William Blake once wrote he could see the universe in a grain of sand. I come to view The Park as a book that never stops, a stream in a constant state of change of which the pages are one “catch” after another.
To look closely at the book covers, and to listen to the voices from the benches offers a microcosmic mirror of a community and its multiple characters, with their own loves, politics and dreams.
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
What’s it about?
It’s absurdity, the absurdity of everything. Many people read Gravity’s Rainbow. I have not.
Where did you go to college?
I went to Cornell.
Isn’t that where Pynchon went to school?
Yes.
What do you do for work?
I am a union organizer for grocery clerks.
Were you here yesterday for the demo in the park?
No.
Can I ask your name?
Althea.
I never heard that name before.
The Grateful Dead. It’s a love song. My parents were hippies.
My name is Seyd. I am from India.
I don’t think I photograph well.
I write to try to figure out things.
The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle by Rob Kenner
I’ve been in both jails and college. My name is Jeremiah.
Where did you go to college?
Morehouse.
Did you know Ida Rousseau?
What? You know Dr. Rousseau? She was my sociology professor. That’s amazing.
We both went to Richmond High School across the Bay. She was straight As, the valedictorian at our graduation.
I don’t believe this. That you would know Dr. Rosseau. Life is so random. She was tough on me. But real good.
Valencia by Michelle Tea
What is Valencia?
It’s a book about lesbian life in San Francisco in the 1990’s It was right here around the Park. Gay men were up the hill in the Castro.
What are your names??
I am Miranda. I am from Sweden.
I am Sebastian from right here.
When did you meet?
September, Can you move on. We want to keep reading.
L’armée du Salut by Abdellah Taïa
It’s in French and in Morocco.
I have read him before. He writes about his youth.
What did I study? Linguistics.
What do I do? Project management. Do I like it? It’s OK.
Off the bench reader among the palms and on the grass, the day warm again. Too far down the hill to call out to ask what could she be reading.
She is part way through the thick paperback, firm and bent to her grip.
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
My name is Asher. In Hebrew it means happy. My Jewish parents wanted a happy child. I am a musician. The oud is my instrument. It’s Arab in origin. It becomes the lute in Northern Europe. I love Pynchon.
I have read Gravity’s Rainbow and everything else. The writing is like mirrors of where we are as well as a prediction of where we will be. It is also very funny. Vineland. Yes, in Northern California. It’s about ‘back to the landers.’ I want to go up there sometime to see what it is like.
El Infinito En Un Junco by Irene Vallejo
It’s in Spanish. It is about the origins of language and writing in Mesopotamia.
You mean hieroglyphs? Yes.
You are so tall with such long arms. What do you? I dance in the San Francisco Ballet.
Beautiful! I am from Spain.
Is ballet still cruel among the dancers fighting for parts?
No, that is an old history; things have changed. It is competitive, but no one is trying to break any one’s ankles to become a lead. I love the work we do.
Why are you reading this particular book with the papyrus plants on the cover. I am just curious by nature. It’s about words.
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
I work in the legal end of tech.
Does that mean you work with the titans, the big guys in the industry?
They might think they are big, but they are not that big.
This book, what is it, what is it about?
It’s an appreciation of the forms and varieties of love.
I am silenced. I ask no more questions. The expressions on her face, don’t they say everything?
