Literary Parking!

I’ve lately started using my cell phone camera toward keeping track of story ideas, letters to the editor, and public policy not to mention remembering what I did last week, last month or since our most recent Citric Acid. For this issue’s note, I offer a few images with what amount to overly long captions --- a throughline built on a sight line --- to celebrate the terrific work of contributors and to thank those of you who read, share, and donate to support this unlikeliest of unlikely Orange County online journals. 

The title photo, of a bespoke sign --- "Literary Parking?" --- designed and displayed by an enthusiastic volunteer valet at a recent canyon literary celebration offers exactly the tone I am looking for (Dada, Beat poetry, Edward Gorey, Mad Hatter)  and seems after attending the recent Warren “Sentimental Hygiene” Zevon tribute at the DTLA United Theater, like the title of an unwritten song by the most literary rock’n’roll songwriter ever. Question or statement, manifesto or existential riddle, please do leave your keys in the car.

I took the photo below from the left turn bay of a wide avenue in an affluent OC community unshy about embracing, even flaunting, its contradictions or only its sadism. Good times.

Last month I delivered a righteous anti-AI rant at a terrific student-faculty symposium at CSU Fullerton. I was so impressed with the students sharing their research on the pedagogical, political, labor, environmental and ethical “challenges” (what a stupid euphemism for bullshit) of yet another corporate tech assault on public education. These were impressive and confident undergrads with an analysis you’d expect from grad students! Bravo. And, of course, I was charmed by the earrings worn by one attendee. She invited me to recommend the unique producer of these and other provocative artistic agitprop, an outfit called Topple and Burn, which has, indeed, a nice (ear)ring to it!

When not writing, organizing, attending conferences, editing, or hosting Bibliocracy Radio, I kayak up and down coastal OC and ride my mountain bike in the local mountains. Over many months I’ve seen the slow restoration of a spot where erosion posed real danger. Here’s a “golden hour” photo of a more agreeable and sincere sign. In a couple of years the scrub will have grown in, ruts disappeared, and crumbling cliff edge stabilized.

At a recent Alta Baja Market in Santa Ana event, I picked up a useful resistance tool. How to protect individuals targeted by ICE thugs? Try what has worked for thousands in Chicago, LA, Portland, and our county: “Form a crowd. Stay loud. Protect each other!” Free.

Finally, it’s the holiday season and notwithstanding the illegal detentions and disappearances, phony ceasefire, the assault on Democracy, the ongoing and next wars, I find joy in a singular OC community tradition, one meaningful to many:  South Coast Repertory’s A Christmas Carol. Congrats to SCR once again, and to director, teacher, and actor Hisa Takakuwa. The current show runs now through, no kidding, December 24. And here's the BIG NEWS for fans of the project. After nearly five decades (an amazing run), SCR announced that it has commissioned renowned playwright Amy Freed to to create a brand-new adaptation of the Dickens classic. Their announcement: "Freed’s new version will honor the story’s tradition while infusing it with spirited innovation." Indeed, Freed is best known to audiences for Freedomland (1997) and The Beard of Avon (2001), which made their world premieres at SCR. Her other world premieres were Safe in Hell (2004), You, Nero (2009) and Shrew! (2018). She also wrote 2017’s The Monster Builder. SCR awarded Freed the Steinberg Commission in Playwriting, which she will use to write the new adaptation of A Christmas Carol. This is her seventh SCR commission. SCR plans to debut the new production in 2028.

Clearly, I’m not much of a photographer. But guess who is? The professional photographer who took the above photos: Scott Smeltzer/SCR.

And so is the legendary Leo Hetzel, our canyon pal. And you know who else was great at creating images? Our late friend, comrade, and activist Roy Bauer, editor-writer-investigative reporter of Dissent, a muckraking underground journal that made OC better. Roy wouldn’t like “late” although he often was tardy. He’d insist on dead and then chuckle. We miss our philosopher friend and political comrade always and forever.

Dear Reader, this is a terrific issue, with Leo’s photo portfolio, and great news about the new Roy Bauer archives, now at UC Irvine. We start with an amazing long-form piece by veteran writer and editor Anthony Pignataro, on the persistent and resonant meaning of OC Weekly. As usual, there’s outstanding OC short fiction, memoir, poetry, personal (political) essay, religion, a book review, and a reliably (punch) on-the-nose cartoon from our in-house anti-fascist comix artist.

Thanks to UCI student intern Michelle Padilla for her editorial and proofreading help.

If you appreciate this issue and want to say so, please hit the “Donate” button. Keep your ticket. We validate your tax-deductible literary parking.