Saturday Salon at 4th Street Studio


People gather at 4th Street Studio

It was a recent Saturday evening in Livermore. The 4th Street Studio was packed to overflowing. A few people, seated on the porch, angled their chairs in closer, so they could see and hear better. It was a cozy, informal setting. The twenty-five to thirty people in the small front room are drawn together by a shared love of words…both written and spoken.

Pat Coyle of Livermore steps up to the podium. With a smile and a short introduction, he begins to read his piece, ‘Giving Blood in Belize’. Coyle’s narrative style and talent for painting pictures with words has his audience enraptured. We are transported to Belize, with Coyle and his friends. We feel the strong emotional bond he shares with the people there. The room is quiet. As Coyle’s words resonate softly, you can sense the support and appreciation that emanates from the audience.

This is manna to a writer…especially one who is still feeling his way, still finding his voice. Even a seasoned writer will tell you how important it is to read your work aloud. Says Karen Hogan, “You get to hear how it sounds. We give voice to our words!”

Karen Hogan is a writer, (proprietor of 4th Street Studio), who grew up in Livermore in the 1960s. “We were really able to experience and try out our creativity here,” she recalls. Hogan credits the community for being very supportive of the creative arts. When she moved back to Livermore in 2001, she was keen on creating a place where writers of every ilk could have the opportunity to read their work aloud. In 2004, she made this dream a reality. A small advertisement and press release in the local newspaper attracted fifteen people to the first salon. They met at 4th Street Studio, in Livermore’s downtown area.

Over the years, it has evolved into a monthly Saturday Salon that still meets in the same location. Hogan is quick to point out that this is not a club or even a formal group with a membership roster. Rather, she describes it as a place, “a place that allows for creative things to happen!” Aspiring writers who hear about the Saturday Salon at 4th Street Studio, often drop in to enjoy a new experience. They bring with them a short story, a monologue, a poem, a chapter of a book they are writing. After all, at the Saturday Salon, ‘Everyone’s is a featured writer. Everyone has up to 10 minutes!’

Once in a while, a guest writer will be invited to speak and read at the Saturday Salon too. In the past, audiences have enjoyed the company of well-known writers like Jim Aiken of Livermore who specializes in fantasy and science fiction and poet Selene Steese of Oakland. Hogan keeps a friendly eye on the proceedings at the Saturday Salon. There is very little formal structure to the event. People are invited to bring refreshments/drinks to share. A short interval between readings gives everyone a chance to stretch their legs and get to know each other. Some of the writers are regulars who enjoy the camaraderie and creative stimulation.

Jim Hardiman has been attending the Saturday Salon almost from the start. In his own words, he “approached it with trepidation.” Listening to Hardiman read today, it’s hard to believe this. He holds the audience in thrall as he reads aloud in his own inimitable style. “Fictive conceits” is how he describes some of his writing. “I like to rampage when I write,” he says with a wry smile. He is also a fairly prolific short story writer and has won awards for his writing from the Las Positas College in Livermore.

Hardiman always looks forward to the Saturday Salon at 4th Street Studio. “We’re a small community of eclectic writers who warm up to each other. A literary church, if you will!” he says. He credits Karen Hogan with helping writers find their voice…in a warm and supportive setting. Even though Hardiman would certainly like to continue publishing his work, he is emphatic that “I never want to forget… the joy of it is in the writing.”

Ruth Jurs of Livermore shares the same sentiments. The 86-year old Jurs has written since she was eight. She has never been published, but over the years, her letters, poems and stories have been shared with family and friends. “I consider myself an artist,” says Jurs. “I paint with words.” It was a thrill for her to share two of her beautiful poems for the first time at the Saturday Salon in May. “It was a wonderful experience,” she exclaims. One she would like to repeat again.

Karen Hogan is always gratified to hear such comments. And to see new faces and hear emerging voices. The salon format certainly allows for creative things to happen. “It also allows people to stretch themselves. To try different kinds of writing,” she elaborates. Hogan keeps in touch, via email, with those who have attended the salon or have expressed an interest in the event. From time to time she will also share information about interesting literary happenings, seminars/workshops or creative community events not related to the Saturday Salon. Like the recent book reading and signing by three local writers at the Firehouse Bistro and Books in Livermore.

Hogan has also spearheaded the publication of Livermore Wine Country Literary Harvest. It is an anthology of stories and poems by writers who have attended a Saturday Salon at 4th Street Studio. Now in its fourth year, this exciting venture has garnered a great deal of interest in the local community. The Harvest Anthology 2009 will publish later this year and you can reserve a copy by contacting 4th Street Studio. 

Philippa Coelho
Next Saturday Salon on June 21st at 7.30pm

Saturday Salon at 4th Street Studio
Livermore’s Literary Arts Center  
2235 4th Street, Livermore, California
925-456-3100
Email: 4thstreetstudio@pacbell.net


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