Best known for his world adventures, Jack London’s training ground and lifelong love was the San Francisco Bay. As a self-taught teenage sailor, he honed his boating skills and confidence as an oyster pirate and ad hoc deputy of the California Fish Patrol, skills that he took on the road. A decade later the author bought a sloop on which to write The Sea Wolf, and for the rest of his short life sailed and wrote on the Bay. “I am wedded to ‘Frisco Bay,” he said about a bond enmeshed with the immigrants who sailed alongside or with him, and one that shaped the author and the man.

Author and journalist Aleta George is at work on a book about Jack London and his enduring ties to the San Francisco Bay. Aleta is also wedded to the Bay: She swims in it, sails on it, and walks the San Francisco Bay Trail. She writes about the Bay for Smithsonian, Los Angeles Times, and Estuary News, and is the award-winning author of Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California’s First Poet Laureate.

Note: Access to this venue is by a narrow staircase leading to the 2nd floor. Prior to arrival, attendees who need assistance or for more information should call (707) 938-5216.

The photograph above of Jack London on the Roamer is courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Garden, San Marino, CA

WHEN: February 11, 2023, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

WHERE: House of Happy Walls Museum, 2nd floor. Turn left as you enter the park

ADMISSION: $15, parking fee extra