Books: Sea Shore Memoir by Mary Jane
Reviewed by Carol
Fondiller
I’ve had the
experience of moving into a vacant apartment, with the scent of the previous
tenant lingering in the air.
A dresser stands in the room, the drawers
hanging open like thirsty tongues.
I
dump the drawers to get rid of the debris to make room for my
debris.
A piece of string, seashells,
keys to open forgotten drawers, a leaflet announcing a long-gone rally for a
long-gone lost (?) cause, a really interesting part of a legal document. Photos
with the names and dates of the pictured people on the back. I.e., “Joe,
Sheri and Blue Bird at the Democratic Convention in Chicago—Demonstrating
for Democracy. Peace!”
A Sea
Shore Memoir by Mary Jane is like that. A shuffle through memories. Photos of
friends forgotten, now brought to mind, bits of events form a kaleidoscope of
memories.
This is Mary Jane’s
book, her vision. It is a quirky and idiosyncratic journal of her life, with
emphasis on her stay in Venice. Born in San Francisco Mary Jane’s travels
and ambitions came together in Venice. The history and events of the ‘60s
through the 21st century are seen through Mary Jane’s unique
vision.
She is not always accurate.
For instance, in an anecdote regarding the Grass Roots Venice Neighborhood
Council election featured 200 people not 2,000 as she stated. There are other
inaccuracies. But this is not a history book, it is a personal journey through
the history of Venice. Mary Jane has participated in, been involved in, many
Venice causes from creating festivals to fighting displacement of low-income
tenants. She breaks up her stays in Venice by visiting other countries to help
victims of wars and droughts and
famine.
She shuttles us back and forth
from her personal life to her political life and her artistic life, and as it
happens, the personal, artistic all become
political.
The pen and ink drawings
are charming. Not only are there drawings of houses, but of gas stations that
give or gave good service, buildings and businesses long gone. Drawings of the
canals before they were given over to the McMansions are mixed in with drawings
of places she and her friends lived in through the years.
The Book speaks as Mary Jane does,
rushing from one subject, free associating, and coming back to her original
story. Her memories are unabashed and out there. She states in her book that
this is her history and indeed it is. No one has seen events as she has.
Sometimes she lapses into poor
martyred me mode. I’m sure that anyone who has volunteered in local
activities, political and/or cultural has had similar feelings of betrayal
and/or being under appreciated.
That’s part of the charm of Sea
Shore.
It’s unabashed pure
without pretense of objectivity. It has the same feel as reading a journal of a
woman in the American Revolution, working for the future, worrying about her
friends, and P.O.’d because the Smiths next door are still drinking tea
imported from England, while they tell others whether they’re patriotic or
not, and sometimes getting the facts or dates mixed
up.
The book is lovely in itself,
printed on acid-free paper, it is made to last like a box of exquisitely rich
candy, to be dipped into at random, and savored slowly.
Posted: Mon - August 1, 2005 at 12:29 PM