It's National Novel Writing Month - how many words have you written so far? If you're in need of a bit of inspiration, come on up to the San Francisco History Center/Book Arts and Special Collections!
1. Dashiell Hammett's Typewriter
Stand in presence of the machine that was used to create some of the best and most famous San Francisco hardboiled detective fiction ever written. Let it inspire your own tales of troubled sleuths, caught between sinister criminals and dangerous dames, and maybe one day your own laptop will be keeping that old typewriter company.
2. Location, Location, Location
Make the 6th floor of the SFPL Main Library your first stop on a quest to visit the haunts of famous San Francisco writers and the characters they created. Here are a few books to get you started:
3. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Check out the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection where we've got 38,000 historical San Francisco photographs online - how many words is THAT?! You can browse the collection from home or come up to the photo desk on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays if you're looking for something in particular.
4. Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
So, read some books! The library is full of them, but why not check out some of the Golden State's best? SFPL's Book Arts and Special Collections is where you can take a look at some of the treasures in the Phelan California Authors Collection.
5. Keep it Simple (and) Short
As the month comes to a close, aren't there other pressing matters to attend to? (Tofurkey to buy, pumpkin pies to bake, you know the drill.) So why struggle with that conclusion. Have your favorite artistic hipster draw an awesome cover for you and call it v 1, no.1 of your new zine! Then send it over to the Little Maga/Zine Collection for generations to study and enjoy! Contact bookarts@sfpl.org or call 415-557-4560 for more information.
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| Photo of Dashiell Hammett's typewriter, donated to the San Francisco History Center by his daughter, Jo Hammett, in December 2001. Photo courtesy of SFPL. |
Stand in presence of the machine that was used to create some of the best and most famous San Francisco hardboiled detective fiction ever written. Let it inspire your own tales of troubled sleuths, caught between sinister criminals and dangerous dames, and maybe one day your own laptop will be keeping that old typewriter company.
2. Location, Location, Location
The Beat Generation In San Francisco: A Literary Tour by Bill Morgan, introduction by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook by Don Herron
Literary Hills of San Francisco by Luree Miller
The Literary World of San Francisco and Its Environs by Don Herron
San Francisco: A Cultural and Literary History by Mick Sinclair
A Writer's San Francisco: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul by Eric Maisel, drawings by Paul Madonna
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| Barbara Smitten sitting and writing while San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge being constructed in background. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection, SFPL. |
Check out the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection where we've got 38,000 historical San Francisco photographs online - how many words is THAT?! You can browse the collection from home or come up to the photo desk on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays if you're looking for something in particular.
4. Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
So, read some books! The library is full of them, but why not check out some of the Golden State's best? SFPL's Book Arts and Special Collections is where you can take a look at some of the treasures in the Phelan California Authors Collection.
Founded through a bequest from San Francisco Mayor James D. Phelan in 1934, this collection numbers over 1,500 volumes. Books, manuscripts, typescripts, portraits and photographs of such writers as George Sterling, Ambrose Bierce, Gertrude Atherton, Frank Norris, Ina Coolbrith, and Edwin Markham are included, as well as first editions of the novels of Jack London. The George L. Gary Collection of Bret Harte is located here. The collection also includes late twentieth century writers.
5. Keep it Simple (and) Short
As the month comes to a close, aren't there other pressing matters to attend to? (Tofurkey to buy, pumpkin pies to bake, you know the drill.) So why struggle with that conclusion. Have your favorite artistic hipster draw an awesome cover for you and call it v 1, no.1 of your new zine! Then send it over to the Little Maga/Zine Collection for generations to study and enjoy! Contact bookarts@sfpl.org or call 415-557-4560 for more information.
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