Alta Journal Issue 25: The Writers Issue
DAVE EGGERS’S PIRATE SHIP
Started 25 years ago, McSweeney’s remains an idiosyncratic—and influential—publishing house and journal. By Matt Haber • Illustration by Steve Carroll
WRITER’S ROOM: MYRIAM GURBA
The author of Mean and Creep forms rituals to connect with the subject of her writing. By Anita Felicelli
‘THIS WILL KILL THAT’
AI is coming, and it will inevitably change the art of writing. That’s neither good nor bad. By Jim Lewis • Illustration by Steve Carroll
WRITER’S ROOM: SHANTHI SEKARAN
When she needs to warm up before a day of writing, Shanthi Sekaran breaks out her ukulele. By Anita Felicelli
ART AS MUSE
A poem inspired by Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park, No. 17. By D.A. Powell
‘THE WALT WHITMAN OF BOLINAS’
Stephen Ratcliffe’s thousand-page books of poems contain multitudes. By Forrest Gander • Illustration by Steve Carroll
FIVE POEMS BY STEPHEN RATCLIFFE
Consecutive days’ works from the poet’s ongoing T O D A Y series. By Stephen Ratcliffe
WRITER’S ROOM: MARY ROACH
A “hodgepodge” of writers and journalists work out of the Oakland studio where Mary Roach makes her office. By Anita Felicelli
THE UNRELENTING GLAMOUR OF AN AMERICAN BOOK TOUR
This literary victory lap is alive and well and just as elegant as you think it would be. By Blythe Roberson • Illustration by Steve Carroll
WRITER’S ROOM: JON MOOALLEM
After a 2022 fire wrecked his office space, Jon Mooallem has returned to writing in that guest room above his garage. By Anita Felicelli
THE OLDEST LIVING LITERARY SPARTAN TELLS ALL
Into his 10th decade, City of Night author John Rechy hasn’t lost his ability to shock. By Jesse Pearson • Illustration by Steve Carroll
9 PREDICTABLY AWKWARD WRITING GROUP MOMENTS*
*And possible ways to fill the uncomfortable silences that follow. By Martin J. Smith • Illustration by Steve Carroll
WRITER’S ROOM: EDAN LEPUCKI
The Time’s Mouth author works while emotional music plays, surrounded by books. By Anita Felicelli
SAY YES
While his books may not pay all the bills, David L. Ulin has built a life around writing. By Lauren Markham • Illustration by Steve Carroll
EXCERPT: THIRTEEN QUESTION METHOD
By David L. Ulin
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN MY PATIENCE
A writer-mom homeschools her tween in a lost art: cursive. By Monica Corcoran Harel • Illustration by Steve Carroll
THE ART OF WRITING
Eight California Book Club authors on their practice, their inspiration, and what they’ve learned from the writer’s life.
WRITER’S ROOM: REYNA GRANDE
The author of A Ballad of Love and Glory works with a dog named Chica sleeping at her feet. By Anita Felicelli
BOUND TOGETHER 2023
126 books by our contributors.
Features
WE NEVER CLOSE
The owners of San Francisco’s 24-hour Silver Crest Donut Shop got the keys to the place more than 50 years ago. They still haven’t used them. By Chris Colin • Photos by Carolyn Fong
‘GENERATIONS OF HURT’
Beneath the rugged beauty of Northern California’s Round Valley lies a history of forcibly relocated Indigenous tribes and state-sanctioned genocide. Today, the unspeakable violence—in the form of murders and missing persons—continues. By Daniel Duane • Photos by Scott Baxter
THE CASITA ON CALLE COLIMA
An L.A. writer’s visits to Mexico City offer a window on a shapeshifting metropolis—and a door that helps her see into herself. By Steffie Nelson • Photos by Alejandro Cegarra
THE RICHEST PLACE ON EARTH
Lance Gilman seduced the likes of Tesla, Google, and Walmart into building massive factories, data centers, and warehouses just outside Reno, Nevada—and just down the road from his brothel, the Mustang Ranch. By Geoffrey Gray • Photos by Gregg Segal
RUNNING TO EXPLORE CITIES AND MEMORIES
Morning jogs offer surprising ways to interact with nature, the built environment, and oneself. By John Freeman
‘HEART LIKE A WHEEL’
Linda Ronstadt reflects on her love affair with music, how she found her “whole voice,” and the illness that is reshaping her life. By Jeff Kaliss • Photos by Carolyn Fong
Dispatches
TAKING THE JARGON OUT OF CLIMATE EDUCATION
Spooked by the tone of her environmental science courses, Sage Lenier wrote her own curriculum, which her nonprofit is now sharing across the country. By Jessica Klein • Photo by Marco Garcia
Books
Q&A: A CONVERSATION WITH JENNIFER EGAN
By David L. Ulin
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: THE CANDY HOUSE
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: THE FORCE OF ANCESTRAL SURVIVAL
By Deborah A. Miranda
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: BAD INDIANS
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: I COLLECT THESE TRACES
By Carribean Fragoza
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: EAT THE MOUTH THAT FEEDS YOU
By David L. Ulin
Culture
HUSTLE AND GRIND
The backstory of Tepito Coffee, a new outpost at a venerable L.A. bookstore, is as compelling as any narrative on the shelf. By Lynell George • Photos by Anne Fishbein
POETRY: “WAYFINDERS”
By Tayi Tibble
HOMESPUN ART FOR THE HIGH DESERT
Laurel Siedl’s funky Glass Outhouse Art Gallery promises something for everyone. By Jennifer Lewis • Photos by Matthew Smith
‘ACTS OF LIVING’
Meet five artists from the Hammer Museum’s biennial exhibition, Made in L.A. By Ajay Orona • Photos by Christina Gandolfo
THE FORCE IS WITH HIM
Disney Hall became Hollywood’s music house, mostly thanks to one man: composer John Williams. By Tim Greiving
POETRY: “THE FOURTH DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO”
By Shangyang Fang
FICTION: “THE MAILMAN”
By Andrew Hubbell • Illustrations by Victor Juhasz
In Every Issue
EDITOR’S NOTE: READERS WILL NOT BE FOOLED
Publications like Alta Journal are on the front lines of the battle to protect writing from AI. By Blaise Zerega
PUZZLES: CROSSWORD AND ACROSTIC
By Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa
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