Books
Friday, February 3, 2017
Outside Angle
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 2:21 PM
If you've been wondering how that book of photographs of Humboldt County by Curran Hatleberg turned out, it's now available from TBW Books. You might remember Hatleberg, who has an MFA from Yale University, first came to our county to do some trimming (hey, Yale costs) and later taught photography at College of the Redwoods, during which time he shot the local scenery and the locals. According to Juxtapoz Magazine, "The culmination of Hateberg’s findings has recently been compiled into a beautifully edited publication," with 47 color plates for $45 (signed copies available for $300).
Mind you, these are not exactly beauty shots of Eureka and an argument can be made against their potentially exploitive nature, since the subjects of the photos are largely poor and/or rural. A very Vice-y article by Vice didn't assuage those fears. Some of the images (a sampling of which can be seen in this slideshow) are stunning but still leave lingering questions about the photographer's scrutinizing gaze, especially bound in the rich red cloth and gold foil stamp that promo copy says invites wear and recalls the Gold Rush. From another angle, these high-end touches smack of the packaging and consumption of one class for another.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Lightning Strikes
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 4:48 PM
It's a dark and stormy night ... what better time to work on your 99-word Flash Fiction Issue entry? You never know, you could even end up with a book, like frequent flash contributor Neil Tarpey, whose collection of extremely short stories, Flashes of Lightning, comes out in just a few weeks. He writes that banging out quickies for the Journal's contest “sparked my passion for writing fiction limited to 101 words or fewer.” In fact, eight of the stories in the collection were first published in the Journal's pages (sample a few here and here).
You can catch Tarpey, a retired Times-Standard sports scribe, reading from the collection at Booklegger on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. during Arts Alive! and at Northtown Books on Nov. 11 during Arts! Arcata. Mind you, that's after this year's Oct. 24 flash fiction deadline, but you can still pick up a signed copy for luck.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Tourist Trap
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 10:56 AM
Hipsters, pack your bags. Eureka might be too mainstream for you now. The July-August issue of the American Automobile Association's Via magazine features seven highlights from the "vibrant Northern California seaport, famed for teeming fisheries and towering redwood forests." Carson Mansion, the Hikshari' Trail, Samoa Cookhouse, Sequoia Park Zoo, Living the Dream Ice Cream, Humboldt Bay Tourism Center and Eureka Books all get shout-outs in "Weekender: Eureka, Calif." Read the full article here and swell with local pride.
Friday, August 2, 2013
The Stuff of Legend
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Fri, Aug 2, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Arcata has some characters, all right. And evidently it always has — even before it was Arcata. From Wiyot tribe and the days of the Wild West to pioneering farmers, builders, tie-dyed idealists and immigrant shop owners on the plaza, Arcata is a town of fascinating folks. Easy to forget in the age of Pot Cops, but this place has history. All those names on street signs around town have a story.
Curious? Leg it to Booklegger in Eureka from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and have local author Kevin Hoover sign a copy of Legendary Locals of Arcata for you. Yes, that Kevin Hoover — editor of the Arcata Eye and a real Arcatan. He's chosen some movers and shakers from among the throng of characters that have populated this "tiny big city" and collected their stories.
The book is part of a series of Local Legend books, dozens and dozens of titles, each focusing on a different city. Cool, but not about us. Let's get back to us. In the 1920s, Arcata singer Zelia Vaissade was the toast of Paris, broadcasting from the Eiffel Tower. Today, hometown girl Brisa Roche is rocking the pop charts in the City of Light. And the Chums, the folks who run Don's Donuts, Pizza and Deli, escaped the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Pick up a copy, have it signed and then thrill to the escapades of Arcata legends then and now. How else are you going to find out if you're in it?
Curious? Leg it to Booklegger in Eureka from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and have local author Kevin Hoover sign a copy of Legendary Locals of Arcata for you. Yes, that Kevin Hoover — editor of the Arcata Eye and a real Arcatan. He's chosen some movers and shakers from among the throng of characters that have populated this "tiny big city" and collected their stories.
The book is part of a series of Local Legend books, dozens and dozens of titles, each focusing on a different city. Cool, but not about us. Let's get back to us. In the 1920s, Arcata singer Zelia Vaissade was the toast of Paris, broadcasting from the Eiffel Tower. Today, hometown girl Brisa Roche is rocking the pop charts in the City of Light. And the Chums, the folks who run Don's Donuts, Pizza and Deli, escaped the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Pick up a copy, have it signed and then thrill to the escapades of Arcata legends then and now. How else are you going to find out if you're in it?
