Mighty Pens
The Northern California Book Awards has announced the nominees for its 27th annual Awards Ceremony to be held Sunday, April 13, 2008, in Koret Auditorium (SF Main Library,100 Larkin). The prestigious awards will recognize the best published works of 2007 by Northern California authors in several categories including fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, translation and children’s literature. A Special Recognition Award will go to River of Words, the Annual Environmental Poetry and Art Contest Conducted in affiliation with The Library of Congress Center for the Book. This year's Fred Cody Award for lifetime achievement will be presented to Al Young. The poet-novelist-essayist has authored two recent collections of poetry and has lived and worked in the Bay Area since 1961. His eclectic career has spanned several decades and disciplines including work as a script-writer for Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby (A Piece of the Action), and Richard Pryor (Bustin’ Loose), and a ten year tenure as a Stanford professor. A book signing and reception with the authors follows the Awards Ceremony in the Latino/Hispanic Room from 2:30-4:00 PM. Nominated books on sale at the Book Bay SF Main Public Library. Admission to the Book Awards is free. The event is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call (510) 525-5476 or visit www.poetryflash.org.
Acting Honors
Hollywood and indie-film veteran. Maria Bello will be the recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award to be presented at the 51st SF International Film Festival (April 24-May 8). The Owens Award, named after local cultural benefactor and longtime Film Society board member Peter J. Owens, honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity. The award will be presented to Bello at a black-tie fundraiser; the Film Society Awards Night on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, which benefits the Film Society's Education Program. Also honored at the gala event will be celebrated director, Mike Leigh (recipient of the Founder's Directing Award) and the soon to be announced recipient of the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting. Bello will appear at the Castro Theatre on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 7:00 pm for a program featuring career retrospective film clips and an onstage interview prior to a screening of her latest film, The Yellow Handkerchief. For tickets and information for Film Society Awards Night call 415.551.5190. For tickets ($20 members/$25 general) and information for the event at the Castro Theatre, visit www.sffs.org, or call (925) 866-9559.
Kitten Around
Most of the recent publicity surrounding San Francisco Zoo has been of a disturbing nature; with much media interest revolving around the now infamous tiger attacks. Well, finally our zookeepers have something adorable and precious to celebrate. On March 15, three, nine-day-old Sumatran tiger cubs underwent their first veterinary exam at the SF Zoo. The health tests allowed Zoo staff to get their first up-close look at the triplets, and officially document that Leanne, a 230-pound resident Sumatran tiger, is proud mom to three boys.
During the first exam, the Zoo’s veterinary staff checked the cubs’ general health and weighed the trio. The biggest of the cubs weighed 4.8 pounds, with the two other siblings weighing 4.2 pounds each. In a few weeks the three boys will receive their vaccinations, similar to shots given to domestic kittens. The unnamed cubs will not be on exhibit for several months while they continue to nurse, gain strength and coordination. The cubs’ father, George, can be seen at the Zoo’s big cat grotto exhibits. “I was happy to see that all three boys have big bellies, indicating they are very well fed and cared for by their mom,” explained Jacqueline Jencek, DVM, chief of veterinary services at the SF Zoo.
Leanne has been caring for her three cubs since giving birth on March 6. The mortality rate of Sumatran cubs in the wild and in captivity is between 30 and 40 percent, and is even higher with first-time mothers.
There are more than 200 Sumatran tigers living in zoos around the world. The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of the tiger species. The cats are a critically endangered species, with a mere 400 to 500 animals living in the wild, predominantly in national parks found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. So the birth of the three cubs is especially welcome news. Located on the Great Highway between Skyline and Sloat Boulevards, open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.sfzoo.org.
Flaunt Your Inner Keats
Friends of the SF Public Library, the SF Public Library and Former SF Poet Laureate Jack Hirschman have announced an melodious collaboration; Poets Eleven, a citywide poetry contest, will include poetry readings at branch libraries throughout town. Submissions, up to three per entrant, may be made by residents of each of the City’s 11 districts and are due by April 18. Hirschman is particularly interested in submissions which reflect our city's immense diversity of language and culture. In fact, he encourages poets who write in languages other than English to try their pen at the challenge. Although prevailing wisdom is that a poets' fortune is all too often acquired posthumously, all poets whose work is chosen will receive fifty dollars for their readings. Submit work via email: bspoonerbookevents@friendssfpl.org, or by snail mail. For details, including mailing address, deadline and submission form, visit www.friendssfpl.org.
By Carole Barrow
