary Night
Moderated by Peter Maravelis, editor of San Francisco Noir |
| Three supernovas of the Noir genre come together to talk about their
new novels, which will thrill and grip their readers with international intrigue,
black-market morass, and a famous detective’s back-story.
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The 10th in the Aimee Leduc Investigations set in Paris, leads Aimee back to her first investigation in the Marais and secrets in the past. When her partner, René is shot, eyewitnesses name her the suspect and to vindicate herself she must find the culprit.
Cara Black lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and son. Her bestselling and award nominated Aimee Leduc Investigation series set in Paris has been translated into five languages. Her ninth book, Murder in the Latin Quarter, was a finalist for the Northern California book award. She gets to Paris twice a year for research and more if she can. Her website is http://www.carablack.com |
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When Roque Montalvo’s Uncle Faustino, a Salvadorean illegal alien, gets deported, young Roque must make a devil’s bargain to bring him home to California, plunging into the world of human trafficking, drugs, and corrupt government agents. But how far is he willing to go to get his uncle back?
David Corbett’s credentials as a writer of noir fiction include nearly fifteen years as a senior operative with a San Francisco private investigation firm. He is the author of The Devil’s Redhead,, Done for a Dime, Blood of Paradise and numerous short stories and essays, including “Pretty Little Parasite,” which was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery Stories 2009. |
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One of the most iconic private detectives in literature, Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, is resurrected in a new novel set seven years before Spade encountered the Fat Man, Wilmer, Joel Cairo, the treacherous Brigid O’Shaughnessy, and the Maltese Falcon.
Joe Gores, formerly a private eye, is the author of sixteen other novels, including Hammett, which won Japan’s Falcon Award. He has received three Edgar Awards—one of only two authors to win in three separate categories: Best First Novel, Best Short Story, and Best Episode in a TV Series. |
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Free : Public $12
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CINEMALlT
FILM SERIES |
Michael Fox, Curator |
ABOUT CINEMALIT: Film lovers and aficionados enjoy an ongoing feast of classic
American and international films at the Mechanics' Institute.
CinemaLit programs, which are presented nine months a year,
were created to complement and highlight the Mechanics' Institute
Library's vast collection of more than 2500 videos and DVDs
including classics, drama, comedy, foreign films and documentaries.
The CinemaLit Film Series is open to members and the public.
Each program begins with an introduction of the
movie, genre and themes by curator Michael Fox or well-known
local film writers and critics such as David Thomson, Eddie
Muller, Joe McBride and others. The evening concludes with a
salon discussion involving the audience and speakers. Films
are shown on large screen in the best available format, DVD
or video.
The Mechanics' Institute's charming meeting room/cafe
space, which seats up to eighty people, provides an intimate,
informal atmosphere for film viewing, lively conversation and
congenial socializing. The cafe offers light refreshments and
freshly popped popcorn.
Location: Mechanics’ Institute,
57 Post Street (near Market St), San Francisco
Transit: MUNI/BART- Montgomery Station
Time: Every Friday. As of January, 2010, the
box office and Mechanics’ Café opens at 5:30 pm
Program begins at 6:00 pm.
A salon style discussion follows the film.
Admission: Tickets available at the door.
MIL members: free ; Public suggested donation $10
For more information and reservations: Call
(415) 393-0100 or email us
at rsvp@milibrary.org
/ Reservations are required - Limited seating |
FEBRUARY:
REEL CRIMINALS - THE HEIST
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| Friday,
February 5
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) 112
min.
Directed by John Huston
Starring Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore
From assembling the gang through pulling the job,
this hard-boiled flick laid the foundation for an
entire genre.
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| Friday,
February 12
The Great Train Robbery (1979)
111 min.
Directed by Michael Crichton
Starring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland
A wily, witty threesome schemes to steal a gold shipment
from a moving train in mid-Victorian England.
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| Friday,
February 19
The Taking
of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
104 min.
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Starring Robert Shaw, Walter Matthau
A ruthless gang hijacks a subway train in gritty '70s
New York, and the tension just keeps building.
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| Friday,
February 26
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
108 min.
Directed by Charles Crichton
Starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis
Dishonor among thieves propels this London-set caper
comedy co-starring Kevin Kline and Michael Palin.
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MARCH: STAR POWER - A MONTH OF MERYL STREEP
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| Friday,
March 5
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) 123
min.
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons
Sumptuous period recreation highlights this adaptation of John Fowles’ best-selling tale of Victorian and modern love affairs.
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| Friday,
March 12
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
101 min.
Directed by Mike Nichols
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid
Carrie Fischer adapted this show-business satire and touching mother-daughter saga
from her semi-autobiographical novel about a drug-addicted actress.
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March 19
A Cry In the Dark (1988)
121 min.
Directed by Fred Schepisi
Starring Meryl Streep, Sam Neill
Based on a true story, this wrenching courtroom drama involves an Australian couple’s
fight to clear their name after their infant’s death.
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March 26
The Hours (2001)
114 min.
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore
The private lives of Virginia Woolf, a contemporary divorcee and a ‘50s housewife
echo and overlap in this powerhouse adaptation of the Pulitzer-winning novel.
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APRIL: DAY AND NOIR
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| Friday,
April 2
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) 116
min.
Directed by Lewis Milestone
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas
Directed by Lewis Milestone Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas A domineering woman is
married to an alcoholic D.A., a pal since childhood and the only living witness to
her murder of her wealthy aunt 17 years earlier.
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| Friday,
April 9
Born to Kill (1947)
92 min.
Special Guest Writer Matthew Kennedy
Directed by Robert Wise
Starring Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney
An especially nasty story of a murderer who marries a rich dame and embarks on an
affair with her half-sister.
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| Friday,
April 16
The Accused (1948)
101 min.
Special Guest Marc Kagan
Directed by William Dieterle
Starring Loretta Young, Robert Cummings
Attacked by a student, a female professor kills in self-defense and covers it up.
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April 23
Side Street (1949)
83 min.
Directed by Anthony Mann
Starring Farley Granger, Cathy O’Donnell
A New York letter carrier lifts a wad of dough, leading to serious complications and
culminating in a frenetic car chase.
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| Friday,
April 30
Act of Violence (1948)
82 min.
Special Guest Richard Von Busack, Film Critic
Directed by Fred Zinneman
Starring Van Heflin, Janet Leigh
A suburban man is pursued by a vengeful old acquaintance – but is oddly reluctant to contact the authorities.
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The Cinemalit Program is funded in part by
Ryan
Associates |
CinemaLit
Film Series - Guest Speaker Biographies |
| Michael Fox has written about film for more than 50 regional and national publications since 1987. He created and authored the “Reel World” column in SF Weekly for more than a decade, and hosted the first season of KQED-TV’s short-lived program on independent film, “Independent View.” He has sat on juries for the San Francisco International, Mill Valley, Cinequest and United Nations Association film festivals and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and contributes notes to the San Francisco, Mill Valley and SFILGBT festival programs. He also teaches courses in documentary film at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State’s downtown campus. |
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Terrance Gelenter is a nationally syndicated film critic, lecturer and interviewer. Among his many interviewees are Billy Wilder, Sidney Lumet, James Ellroy, and Isabel Allende. He is founder of Paris through Expatriate Eyes, a firm specializing in designing and escorting literary and cultural tours of Paris. The CinemaLit title is used with permission of Terrance Gelenter. |
| Matthew Kennedy teaches anthropology at the City College of San Francisco and film history at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is a film critic for Bright Lights Film Journal online and has written three books on classic Hollywood: Marie Dressler: A Biography, Edmund Goulding's Dark Victory, and Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes. For more information, please visit his website. |
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Eddie Muller is film-noir expert and author of Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, Dark City Dames, and co-author of Grindhouse: The Forbidden World of Adults Only Cinema. His mystery novels include The Distance and Shadow Boxer. |
| David Thomson’s writing has appeared in Film Comment, Movieline, The New Republic and Vanity Fair. He is a regular contributor to Esquire and The New York Times. He is the author of A Biographical Dictionary of Film, Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick, Rosebud, the award winning biography of Orson Welles, Beneath Mulholland and Nevada. |
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EXHIBITS and SPECIAL PROGRAMS
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Volunteer
Opportunities:
Volunteers are needed for our Events and CinemaLit Film Series.
Call Laura Sheppard, Director of Events at (415) 393-0114
or Pamela Troy, Events Assistant/CinemaLit Coordinator at (415)
393-0116. |
Revised: January 8, 2010
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