Authors’ Sala monthly reading series,
Nov 10, 2006

Authors’ Sala Readings By Lou Christine and Barbara Levine Friday, November 10, 5–7pm Posada San Francisco, Plaza Principal 2 50 pesos

This month’s Authors’ Sala should again prove to be a special treat. The two presenters, Barbara Levine and Lou Christine, give very different but equally provocative readings that provide a nostalgic look at times gone by. Levine’s presentation features text and images from her forthcoming book in which she shares images from people’s photo albums. Christine, a local author, reads some excerpts from his memoir-in-progress, as well as his acclaimed essay included in Tim Russert’s recent best-seller The Wisdom of Our Fathers.

Lou Christine 

He born and raised in Philadelphia, is a novelist/journalist/stage and screen writer. He categorizes himself as a contemporary American folk writer who pens in blue-collar prose. He has been a steady contributor for the last 11 years to Atención San Miguel. His essay titled “Uncle Lou” was recently published in Tim Russert’s best-seller The Wisdom of Our Fathers, a composite of stories written by sons and daughters regarding their fathers. Christine’s piece, the longest in the book, was 1 of 115 chosen from among 60,000 submissions. 

Christine will read some excerpts from his memoir-in-progress, Inspirations and Humiliations, along with the unedited version of his story “Uncle Lou.” The latter is Christine’s true story of how he was orphaned and abandoned after his first eight days on Earth, how he sought out his father later and how their paths crossed on a few occasions in a not-so-serendipitous manner. 

Barbara Levine

Runs Project b, a curatorial services and project management company, and has developed projects for international museums, libraries, galleries and artists. She was formerly director of exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and deputy director of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Levine is an accomplished mixed-media artist and photographer and a distinguished collector of dexterity games and vintage photograph albums. She is the author of Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album (Princeton Architectural Press), and in 2005 she curated the first-ever exhibit of vernacular photo albums for the Cooley Gallery at Reed College. Her next book, Around the World: The Grand Tour in Photo Albums, will be published in 2007. 

Barbara’s reading will feature text and images from Snapshot Chronicles and will introduce the audience to the visual creativity, storytelling and folk artistry of early photograph albums.