The Wild Poets of Telegraph Hill

A READING FROM THREE WORKS-IN-PROGRESS

featuring PHIL COUSINEAU, TERRY TARNOFF, & MARK BITTNER

In the tradition of old North Beach, when it was common for writers to share their current works, Phil Cousineau, Terry Tarnoff, and Mark Bittner read from their latest novels and discuss what it’s like to live in—and write about—one of the world’s most iconic literary neighborhoods.

Mark Bittner is the author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and stars in the acclaimed documentary of the same name. He is currently at work on a memoir about his eighteen years living on the streets of North Beach. He’s been on Telegraph Hill since 1973.

Terry Tarnoff is the author of four novels and playwright of The Bone Man of Benares. He is currently at work on The Thousand Year Journey of Tobias Parker, a kaleidoscopic novel set in North Beach that’s about to be re-released in a second edition. It recounts the story of one family’s curious destiny. Terry has lived on Telegraph Hill since 1978.

Phil Cousineau is author of over forty books and twenty documentary films, and is the co-host with Carlos Santana of the current PBS television series, Global Spirit. Phil is working on his eagerly anticipated book that combines art history, mythology, and travel lore, “Who Stole the Arms of the Venus de Milo?” set partially in North Beach. He’s the “new guy in the hood,” having lived on Telegraph Hill only since 1995, but claims that he feels like he’s lived there all his life.