If you live in the Tenderloin/Nob Hill/downtown-above-market (not to be referred to as DAM) and would like to open your doors and show off your book collection, call Michael Swaine at 415.978.2710 ext.136 and tell him!
Michael has been organizing walking tours within neighborhoods, bringing neighbors and their books together for the past few months. Once you leave a message stating your address and phone number and expressing your wish to finally share with the world why exactly you still have that copy of What Color is Your Parachute, Michael will link you with others within walking distance and design a route between your homes for the group to walk this Sunday, Oct 19th.
Michael's tours are a rare opportunity to share stories with your neighbors, hear about what they've been reading and contemplate the role of books in our lives. Since I live in the distant land of Oakland, I wasn't able to invite walkers to my home library, but since I'm the curator of the exhibition, Michael has given me special dispensation to come along, though library voyeurs are normally discouraged. On the first tour on August 23rd, the day zipped by as we toured the Mission checking out book collections. At the 2nd stop, the library fit into a few milk crates but was clearly well-loved, full of dogeared and Post-it filled volumes, including one of my favorite books, The Autobiography of Red by Ann Carson, and one of Michael's favorites, the latest book by Cooley Windsor, along with a compelling collection of tiny sculptures rendered from wine corks running the periphery of the room.
If you live in the Tenderloin, you're probably already familiar with Michael's mobile sewing project. On the 15th of every month, he sets up a roadside sewing machine and offers his services mending clothes. Both projects create a forum for exchange and conversation, facilitated by Michael but collaboratively realized.
The Ugly.