Writers on Writing: Anne Perry, Victoria Zackheim Share Experiences

Anne Perry

Authors Anne Perry and Victoria Zackheim will share their experiences as writers at a special lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The event, which will be held in the Cañada College Main Theater, is free and open to the public.

Perry is a New York Times and international bestselling author noted for her memorable characters, historical accuracy, and exploration of social and ethical issues. Two of her most popular series feature Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and William and Hester Monk. Her latest novel, Blind Justice, was on the New York Times and USA Today bestselling list for fiction.

Zackheim wrote The Bone Weaver and is the editor of six anthologies, the most recent being FAITH: Believers, Agnostics, and Atheists Confront the Big Question. Zackheim created the Women's Voices project and is a 2010 San Francisco Library Laureate. Her screenplay, Maidstone, a feature film, is in development with Identity Films.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our community to hear about the writing process from two award-winning authors," said Anniqua Rana, coordinator for Cañada's Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, which is sponsoring the event.

Former Cañada student and Belmont resident, Rose Whitmore, recently received the prestigious William Peden Prize, which recognizes the best piece of fiction published in the Missouri Review during the previous volume year.

Another former Cañada student, Gerardo Pacheco, was named the 2012 Joseph Henry Jackson Award winner, a literary award offered annually to promising young California writers.

For more information, contact Rana at (650) 306-3470 or email rana@smccd.edu.

A Conversation With Author Lac Su

Award-winning author Lac Su will share his personal story of immigration, assimilation, gangs, poverty and abusive parenting at two lectures in the Cañada College Main Theater.

The first lecture will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 6 to 7 pm. The second will be held on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 9:30 to 11 am. Both lectures are free of charge but there is a $2 parking fee. Su will be signing books after the Wednesday evening lecture.

Lac Su's 2009 memoir, I love Yous Are for White People, received the top prize from the San Diego Book Awards in 2010. Su describes his experience growing up as a Vietnamese immigrant in LA in the '80s and his personal struggles with assimilation, gangs, poverty, and abusive parents. The story is told with humor and honesty.

Su says he was raised by two "tiger" parents, a Vietnamese mother and Chinese father, and he still has emotional scars from their harsh parenting style.

As a young child, Su made a harrowing escape from the Communists in Vietnam. With a price on his father's head, Su, with his family, was forced to immigrate in 1979 to seedy West Los Angeles where squalid living conditions and a cultural fabric that refused to thread them in effectively squashed their American Dream.

His search for love and acceptance amid poverty - not to mention the psychological turmoil created by a harsh and unrelenting father - turned his young life into a comedy of errors and led him to a dangerous gang experience that threatened to tear his life apart.

"Writing I Love Yous Are for White People helped me to cope with the wounds the tigers' claws left behind," Su told CNN in a 2011 interview. "Since its release I've met countless others who bare similar scars."

Su, a psychologist and business executive at TalentSmart, said he's been through countless hours of psychotherapy, and that his lack of self-worth beckons him to rely on alcohol to numb the pain. "Children need their parents' love and acceptance in order to develop real self-esteem," he told CNN. "Belittling children sends the message that they are not worthy of love and support -- as do mind games, emotional abuse, and tight-fisted control."

Anniqua Rana, professor of ESL/English and co-coordinator of the Cañada College Center for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning, said Su was invited to campus to share his story because his struggles and experiences are ones that many Cañada students identify with. She said his book raises issues related to history, immigration, political science, sociology, psychology, and parenting.

Earn your Bachelor's Degree at Cañada College

Did you know you can earn a Bachelor’s Degree from NDNU at the Cañada College campus and begin your program in January?

Notre Dame de Namur University and the University Center bring three Evening NDNU Bachelor’s Degrees to the Cañada College campus: Business Administration, Human Services, and Psychology.

Apply to the Evening Degree Completion Program and have the opportunity to take your upper division NDNU courses for your major in the evening at Cañada College.  With personal attention, hands-on advising, highly qualified instructors and the ability to take NDNU and Cañada College classes at the same time, NDNU can help working adults finish their bachelor’s in half the time.

To find out more:

·        Visit NDNU staff when on campus including Tuesday, December 4^th Building 9- 2^nd Floor Learning Center Lobby from 4:30-6:30pm

·        Contact NDNU staff directly for appointments at Cañada College

o   Business Administration- Dr. Lillian Barden, (650) 508-3683, lbarden@ndnu.edu

o   Human Services- Dr. Therese Madden, (650) 508-3601, tmadden@ndnu.edu

o   Psychology- Johanna Ithurralde, (650) 508-3524, jithurralde@ndnu.edu

 

Start the application process now as classes for the Spring 2013 semester start the week of January 14^th!

Interested in learning more about the programs offered at NDNU’s convenient Belmont campus?  We offer a variety of programs from Biology to Art, Psychology to Computer Science, and Business to Liberal Studies. NDNU makes transferring simple! Check out our website for information about upcoming Open Houses and Instant Admissions Events or contact our Admissions Office at 650-508-3600 or admiss@ndnu.edu.

Hell's Angels & Charivari by the Redwood Symphony

The Redwood Symphony presents "Hell's Angels & Charivari" on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Main Theater. Maestro Eric Kujawsky will offer a pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.

The cost is $25 for adults at the door and $10 for students. Adult tickets can be ordered online at www.redwoodsymphony.org for $20.

 

The concert begins with Charivari, from the demented mind of H. K. Gruber. Spoiler alert! The first surprise comes at the onset: the work begins with a complete performance of Johann Strauss Jr.'s Perpetuum Mobile, but then morphs into a somewhat sinister, nightmarish version of that piece.

Next comes Hell's Angels, a concerto for four bassoonists who are ready to rumble. Conceived as part theatrical experience, the work will delight you with its catchy tunes and make you laugh as well! Of special note is the percussion section, augmented by siren, thunder sheet and Hammerblow of Death!  

Rounding off the concert, a perennial favorite with a new twist: Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, as "retouched" by Gustav Mahler.