Local historian dives into San Diego's Black queer history

S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition on today's show. We're introducing you to what's new in San Diego's arts and culture scene. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. A new archive project explores San Diego's Black LGBTQ+ community in the 80s and 90s.

S2: One of the joys and powers of talking about intersectionality in a meaningful way is to say , we are not reducible to one thing.

S1: Then , Beth Accomando talks with a local writer and filmmaker out with a new film called adjunct. Then your weekend preview with Julia Dixon Evans. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Pride Week in San Diego has a long and storied history that's been well documented , but one local professor sought to specifically uncover what life was like for San Diego's black LGBTQ+ community in the 80s and 90s. TJ Talley joins me now. He's the first ever community historian in residence at Lambda Archives. He's also an associate professor of history at the University of San Diego. Professor Talley , it's always a pleasure to have you on the show.

S3: It's so good to be back. Thanks for having me again.

S1: Great to have you on. So you're wrapping up your role as Lambda community historian.

S2: Every seven years , we get the opportunity to go on sabbatical. And for the 2024 2025 school year , I was on sabbatical , which is often a good chance to both rest and reflect. And I am terrible at both of those things. So I instead had the opportunity , um , through talking to , uh , Joe Farren , who is on the board , and Nicole Bird's , who is the director. They pointed out that they were trying a new community historian program , and I thought , I have the time , I have the interest. This seems like a moment where I could actually give back with my own talents to the community and learn more about , um , the history of , um , San Diego's black LGBT history. And I got really excited about it.

S1: And in that history for your project , you really dive into the intersectionality of being queer and black. Can you talk about that ? Absolutely.

S2: So , um , surprising perhaps no one that knows me. I am both of those things. And , uh , as a queer black professor , I wanted to think about how do black queer identified San Diegans navigate these spaces ? San Diego is a space that has , um , a a prominent but still small black community. And also in the 80s and 90s , you see the emergence of really a collective , self-assured LGBT or queer community in San Diego. And I wanted to think , how did people from both of those communities navigate those back and forth ? And that was really the question that got me started on this whole journey.

S1:

S2: Both. So one of the things that I was really looking to understand was how in a space when , you know , LGBT rights were less prominent and in a space so soon , you know , after sort of the immediate gains of the civil rights movement , are black people articulating and making sense of these spaces ? And I was I was really looking to see how groups formed , how they self articulated , how they navigated , um , structures of oppression or also just self-identified. And those were really exciting for me. Um , I was surprised , I think at some levels to see already the level of sort of large scale organization and self-awareness. I think the other thing that surprised me a little bit was how most of the concerns of black , queer San Diegans are almost identical to the concerns that many in our community feel right now , 40 years later. Mhm.

S1: Mhm.

S2: Right. So saying LGBT is not a thing that necessarily or even queer. Um , there are actually debates in the late 80s , early 90s about even using the word queer. Was it derogatory ? Was it pejorative ? Could it be an umbrella term ? Often you'll see questions about should we just say gay and lesbian ? Where do we include bisexual people ? And then occasionally sort of references to also including trans and non-binary people. Um , but one of the things that I saw in particular , uh , was this very familiar Sensation about talking about San Diego as both sleepy and small , and also relatively limited in its , um , in its black community. So , um , I read a piece in a , in a newspaper in 1991 where a man named Bill Thompson , um , described San Diego as , um , sleepy and southern and says that folks seem to like it that way. It also seems to be a very white town , and people seem to like it that way , too. I am from all white prep schools and environments back east , but I've not felt the whiteness as I have ever felt until I moved to San Diego. It's as if there's no color in the background , and people here seem unconscious that there is something else besides whiteness. They don't even seem to be aware that there aren't that many black people around. It was a big awakening for me to come here and realize for the first time , I'm truly a minority. And Bill says , I stayed in Pacific Beach for a few months when I moved here , and I saw maybe four black people and all of them , they were tourists. And and when I saw that , I laughed out loud , right ? I was like , this felt like it could have been written Thursday. Uh , it's like , oh , and I think that sensation of , um , a really witty , self-aware , uh , black queer space of saying , oh , there's not a lot of us and we all know each other felt really familiar. And then the question of , well , how do we make space ? How do we feel seen , and how do we feel like we're in community with each other ? Yeah.

S1: Well , there are so many , uh , community activists who paved the way to make that space and grow that visibility. I know Marti Mac Mackey is someone you were really drawn to in this process. Tell me about her story and what really resonated with you.

S2: Oh , I would love to. So I started this project and I had not really heard of Marty Mackey. And , um , my project really began around 1988 and went until 2002. And soon at the beginning of my project , I started encountering Marty's voice. Marty was a prominent playwright and an activist and an artist. She wrote constantly weekly columns in the Gay and Lesbian Times and The Gay and Lesbian Nation , which were two of the prominent LGBT newspapers at the time. And she was unsparing. Right. You have this tiny black woman with huge glasses who would write these sort of absolutely unafraid takedowns of structural racism. She would say , we need to do better. This place feels very comfortable. This place feels very self-satisfied , and we have so much work to do to think about what it means to be black and to be queer , um , she said in one of the first pieces I read in 1991 , she says , as a black woman , I feel as isolated and alienated here in Hillcrest as I might in Fallbrook or La Jolla. I note that for quite a few gays and lesbians , being gay or lesbian is their only distinction and the only civil rights issue that they feel at all inclined to support. And again , that was one of those moments where , like , my jaw fell open and I was like , oh , all right , Marty , um , this sense of articulating , um , the the double struggle of being black and LGBT , right. How do you how do you occupy queer spaces but don't always feel seen as a person of color , especially as a black person ? Um , yeah.

S1: Tell me about the issues that that San Diego in particular , um , has had around that. I mean , you know , to , to think about , um , people from the LGBTQ community , uh , who are both fit in that community and the black community where identity is wrapped in one. Um , not feeling at home and within that community at all. Absolutely.

S2: Absolutely. Right. And so , uh , Marty , really and others put a lot of , a lot of voice to this , sort of this , this sort of double bind. Right ? Um , LGBT spaces , especially in San Diego are powerfully emerging in the 1980s. Right. They're coming out of sort of initial pride organizations and pride movements , which are picking up steam in the 70s , um , increasing decriminalisation of gay sex acts and opening spaces for activism , especially with the rise of HIV Aids. Right. What we see is this huge moment for a community to start articulating their needs and demands for recognition and space. But a lot of those spaces were still dominated by whiteness. Um , and what Marty and others pointed out was people didn't even see what they didn't see. Right ? They didn't know what they didn't know. And so she began to articulate and say , my community is I will stand with gays and lesbians. But I also need you to know that we have color , too. And so we're trying to navigate what it means to be a person who also comes with struggles with racism , with institutional access to freedom. She also articulated what it was like to navigate black spaces where homophobia existed. Right. And , um , and she was very clear , as were others , to , to think about how do we begin to sort of make , uh , make real space and make ourselves really known ? And as San Diego is beginning to articulate these sort of real , real needs for , um , gays and lesbians and the larger LGBT community , we're seeing , um , black activists create organizations for the first time that are stepping up. Um , one of my favorites is this one called ladoo , which I'm excited to talk about. Um , but they are the first black group to take space in pride. They march in the 1989 pride. Um , they will be marshals in the 1991 parade , and Marty Mackie herself will be Pride's 1991 woman of the year. And so you really see a prominent space where black LGBT activists are really claiming they're like , we are queer. We are able to take space here , but we are also wanting to make sure that , you know , we have specific needs. As black individuals who are struggling with structural racism.

S1: I am curious if , you know , when you talk about the intersectionality of being black and LGBTQ. Plus , if there's ever this pressure to pick one social justice fight or the other.

S4: I love that question. Right. Um , because.

S2: It's often people look at you and they say , well , can can you pick a struggle ? We got we got limits here in this economy. You got two struggles. Um , and I.

S4: Find in this moment.

S2: Um , I have to go back to the words of Audre Lorde , right ? She's like , you know , we are not. We don't lead single issue lives. We are not single issue people. And I think one of the joys and powers of talking about intersectionality in a meaningful way is to say we are not reducible to one thing. Um , I will say personally , as a as a queer black person , I don't take off my queer hat to do black things , right. They they happen to be simultaneous and they inform. The way I occupy queer spaces is also informed by my blackness , and also the joys and history of being a black person and a black descendant in this country allows me to think about how I navigate that. As someone with who's who's queer. So they are constantly refracting and challenging each other , and so often thinking picking one is like looking at light , refracting and saying , why are you only ? Why aren't you one color ? Um , we aren't lucky enough to be that thing , and we are actually better for being a multitude of things. And that's what really drew me to this project. Thinking about how do people like me articulate their multi-sided struggles , their multifaceted ways of being in in their day to day lives ? And that gave me sort of history and a sense of purpose as I did it.

S1: Well , you recently held an event at Diversionary Theater with a lineup of activists who are leading a lot of work in the community. Tell me more about that.

S2: Oh my gosh , it was so much fun. So yeah , this past week , with the partnership with San Diego Black Pride and in Diversionary Theater , we had this project called uh , Who's World Who's Home , uh , named after a quote from Marty Mackey. And it was about uncovering , um , queer San Diego's black past , present and future. And I got to work with , um , you know , six incredible other activists and individuals , uh , Ryan Robinson at the Sdsu library. Uh , black MC and activist Mickey Vale. Um , Jordan Daniels , who's the director of San Diego Black Pride. Um , local politician Joshua Dunn. Uh , and amazing drag performer , uh , Amber Saint James and all of them stayed with me on a panel to talk about our particular issues and the way we navigate being black and queer in everyday experiences in San Diego. And then we ended the night , um , with some selected readings , um , by Marty Mackey's surviving partner Phyllis Jackson , who read her her words. And that was incredible for us because there was a sense of a through line from the 80s to today , like the issues that we have haven't changed too much , but our resilience is the same , and our sense of community and purpose , um , still exists. And that felt so good to do.

S1: So much of what's been going on politically has been framed as unprecedented. But from everything we've talked about so far , the struggle has been ongoing for a very long time.

S4: We're just so excited to to hear that.

S2: Um , I would say , first off , one of the things that that is so important is we can acknowledge that we exist in a moment right now that feels very unprecedented , the mechanisms by which the news is happening and changes in our society are happening are are profound and new. But one of the gifts , I think , of black and queer organizing is a reminder that many of these issues are evergreen. And that could feel depressing , right ? This idea that something from 40 years ago that we're still working with. But I find it actually incredibly comforting , the idea that this is not new. The challenges are not new. Um , I was talking with a friend earlier this week about the idea that often we are paralyzed by a sense of novelty in our lives , this idea that what we go through , that our struggles are new and absolutely haven't happened before. But the idea that in 1988 , black queer San Diegans were wrestling with homelessness and unemployment and disease and poverty and trying to carve out space , Reminds us that those struggles have been here and that people have found a way , and that feels beautiful. This idea that people have done this before and we can also do this , it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be finished neatly in the next six months. The work will continue , and I think that is so important and reassuring. And at a moment right now where so much of our history is either being drastically underfunded or outright revised , this idea of finding these lessons in the past to remind us that things are actually quite good , that we have had ancestors who have gone before and for whom these struggles are familiar. I think that gives me a lot of hope , and it reminds me that I don't have to be overwhelmed in the same way by all of this happening. We've got sleeves to roll up and work to do.

S1: I've been speaking with TJ Talley , community historian in residence at Lambda Archives and associate professor of history at the University of San Diego. Professor Talley , thanks.

S2: Oh , it's a real treat. Thanks for having me.

S1: Coming up , how one filmmaker relied on his San Diego ties for his first ever narrative feature.

S5: I thought , okay , I'm gonna do this in San Diego with all my family , with all my friends , and basically everybody came out and gave me access to businesses , to locations. A lot of them are in the movie. Everybody in the in the movie that plays my family is my family.

S1: Ralph Accomando previews Ron Nader's film adjunct when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Local writer and director Ron Nager started out studying film at San Diego State University , and tonight he'll debut his first narrative feature. The film is called adjunct. It follows a college professor wrestling with the harsh realities of academia. KPBS Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando has more.

S6: Ron , we are here at the KPBS studios , which is not a foreign place for you to be. You went to school here at San Diego State and were a film student.

S5: And I was able to kind of utilize everything around me. And so back in the day when I made my first feature , I'm not a hipster. We actually came to you and asked , hey , would you let us shoot in one of the the recording booths over here ? Because we have like a DJ scene where it's like a person interviewing a musician , and you did , and you let us come here and you were kind enough to do that.

S7:

S5: Okay , I acted in that specific scene in the movie , and the movie ended up going to Sundance. And a lot of people , like , really loved it. Kept asking me , like , when are you going to act ? When are you going to act ? And I just didn't think I was going to do it. And then as the years went on , I finally , like , broke down and acted in a couple of shorts that I made. And then I finally did this feature and adjunct and I decided one , that I knew that I was going to be there the whole time because we shot it over the course of a year. But yeah , my , my , I think going back to San Diego State in terms of like what I learned and I learned to be scrappy , I learned how to make stuff and to utilize all the resources around me. That's kind of what I did when I made when I was ready to direct and act in my first feature , I kind of said , I got to come back to San Diego. I got to use all my friends , all my family and everything around me. And yeah , it served me well , I hope.

S6: And so adjunct will be playing here in San Diego at the Digital Gym cinema. Explain what this film is film's about.

S5: I myself was an adjunct for many years , and I found the process to be very challenging. But in my mind I was like , I really didn't want to make the movie , I was too. I was genuinely scared to make my first feature. When I when I did this , I'm in my late 40s and I hadn't made a feature yet. I'd made some shorts , but I thought to myself , man , I have not seen a movie about adjuncts , specifically about adjuncts. I've seen movies about teachers , professors , the whole world. And anytime I try to explain to people what an adjunct is , they're like , I don't , I don't understand. And so I was like , I'm gonna make a movie that that helps explain the differences between what is a tenured tenure track professor and what is an adjunct. And an adjunct is really just a part time worker at a college. And you have you usually have no healthcare , you have no stability in terms of coming back every semester to do your job. Some some start to get contracts and some don't. But it's a very it's a very gig economy Kind of world. And I don't think a lot of my students , nor do a lot of people in general , know what an adjunct is and how much of a struggle I think it is for a lot of people who are adjuncts and most colleges today. The majority of their teaching staff are now adjuncts. And that's just the way that colleges have have moved to. And again , like students and people around don't even , like realize they see me as an adjunct and they see someone that is a tenured track professor and they don't see any differences between us. And a lot of times we're teaching the same classes.

S6: And let's hear a little bit of the trailer.

S5: These students , they need me to mentor them and to be there for them. And I cannot do that , not the way they deserve.

S8:

S5: And and try to have as much fun as you possibly can. Because that's something. That's something we've forgotten.

S6: One of the things about being an adjunct is that you and a lot of other people who do this kind of work are very passionate about what they're doing because you really care about the students and about teaching the material. And how does that sort of turn into something that gets. I don't know if I want to say abused , but something that can be taken advantage of in terms of how administrators may treat you.

S5: I think what it is , it's funny. Like for me , teaching in general , I love it. It's like something I'm very passionate about. My students , you know , every semester will come up to me at the end of the semester or even like years later and come up and say , I loved your class. Thank you so much. You really help me. Sometimes people say to me , hey , are you a are you a great filmmaker ? And I'm often I often go , I don't know , like I'm trying my best. If somebody asks me , are you a great teacher ? In my heart I'm like , I'm a great teacher. Like , I love it. And I'm so like , there's just something about it for me and for me. Frankly , the the movie sort of allowed me the opportunity to explore and think about and really , like , dissect my situation. And I think up until when I made the movie , like , I just kind of which I think happens to a lot of adjuncts , you sort of get in this cycle where , well , you know , the pay is not good and I am not treated that well by the administration. But I do love what I do , and I want to do it , and I want to keep doing it. And honestly , like , yeah , making the movie really made me really think a lot of things. And I think teaching is a very noble thing. But I do think the way the system is set up right now , it has been engineered in a way that really takes advantage and exploits adjuncts.

S6: And you also tackle some issues that are very sort of recent , probably pandemic , recent , the idea of videotaping lectures and then using those online and not always engaging the professor or the teacher's permission to do that. And that seems like a more recent kind of development.

S5: I think that's something that I saw happening in various places that I was an adjunct. And like , it's , I think going to become more and more popular where you do record your lectures , and the question then becomes , well , who owns that lecture ? Who owns that piece of IP ? Well , if you're a tenured tenure track professor , your work is protected because you're a tenured professor. If you're an adjunct. You basically don't quite have that protection. So that's a really interesting topic that I don't think I've again seen , explored or talked about. And it's one of those things where you're already getting paid so minimally to do this job. And then if you do all your recordings online , then what happens when they stop bringing you back but continue to use your lectures ? It's one of those things where I just don't think people have really thought it through. And I think as much as I think online classes are interesting and engaging , in some ways , I do think when you are there with your students and you can react in real time to them and really give them the mentorship , the the guidance , being able to interact with other students. I see the difference personally and I and I think that is why I do believe college is really important in terms of like what it can do for someone's education. But I also think the way the institutions themselves are moving , they themselves are trying to minimize that interaction. They're trying to do more online classes. They're trying to not pay you for those online classes. Like , it is a very interesting sort of subject that I don't think I have not seen really explored. And again , that's what gave me the kind of the courage to be like , okay , I'm going to try to do this movie. But yeah , I really just wanted to explore that world and kind of in the process of making the movie , I sort of figured out what the ending would be. There were some very specific , profound things that hit me that I realized I had to incorporate into the movie.

S6:

S5: It's funny. So I taught filmmaking and I always would tell my students , right. Well , you know , it's funny because it's literally in the movie. In the movie , he's a he's an English teacher instead of a film teacher , which. So I try to distance myself a little bit. In my college days , I did well , I like I made some films that like won some awards and did well , but some of those movies weren't that personal to me. And I really learned in the last few years the whole idea of write what you know , incorporate it. It doesn't mean you can't make a horror film or a sci fi film. It just means take elements of yourself and try to entangle it in the story , and it'll make the story more rich. I took that , and so when I made this movie , in some ways I will be honest , I feel like this movie is like , almost like revealing too much. If I want to be very honest , I don't think I'm doing something profoundly new. I actually think I'm doing what a lot of great filmmakers have done. It's one of those things where when you do do that , I do believe you can really dig deep into the material and really , like , show it to the world. And it's I just want to say like , it's very scary because you're really showing yourself in a way where sometimes , like people watch the movie and I'm like , oh , wow , you like , actually , like saw a lot of me. And sometimes people don't say anything. And then sometimes I've had people kind of pull me aside and like , really have like long conversations. I screened this to some family members and one of my uncles , like , called me and he's like , hey , are you okay ? I thought that was really beautiful. And like , I think not every artist , but I think some artists do reveal themselves and through their work. And I do think it's it's a great way to show your art.

S6: And you do have roots here in San Diego. And one of the other things you explore besides your work is your family. And you bring in a lot of culture. And I have to say , food in a lovely way. Yeah.

S5: Yeah. So so I'm , I'm Middle Eastern , my parents are both. My parents are from Iraq and a lot of my family. My mom's side of the family is here in San Diego , and we all grew up here , and so they've all like gone off to start different businesses. And one of my uncles started a place called Sahara that's in East County , and it's this amazing Middle Eastern restaurant. And when I decided I wanted to shoot in a restaurant , I asked my family if they would let me do that. And they said yes. And it's just this , like really fun sequences. I should also say , like one of my cousins I wrote in the script , um , oh , there's a party sequence. On.

S7: On.

S5: Me and one of my cousins , uh , Jonathan , was getting engaged , and I was like , hey , is there any chance that I could just show up with me and the other actor and a camera person and just he's like , yeah , absolutely. That'd be great. And everybody thought the girl that was the actress , they thought she was my date. So like , they were just like , constantly talking to me and talking to her of like , oh , how'd you guys meet ? Like , how do you guys know each other ? I just thought it was funny that my family , like , immediately embraced this person. And I don't know , it was just something beautiful to me about just capturing , you know , I should say , like the the family that's in the movie are my family. And a lot of the students that are in the movie are my students or my former students coming back to help me. I sent , you know , I sent emails out to a lot of my former students like , hey , I'm shooting these school scenes. Like , if anybody would want to come help me. Like , it was really wonderful to have all these people that that , you know , I , I hope that I've helped throughout the years come back and help me and my family has helped me on all my movies. They've always , like , turned up and given me access to things. I've just been very , very like blessed.

S6:

S5: It's actually going to be the theatrical like premiere run of the film , which feels very fitting because this movie was made in San Diego , made with a ton of San Diego filmmakers , actors , craftspeople , friends , family. I'm so excited that it's going to play at the Digital Gem.

S6: And how does it feel to have completed this project and have this under your belt ? Now.

S5: You know , as a director , I have produced some movies , but I've always wanted to direct something , and it took me over 20 years to finally get the courage to direct my first feature. And so the fact that I finally did it , like , really meant a lot to me. And I just want to say , just to give an anecdotal story , like one of my students is name is Benjamin Howard , who also went to San Diego State. He went to UCLA and he wrote a feature script. And he's like , do you think I should do this ? And I said , absolutely , Ben , do it. And so he's embarking on making his first feature , and he's my former student. And then he knew I wanted to make my movie , my feature , and he's like , where are you going to make it ? And I'm like , ah , I don't know , Ben , I don't know. And he's like , do it. And I was just like , like it was so interesting to me to have my student tell me you need to make your feature. That was like such a powerful moment for me. And it was really cool because we basically both shot our features parallel to each other. And I went on to be an executive producer for his movie , and he actually came on and became an executive producer for my movie , and he actually also came on and helped edit the movie with me and Andrew Norbeck , my producer. It was just a really beautiful thing. And I just remember there were times where I was like , I don't think I can finish this. And he just like , would not let me give up on it. It was really , really wonderful.

S6: Well , I want to thank you very much for talking about adjunct.

S1: Thank you. That was filmmaker Ron Nager speaking with KPBS film critic Beth Accomando. His feature film , adjunct , opens tonight at Digital Gems Gym Cinema in East Village. It'll be screened through Wednesday , with Nadir hosting Post Film Q and A's tonight through Saturday. Still ahead for our weekend arts preview. Local author Chris Barron talks about engaging with young readers on heavy themes like climate change and global crises.

S9: I really found this sense like , if we could partner more with young people and support them and guide them versus sort of sometimes pushing them away or down to either shelter them or silence them. But if we gave them that agency , we could find even more hope , more change.

S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Local Chris Barron , author of The Magical Imperfect , The Gray , and More , has a new middle grade book out. It's called spark , and it follows two nature loving eighth graders as they are evacuated in a wildfire. The story is rooted in their friendship , but it also tackles big issues like climate change , overdevelopment and trauma. Barron joined KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans in our studio to discuss the book and what's at stake when writing for middle schoolers. Here's that conversation.

S10:

S9: One was just the idea of the fires , of course , that it just takes a spark. And I think we hear that word over and over again in all the news reporting , because we're aware of the spark that causes the fire , but also sparks of inspiration , sparks of hope. And and then this kind of idea of small light. Like a little light can light up the world. And that's a big part of the Jewish tradition also. So like , it's always been there for me and it just seemed like a perfect word when we had to change the title anyway. So spark seemed to fit perfectly. Okay.

S10: Okay.

S9:

S10: So the story is rooted in two friends , eighth graders , Finn and Marisol , nicknamed rabbit , and they have each other at first , but they're otherwise on the fringes of the social systems at school.

S9: I mean , as an author , you know , you know , you always sort of start with character , and then they grow and change and shift. And these characters. Yeah , they're best friends. They they understand each other. They actually call each other kind of the heart and mind. Rabbits. The heart fins , the mind. He's studious. He loves routine. He likes things to make sense and have an answer. And they both love the forest. And so Finn likes to study the forest , keep notes in his field journal. Rabbit would just run headlong and sit in the middle of the forest for as long as she could , and she's so passionate about it. Um , and they have , of course. Thorn is rabbit's dog who also loves the forest and is a little wild and , um , but these characters complement each other like so many good friendships , and they represent that kind of different parts of all of us. So them being together , they are really interested in sharing nature with the world. So they create trail cameras that can kind of see into the forest , and they hope that they make a channel that the world can see , like into the window through a window of the forest and just kind of experience the beauty of it as well.

S10:

S9: Finally , the fires have come to their town , and they find the evacuation center where a lot of people are going , but they move on from their evacuation center. A wall of fire engines and sheriff's cars block off Pioneer Park. The doors of Redwood Hollow's Municipal gym thrown open , light pouring out , people pouring in , wrapped in blankets , holding pillows , carrying suitcases , garbage bags , each other. This is the evacuation center. Dad says dad , I ask , why aren't they leaving ? Not everyone can , he says. He looks at mom. The car slows down for a moment. It feels like maybe we might stop , but the car jolts forward into the endless line of cars creeping slowly along highway 49 behind us. Trees bend sideways in the wind. A wall of fire rises into the sky.

S10: Thank you. While this is fictional , so much of the story is rooted in the reality of wildfires that have impacted rural areas , particularly in Northern California.

S9: And it was during the Witch Creek fire. And I remember I had our second daughter just been born , and we had been renovating the house , and we got out of the car to move in , and we looked out and there was Mount Miguel with like a snake of fire coming down it. And we said nope. And we got back in the car and went back to the beach for another month. And it was still like fallout in the sky , even at the beach , because of those Santa Ana winds that blow , you know , to the west. So for me , it started with that experience of evacuation and other times in San Diego that we've had to do it. But I felt a real connection to people losing their homes , losing their routine , losing their life , their lives , changing everything they know lost. And so my approach was just to learn as much as I could. And so I traveled all over Northern California , met with residents who had to flee and evacuate. I did so much research talking to wildland firefighters , ecologists , biologists , indigenous tribal liaisons like approaches to fire. I immersed myself and learned all I could and found so much that I didn't even know.

S10: I was thinking before I read this book about the ways that the book might inform or teach or reach young people about climate change and global crises.

S9: But what I found in these communities I visited and through the research was there is so much hope in community and especially young people like given some agency. And that's why it's reflected in the story , is kids sort of know in their heart the simplest path of what to do to provide hope and change without getting bogged down into all the nuances of , of real life. And so I really found this sense , like , if we could partner more with young people and support them and guide them versus sort of sometimes pushing them away or down to either shelter them or silence them. But if we gave them that agency , we could find even more hope , more change.

S10: I love that middle grade fiction , or middle schoolers in general. This is confusing , overwhelming , and misunderstood period of life.

S9: I mean , think of yourself. You know , I always think of myself at that age. You think , you know , stuff , but then you also don't know anything. And everyone's encouraging you , but also discouraging you. And you're seeing the paths of life , and I , I don't know , I think this is such an important age. And I know for me , it was the time and space that made the biggest impression on me. Where I lived. My friends at that time was so formative and so and I've always admired especially educators who teach these grades. You have to be an incredible person. So for me , I just know that this was an incredible time in my life. Difficult , brutal , wonderful. And it's a privilege to write for this age group. It takes a lot of work and care , but I think it's worth it.

S1: That was Chris Barron , author of spark. Speaking with KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans , who joins me now. Welcome , Julia.

S10: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.

S1: Always a pleasure. So , Julia , you've read the book and you've also been following Barron's publishing career for years now.

S10: It's like each page is kind of like a poem in and of itself , but it's this connected narrative. It's a novel. It's a full story. So yeah , if anyone thinks that poetry is inaccessible , this is an example for them. Um , it's really fast paced , and I think that verse format , while still being narrative , just makes it really easy to read and really like tangible experience as you're going through this , this evacuation with these kids. Um , and yeah , it's also really complicated. It's about trauma and it's about friendship. The relationship between Finn and Rabbit , those two eighth graders , is really special , and it has to endure a lot. It's a great book.

S1: All right , well , Chris Barron will celebrate his new book , spark , with an all ages event tonight at Warwick's. It's at 7:30 p.m. , and he'll also be part of the San Diego Book Festival on August 23rd. Okay , so , Julia , let's talk about what else is going on in the arts this weekend. First , we have some visual art in Chula Vista. Yeah.

S10: Yeah. So this is a collective called Art Through the Glass. And they're opening a new exhibit at the Chula Vista Center mall. And they take abandoned storefronts in the mall and transform the windows into gallery walls , which is really cool. And their newest exhibit is called rewind. You had to be there and now you are. And it's the result of an open call for artworks inspired by like niche , nostalgia or memory. And they have 20 artists in the show , including Tara , Arun , Yvette , Roman , Julio , Martha and and more. And the reception is 4 to 7 on Saturday. And they'll also be like a little outdoor Maker Faire to coincide with the exhibit. And this is all at the mall in Chula Vista.

S1: All right. Well , in theater , A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder opens at North Coast Rep.

S10: It won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2014. And it's about this. This man , otherwise a common man called Monty who discovers he's actually eighth in line for an earldom and this big inheritance. It's a funny and absurd script , and it opens with a warning to the audience. That's the song name. If you are weak in constitution or faint of heart.

S11: For those of you a weaker constitution. For those of you who may be faint of heart. This is a tale of revenge and retribution. So if you're small.

S10: And this production is just officially opening this week and it's already been extended due to demand , it's on stage at North Coast Rep in Solana Beach through August 17th.

S1: All right , well , if you're looking to give back to the community this weekend , Books Through Bars has an event , right ? Yeah.

S10: So this is a prison books program. It's based in San Diego , out of Groundwork Books at UCSD , and it's this volunteer run collective. And they host these regular book packing events. And the way the program works is that incarcerated individuals write letters requesting books , and then volunteers will go through the letters , select books , and then ship them back and usually include , like a handwritten note to go along with it , and you can also bring books to donate to the their library books through bars so that then people , when they're going through these letters , they can select books and and send them to those incarcerated individuals. This is from 11 to 2 p.m. this Saturday at UC San Diego's Groundwork Books.

S1: All right.

S10: And it's a bunch of indie bands jetty , metaphor , Winnebago Sands , and Citrus. Junior Jedi just had a new EP out in January. It's called faultlines. And this is my favorite from the album. It's a track called Halfway Happy.

S12: All my cats misspelled better , but it's not that bad. Now I'm just halfway happy.

S1: All right. You can find details on these and more arts events on our website at KPBS. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thank you so much.

S10: Thank you. Jade. This is fun. Wow.

S12: Wow. It feels good.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.