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Building C, First Floor
Images created by artist Mary V. Marsh are on display at Book Bay Bookstore in Building C at Fort Mason Center. Recently expanded, and with a far greater selection of low-cost, previously-owned books, DVDs, posters, and cards, Book Bay recently embarked on a new way to reach out to readers — programming.
The first is the exhibition of Marsh’s art.
“This work expresses my thoughts and experiments about reading and the power of the written word,” she said. “My love of books has led me to earn my livelihood by working in libraries. As I am working, I notice the juxtaposition of words on spines of books as they sit on the shelf next to each other, and random associations come to mind.”
Using checkout cards, books, and book covers with ink and gouache drawings of people reading, there is clear synergy between words and pictures in some of her images. She also uses coffee (think reading in coffee shops) and coffee cups.
“Exploring the intersection of eating and reading, I make coffee and ink drawings of people reading and consuming,” she said. “By collecting discarded library materials, I save them from obscurity and transform them into objects suggesting new narratives.”
Writers are also part of the bookstore’s increased focus on programming. In August Dr. Sheppard B. Kominars speaks and signs books at Book Bay Bookstore. Author of Accepting Ourselves and Others, the cancer survivor, teacher, playwright, antiquarian bookstore owner, and library designer, unveils his new book Write for Life: Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit Through Journal Writing. He calls journal writing a “journey of discovery,” and he believes in healing through art and poetry.
Book Bay Bookstore, one of the best San Francisco bookstores according to the San Francisco Weekly, is operated by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. Friends is an organization whose mission is “to create, steward, and support a superior free public library system in San Francisco.” They fund library programs throughout the city. And some of that funding comes from books donated by the public and re-sold at bargain prices through Book Bay at Fort Mason Center and the bookstore at the Main Library.
As an example of the programs supported by Friends of the Library, the August 12 Grand Finale of Poets Eleven, a city-wide poetry contest, will be held at the Koret Auditorium at the Main Library. The event is sponsored by San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman, and the evening showcases readings from all 30 poets selected from readings at libraries in the 11 library districts.
And one of the group’s largest fundraisers occurs at Fort Mason Center every September when Friends of the Library holds a special sale — 200,000 books — in the vast Festival Pavilion. The five-day event is the largest book sale on the West Coast, selling used and some new books at extremely discounted prices.
Friends of the Library and Book Bay Bookstore are very active these days with many important literary events. They welcome artist Mary V. Marsh and author Dr. Sheppard B. Kominars as the first of many to participate in what promises to be a very rich set of programs held exclusively at the Fort Mason Center location.
— Ron Tierney
Images:
"Things Maps Don't Tell" and "Cafe Treat" by Mary V. Marsh
San Francisco Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman Photo: Conrado Henriquez
Dr. Sheppard B. Kominars Photo: Marvin Appelbaum
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