Editor and writer
WRITING
Pico Iyer Talks About the Power of Silence
An interview with the author about his latest book, Aflame: Learning From Silence. Kirkus Reviews
Literary Journeys
The introduction to a compendium of dozens of treasured books from around the world. Published by Princeton University Press in September 2024.
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‘The quintessential California bookseller behind City Lights gets his moment’
A profile of Paul Yamazaki, City Lights’ beloved book buyer and recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award. Los Angeles Times
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‘For Oppenheimer, Bay Area was the spark’
A look at Robert Oppenheimer’s deep roots in the Bay Area, where he carried out his revolutionary research—and where his social conscience was awakened. Zyzzyva
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‘The Epic Nature of Our Own Stories’
A conversation with Héctor Tobar, author of Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino.” Zyzzyva
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Immigrant Tale
A conversation with Kathryn Ma, author of the novel The Chinese Groove. Zyzzyva
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Life and Limb
A review of Damnation Spring, Ash Davidson’s debut novel about a logging community in Northern California. Cover of The New York Times Book Review
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Remembering Kenneth Baker
A personal tribute to the art critic.
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Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1919-2021
An appreciation of the co-founder of City Lights in San Francisco.
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Swamplandia
An interview with John Brandon, author of the novel Ivory Shoals, set in post-Civil War Florida. McSweeney’s
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Thinking About Place When Thinking About Tech
A conversation with Xiaowei Wang, author of Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside. Zyzzyva
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‘Lest We Forget the Horrors’
A catalog of Donald Trump’s misdeeds. McSweeney’s
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Herald Tribune days
A personal essay on working at the late newspaper.
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Early memories of early music
A personal essay on the joys of the shawm, a reed wind instrument.
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Michael McClure, the poet whose roar helped launch the ’60s, dies at 87
An obituary on the countercultural figure. Los Angeles Times
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Lois Lowry’s Ode to the Fallen in World War II
A review of Lowry’s latest book, On the Horizon. The New York Times
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My father’s New Hampshire
A personal essay on his home state.
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The Patterns of History
A conversation with novelist Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. Zyzzyva
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Keeping the Story of D-Day Alive
A review of Allies, a novel for young readers by Alan Gratz. The New York Times
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The Return of Olive Kitteridge, the Tart, Crotchety, Beloved Curmudgeon
A review of Olive, Again, by Elizabeth Strout. The New York Times
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Notre-Dame: Our Lady, My Lady
A personal essay on memories of the cathedral.
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Deep River
A review of Karl Marlantes’ new novel. Alta
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Finding My Mother in the Pages of Her Favorite Cookbook
An essay about a marked-up copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a repository of memories. Literary Hub
Books That Expand the Possibilities of Boyhood
A review of new titles by David Macaulay, Marc Aronson, Pierre-Jacques Ober and Kate T. Parker. The New York Times
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle:
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Mixing drinks, books and music
A profile of North Light, an Oakland bar with a twist.
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Michelle Obama goes back to her nonprofit roots
During her book tour, Obama pays a visit to a San Jose community center.
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Writing The Library Book
A podcast interview with Susan Orlean.
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Star wars
A podcast interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military.
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Eric Idle on his new memoir, Robin Williams and why Trump isn’t funny
An interview with the author of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography.
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Life with—and without—Steve Jobs
A review of Small Fry, a memoir by Lisa Brennan-Jobs.
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Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death
A review of a biography by Lillian Faderman.
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Tom Wolfe, pioneering journalist and novelist, dies at 88
The influential writer laid the foundation for so-called New Journalism and wrote the best-sellers The Right Stuff and The Bonfire of the Vanities.
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‘Hi, this is Oprah’
An interview with Tayari Jones, whose novel An American Marriage was Oprah Winfrey’s 2018 book club selection.
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Ferlinghetti speaks out at 99, his voice as vital as ever
A podcast interview with the co-founder of City Lights.
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Contested terrain
An interview with Francisco Cantú, a former Border Patrol agent and author of a memoir, The Line Becomes a River.
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Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
A review of Michael Wolff’s best-seller.
Jane Juska, author who chronicled search for sex late in life, dies at 84
Juska wrote the funny and frank best-selling memoir A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance.
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Neil deGrasse Tyson opens up on the universe, and more
An interview with the author of Astrophysics in a Hurry.
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Joanne Kyger, trailblazing Beat poet, dies at 82
Kyger was a leading poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and a rare female voice of the male-dominated Beat generation.
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Hitler, by Volker Ullrich, and Blitzed, by Norman Ohler
A review of two books about Hitler.
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The Best We Could Do
A review of a graphic novel by Thi Bui.
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Bharati Mukherjee, chronicler of Indian American life, dies at 76
Mukherjee’s many works examined the Indian American immigrant experience.
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Farewell to the reader in chief
An essay on President Obama, who views the world in shades of gray—a quality enhanced by a lifetime of reading.
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Point Reyes Books names new owners
The small but vibrant Marin County bookstore turns a page.
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Dylan becomes first songwriter to win Nobel in literature
A look at the first American to be awarded the prize since Toni Morrison won it in 1993.
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Late to the Ball
An interview with former New York Times Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati, who decided at age 54 to devote himself to becoming a competitive tennis player.
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William Hamilton, New Yorker cartoonist who satirized high society, dies
The cartoonist was known for his wry depictions of the upper crust.
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Readers unite! And raise a glass. It’s the Silent Reading Party
Daniel Handler and Dan Stone found a monthly event whose proceeds help Bay Area libraries.
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Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence
A review of a biography by Lee Siegel.
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Killing and Dying
A review of a graphic novel by Adrian Tomine.
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Jimmy Carter on his new book, race and Willie Nelson’s love of pot
An interview with the former president, whose latest book is A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety.
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French connection
Two bookstores with Bay Area roots help literary life thrive in Paris.
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Spectacle
A review of Pamela Newkirk’s biography of Ota Benga, who was kidnapped in the Congo and displayed in a cage at the Bronx Zoo.
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The Sellout
A review of Paul Beatty’s satirical novel on race.
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Philip Levine, bard of blue-collar America, dies at 87
The former U.S. poet laureate’s poems dignified working-class life.
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Novelist Robert Stone dies at age 77
Stone’s globe-spanning, often socially charged novels delved into his characters’ despair with bleak humor.
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John Waters on the road
An interview with the film director and author of Carsick.
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Another Great Day at Sea, by Geoff Dyer
A review of Dyer’s book about his time on the USS George H.W. Bush.
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Popcorn or no popcorn?
An interview with David Thomson, author of the New Biographical Dictionary of Film.
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All aboard
A review of Tom Zoellner’s Train: Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World—From the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief.
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Famous Writers I Have Known
A review of James Magnuson’s comic novel.
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Literary map of the Bay Area
An interactive map that features hundreds of booksellers, authors, and literary landmark and passages.
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Pink Sari Revolution
A review of Amana Fontanella-Khan’s book on women and power in India.
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Ninety Percent of Everything
A review of a book by Rose George that explores the little-known world of shipping.
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Al Gore on the future
An interview with the former vice president, author of The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change.
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Andrew McCarthy at home and abroad
An interview with the author of The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down.
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Making Babies
A review of Anne Enright’s essay collection.
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Whatever It Is, I Don't Like It
A review of an anthology by Howard Jacobson.
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The Beauty and the Sorrow, by Peter Englund
A review of an“intimate history” of World War I.
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Back to nature
An interview with T.C. Boyle about his novel When the Killing's Done.
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Penn Jillette on the joys of atheism
An interview with the author of God, No! Signs You May Already Be An Atheist and Other Magical Tales.
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Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout
A review of Lauren Redniss’ mix of drawings, photo-collages and text.
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Cleopatra reconsidered
An interview with biographer Stacy Schiff.
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Infinite City
A review of Rebecca Solnit’s San Francisco Atlas.
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Life
A review of Keith Richards’ memoir.
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Golden Gate
A review of Kevin Starr’s history of the bridge.
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War stories
An interview with Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried.
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Robert Stone keeps it short
An interview with Stone, author of the story collection Fun With Problems.
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Running the Books
A review of Avi Steinberg’s memoir of his time as a prison librarian.
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Big cat
A review of John Vaillant’s The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival.
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Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other
A review of Scott Simon’s memoir on adoption.
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The Last Hero
A review of Howard Bryant’s biography of Henry Aaron.
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Agassi's next chapter
An interview with the tennis great and author of the memoir Open.
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New York story
An interview with Richard Price, author of the novel Lush Life.
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A thin read
An essay on the Amazon Kindle.
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On the road again
An interview with travel writer William Least Heat Moon.
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Capturing the Tenderloin
An interview with documentary filmmaker Rob Nilsson about his series of films on the troubled San Francisco neighborhood.
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Everything's rosy for Marion Cotillard
An interview with the actor about her role as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose.
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Love sick
An interview with Javier Bardem, star of Love in the Time of Cholera.
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A Skin Too Few
A look at a documentary about the musician Nick Drake.
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The brutal world of Bruno Dumont
An interview with the director about his film Flanders.
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After The Wire
An interview with actor Idris Elba.
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On a Clear Day
An interview with actor Peter Mullan.
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An interview with Werner Herzog about his film The Wild Blue Yonder.
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Eyeing an ugly America
An interview with Lars von Trier, director of Manderlay.
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Making headway in a man's world
An interview with Cristina Comencini, director of the Oscar-nominated film Don't Tell.
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Call her Kitten
An interview with Cillian Murphy about his role in Breakfast on Pluto.
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"The bitter present"
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Beyond Amélie
An interview with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
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An interview with film editor Thelma Schoonmaker about her late husband, director Michael Powell.
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Behind the camera
An interview with Liev Schreiber about Everything Is Illuminated, which he directed.
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San Francisco's sidewalk astronomer
A profile of John Dobson, a former monk who revolutionized amateur astronomy with his Dobsonian telescope.
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Sykes tells it like it is
An interview with Wanda Sykes about football and her favorite words.
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Kiss Me Like a Stranger
An interview with Gene Wilder about his memoir.
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Exploring new territory
An interview with Hal Hartley about his film The Girl from Monday.
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Child's play
An interview with Danny Boyle about his film Millions.
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The King of the B's
A feature on the B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer.
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Lost at sea
An interview with actor Budd Cort about his role in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.
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Existential comedy
An interview with director David O. Russell about his film I Heart Huckabees.
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Everyman as conman
An interview with actor John C. Reilly about his role in Criminal.
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Rebels without a clue
An interview with Robert Stone, director of the documentary Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst.
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One Day at Fenway
A review of a book by Steve Kettmann about a Red Sox-Yankees game.
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Spotlight on shady politics
An interview with John Sayles, director of Silver City.
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An interview with Marilyn Yalom about her book Birth of the Chess Queen: A History.
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And the band played on ... thanks to therapy
Interviews with musician Lars Ulrich and filmmaker Bruce Sinofsky about the documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
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The perfect revenge
An interview with filmmaker Jorgen Leth, the subject of Lars von Trier's documentary The Five Obstructions.
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Walking with Ishmael Reed
An interview with the author of Blues City: A Walk in Oakland.
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The Peter Sellers Story . . . As He Filmed It
An interview with Anthony Wall, co-director of a documentary about the late actor.
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New tools
Interviews with directors Agnès Varda and Barbet Schroeder about their embrace of digital video.
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Personal quest
An interview with Leonard Nimoy about his photography.
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"Getting my feet wet up here"
An interview with Sean Penn about acting in Sam Shepard's play The Late Henry Moss.
Nick Nolte returns to his roots
An interview with the actor, back onstage after thirty years.
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In touch with the land
An interview with artist Andy Goldsworthy.
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Cause and effects
An interview about CGI with Phil Tippett and Craig Hayes of Tippett Studio.
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Why 'cahn't' anyone get Boston accent right?
An essay on the accent in Hollywood movies.
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The last of his breed
An appreciation of the artist Leonard Baskin.
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