California Vacation and Travel Ideas for Literary Tours
Henry Miller Library
Highway One
Big Sur, CA 93920
Web Site: http://www.henrymiller.org/
Email: Go to "Contact" section of website
Phone :(831) 667-2574
Henry Miller (1891 - 1980), controversial author of Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and Black Spring, among other well-known works, is memorialized in his former home, which displays a collection of his rare editions and watercolors. Visitors are encouraged to make themselves at home here, and the site offers free Internet access. The library also functions as a community center, hosting concerts, workshops, lectures, exhibits, and readings. Past events reflect Miller's bohemian lifestyle, and have included a fire dancer, a talk given by spoken word sensation Henry Rollins, and numerous art and music shows. The three-hour drive to the library from San Francisco offers views of gorgeous California coastline.
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Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
26304 Ocean View Avenue
Carmel, CA 93923
Website: http://www.torhouse.org
Email: mailto:thf@torhouse.org
Phone: (831) 624-1813
Robinson Jeffers (1887 - 1962), who demonstrated his mastery of the epic poem in such works as Tamar, and Roan Stallion, is often compared with the poets of ancient Greece. His adaptation of Euripides' Medea became a hit Broadway play.
With some initial help from a local stonemason, Jeffers built Tor House by himself, stone by stone between 1918 and 1919. The construction of the four-storey Hawk Tower, which resembles an old-fashioned watch retreat, followed. It took nearly four years to complete, and served as a magical getaway for his family. The house, which is surrounded by gardens, features displays of Jeffers memorabilia. Special events are offered seasonally.
Guided tours of Tor House, Hawk Tower and the old-world gardens are conducted on Fridays and Saturdays. Each tour is limited to a maximum of six people. For safety reasons, children under 12 years of age are not allowed.
Ramona Pageant
27400 Ramona Bowl Road
Hemet, CA 92544
Website: http://www.ramonabowl.com/
Email: mailto:ramona@ramonabowl.com
Phone: (800) 645 4465
A native of Amherst, Massachusetts and a friend of Emily Dickinson, Helen Hunt Jackson (1830 - 1885) endured a series of personal hardships, including the loss of two sons. Suffering from poor health, she moved to Colorado Springs in the hope that the region's climate would be beneficial. It was on a trip back to Massachusetts that Jackson met Ponca Chief Standing Bear, and learned of the plight of his people, who had been forced off their ancestral land. Moved to help the Native Americans in the same way that Harriet Beecher Stowe helped African Americans, Jackson wrote a series of books, including the novel Ramona (1884), the story of an orphan, part Native American, and part Scottish, who contends with displacement and hardship as a result of policies towards Native Americans. The novel enjoyed immediate and widespread popular success.
The Ramona Pageant is the oldest and largest outdoor play in the country, first produced in 1923, and is based on Jackson's novel by the same name. Performed by a cast of over 400, the drama is staged in an amphitheater located in the hills near Hemet. It is staged during the last two weekends of April and first weekend in May. Call ahead for details.
Helen Hunt Jackson's legacy is also preserved by the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more information, see , visit: http://www.cspm.org, or call: (719) 385-5990.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Collection
Pomona Public Library
625 South Garey Avenue
Pomona, CA 91769
Website: www.youseemore.com/pomona#79ECB
Email: library@ci.pomona.ca.us
Phone: (909) 620-2043
Laura Ingalls Wilder befriended Clara Webber, the children's librarian, and upon doing so, Wilder gave her the handwritten manuscript for Little Town on the Prarie. One of Michael Landon's scripts from the famed television show is on hand as well. A letter from Wilder to Webber, found in 1993, is on display along with first edition, signed books of the Little House series. The main event of the year is held on the first Saturday of every February: the gingerbread social to celebrate the author's birthday. Fun activities include: drinking apple cider, listening to live music and looking at pioneer displays. Special note: Every Tuesday is story hour for children ages 2-5.
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Literary Streets of San Francisco
Ambrose Bierce Street
Richard Henry Dana Place
Dashiell Hammett Street
Bob Kaufman Street
Jack Kerouac Street
Jack London Street
Frank Norris Street
Kenneth Roxroth Street
William Saroyan Place
Mark Twain Plaza
Via Ferlinghetti
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Jack London Square
Oakland, CA 94607
Website: www.jacklondonsquare.com/#7A485
Email: feedback@jacklondonsquare.com
Phone: (866) 295-9853
Jack London (1876 - 1916), author of Call of the Wild and over fifty other works of fiction, was one of the first Americans to enjoy huge financial success as a result of his writing. Jack London Square pays homage to the Oakland native, and also offers dining, shopping, a farmer's market, and entertainment. Jack London fans can take a walk down the Wolf Track, a path of paw prints in the sidewalk, with markers that reveal facts about the history of the author and Oakland. Yachts. sailboats, and kayaks fill the marina.
For avid movie watchers, the Jack London Cinema has nine theaters with stadium seating. Special events are staged here frequently. For example, the Square hosts boat shows, fundraisers for cancer and other causes, readings and signings by famous authors, a Hawaiian day with dancing and music, and performances by world-class musicians. National holidays are celebrated as well, from fireworks on the Fourth of July to a Christmas tree lighting in late November.
Also of interest to Jack London fans will be the Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, California. For more information, see , visit:: www.jacklondonpark.com/.webloc or www.parks.ca.gov/default.#7A539, or call: (707) 938-5216.
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Jack London State Historic Park
2400 London Ranch Road
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
Website: www.jacklondonpark.com/.webloc or www.parks.ca.gov/default.#7A539
Email: On homepage
Phone: (707) 938-5216
Visitors to the Jack London State Historic Park may choose from several guided tours or visit the grounds on their own. The park includes the "Cottage," where London wrote many of his later stories and novels. A highlight of the visit is the ruins of "Wolf House," which was meant to be Jack London's dream home. The grandiose house reflected London's enormous financial success as a writer, with 26 rooms and nine fireplaces covering a total area of over 15,000 square feet. It also featured state-of-the-art earthquake and fire protections, but sadly and ironically, Wolf House burned to the ground in 1913, only two years after construction began.
The site offers a variety of touring options and activities to accommodate a range of visitors, from hiking and camping to special tours for seniors and scavenger hunts for students. Golf cart rides are available for those who need assistance to and from the Wolf House and the Beauty Ranch. The "Wolf House Express" runs most weekends, weather permitting, and by appointment to visitors with special needs. Please be advised that some of the tours are two hours in duration, and may involve walking on uneven paths.
Jack London is memorialized by Jack London Square in his native Oakland, California. For more information, see , visit: www.jacklondonsquare.com/#7A485, or call: (866) 295-9853
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The National Steinbeck Center
One Main Street
Salinas, CA 93901
Website: http://www.steinbeck.org/
Email: info@steinbeck.org
Phone: (831) 796-3833
This sleek, modern building houses multi-media, interactive exhibits that bring to life important themes from John Steinbeck's (1902 - 1968) Nobel Prize-winning work. Combining stage sets, sounds, tactile experiences, and films, the exhibits promise to engage young audiences as well as adults. Steinbeck photographs, letters, and manuscripts are displayed in the context of such topics as the plight of agricultural laborers during the Great Depression. Clips from movies based on Steinbeck's works, such as Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. are also interspersed throughout the exhibit.
Educational programs are held year-round to promote awareness of the ongoing challenges facing regional farmers. The annual, four-day-long Steinbeck Festival offers a large variety of special exhibits, bus and walking tours, a short story contest, and other events.
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