Traditionally, I use the December column to recommend books for Christmas stocking stuffers written by San Pedro natives or about San Pedro.
This year, I have two suggestions that fit the bill but in different ways.
Kelly Dwyer was born and raised in San Pedro, graduating from San Pedro High in 1982. She went on to Oberlin College in Ohio and is a graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her third book, Ghost Mother: A Novel, was published this summer by Union Square & Co. and is available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Author Kelly Dwyer. (photo courtesy Kelly Dwyer)
I make it a point to read the books I recommend, but I read very little fiction and nothing in the horror genre, so in Dwyer’s case, you’ll have to depend on the opinions of others.
Described online as “a mesmerizing psychological ghost story that blurs the thin line between reality and delusion,” award-winning author Kate Christensen says, “Ghost Mother has so many pleasures: a gorgeous old wreck of a house, a charmingly flawed and sympathetic heroine…and an enthralling story.”
Dwyer’s first two novels, published in the late ‘90s, also received high praise. The L.A. Times wrote about her first book, The Tracks of Angels (1995), “Dwyer’s style is engaging; she has an eye for the quirky detail, and creates real, likable characters. This is writing you can trust.” Library Journal said of her second book, Self-Portrait with Ghosts (1999), “Dwyer is a master at depicting the ghosts haunting modern life.”
Dwyer also has written short plays and monologues that have been produced in New York, Boston, Madison, Wis. (near her residence in Baraboo), Los Angeles, and Glasgow, in addition to articles and travel stories. She says of herself, “As a longtime teacher, writing coach, and editor, I am passionate about helping other writers achieve success.”
Co-senior class president in 1982, Dwyer is still remembered for bringing the hardcore punk rock band Black Flag to the steps of San Pedro High. So it’s no surprise that she says, “I laugh hard and often and agree with Oscar Wilde that ‘life is too important to be taken seriously.’”
I may have to give Ghost Mother a read after all.
Unlike Dwyer, the name Phil Kaye won’t ring any bells in San Pedro, unless you’re into spoken-word poetry, but the last name will. Phil is the son of Michael Kaye, who graduated from San Pedro High in 1971, and grandson of San Pedro legend “Cheerful” Al Kaye, the longtime owner of Union War Surplus.
Poet Phil Kaye. (photo courtesy Phil Kaye)
The connection is important because it’s the reason I’m mentioning his book Date & Time (Button Poetry), published in 2018 and also available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The collection is described as “a stunning tribute to growing up, and all the challenges and celebrations of the passing of time, as jagged as it may be. Kaye takes the reader on a journey from a complex but iridescent childhood, drawing them into adolescence, and finally on to adulthood.”
Part of that growing up included Union War Surplus, the Sixth Street institution from its opening in 1946 to its much lamented closing in 2009. It was the subject of Kaye’s poem “Surplus,” which he performed in 2018 on the PBS News Hour’s “Brief but Spectacular” spot (pbs.org/newshour/brief/280346/phil-kaye).
For those of us who remember Union War, the three-and-a-half-minute recitation is a poignant trip down memory lane.
Kaye was raised in Orange County by his father and Japanese mother and graduated from Brown University. He has presented his poetry in hundreds of venues in 15 countries, including a 2015 performance for the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday. His work has been viewed more than 10 million times online.
He is the co-director of Project Voice, an organization that partners with schools to bring poetry to the classroom. He is a National Poetry Slam finalist and two-time recipient of the National College Poetry Slam award for “Pushing the Art Forward,” given for outstanding innovation in the art of live poetry. He’s also a former teacher of weekly poetry workshops in maximum-security prisons and was the head coordinator of Space in Prisons for the Arts and Creative Expression.
He lives in New York City, but it’s evident from his performance of “Surplus” that a small part of his heart remains on Sixth Street.
I love poetry, but my tastes run mainly to the classics; “Surplus” has been an eye-opener. spt
