All-star literary event at Sonoma’s Readers Books on July 26

Joining Howard Norman and short story author and novelist Angela Pneuman will be Sonoma County's former poet laureate, Iris Dunkle.|

“Poetry is so much more vivid and alive these days than it has been for decades,” says Sonoma County’s 2017-18 Poet Laureate Iris Jamahl Dunkle. She remains confident in the enduring power of the poem, saying, “The majority of poetry now is from younger people of all backgrounds. It is much more representative of the country now than it has been in a long time.”

Creative writing professor at Napa Valley College and author of three volumes of poetry – and one biography, soon to be released – the Sebastopol-based poet will be stopping into Readers’ Books on Friday, July 26, alongside authors Howard Norman and Angela Pneuman.

After five years of intensive research and writing, Dunkle says she’s almost ready to release a comprehensive biography of Charmian London, early-20th century writer and wife of Jack London. In many ways, the biography is somewhat of an extension of her previous work, as much of the writing in Dunkle’s portfolio has a historical slant. Often, her poems pertain to archival or personal stories and, specifically, accounts of Sonoma County.

“I’m fascinated by the history of Sonoma County,” Dunkle said. “I love going through archives to see what I can uncover.”

Growing up in Sebastopol, Dunkle took a field trip to Jack London State Historic Park in the sixth grade. The writer recalled that it was during that trip that her interest in literary pursuits was galvanized.

“I had always identified as a writer,” said Dunkle. “But that was the first time I had been exposed to someone whose entire life was built around writing. It was there that I got the idea that maybe this was something that I could do, too.” Soon, she had read all of London’s work and, years later, after coming back from graduate school, Dunkle began to volunteer at the park.

It was at that point that she took serious interest in Charmian London. As Dunkle read more and more of her work, she came to realize that Charmian was a figure of much more complexity and depth than her portrayals typically suggested. Working as a scholarly advisor for the restoration and assembly of the House of Happy Walls Museum in the park, Dunkle took it upon herself to “correct history” and write a more accurate, comprehensive and nuanced account of Charmian London’s life.

At the event at Readers’ Books on June 26, she will discuss the biography, to be released in 2020, according to her website. Dunkle will also be reading selections of her poetic material.

The spotlight of the event, however, will fall on Howard Norman, a National Book Award finalist and three-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. The East Coast-based novelist will lead a discussion of his newly-released book, “The Ghost Clause.” The novel sits at a topical intersection, examining questions of marriage, existence, crime and the supernatural.

Also joining Norman and Dunkle will be renowned short story author, novelist and Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, Angela Pneuman. Her insightful and often humorous works – which have been published in Best American Short Stories, Ploughshares, Los Angeles Review among other literary magazines – often paint intimate portraits of characters negotiating faith, love, family and self-discovery in the Bible Belt.

The three authors will be at Readers’ Books on the evening of July 26.

Wine reception at 6 p.m. to be followed by reading, discussion and a Q&A at 6:30 p.m.

Readers’ Books is located at 130 E. Napa St.

For more information, visit readersbooks.com or contact (707) 939-1779 or info@readersbooks.com

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.