Remembering John O’Brien
Much like the books he published, John O’Brien (1945–2020) was a complicated man. He was an idealist who devoted his life to a self-described “quixotic enterprise” of creating a repository for strange, innovative fiction from around the world fiction that would stay in print forever, for future generations of readers to discover and wonder at.
John had impeccable taste in literature. He especially liked French and Eastern European literature that toyed with ideas of repetition and variation, frequently centered around a hapless narrator who struggles to understand what’s happening to him. Through the
Review of Contemporary Fiction, Dalkey Archive Press,
ARTS
Adios, Robinson
Brava & La Lengua Teatro en Español present a radio play in Spanish (with English subtitles) by Julio Cortázar, with an updated anti-colonial take on
Robinson Crusoe. Thru Dec. 5. https://www.brava.org/
Alice in Californiland
AXIS dance revises their performance of the magical strange dance-tale of a young girl s journey. https://www.axisdance.org/
Ballet22
In a blend of classical ballet, pointe work and contemporary styles, the new Oakland-based company Ballet22 will premiere new dances recorded at SF s ODC Theater, some with a modern holiday edge. The program, titled Breaking Ground, premieres December 11, will include a modern take on the Sugar Plum Pas de Deux from The Nutcracker; Juntos, a neo-classical work by Cincinnati Ballet Soloist Joshua Stayton; and a world premiere by Artistic Director of Boca Tuya, Omar Román de Jesús. Concerts will stream Dec. 11-13 and 18-20 at 5pm & 8pm. Tickets range from $20-$250. (Read the article in this week s