Respite by the River
Take a break from the rush of everyday life and join the River Parkway Trust for a Respite by the River. Bring your picnic dinner, blanket and lawn chair, and relax at the River Center while you enjoy music provided by talented local musicians. Then you’ll enjoy a reading by a Central Valley author.
On June 12, the event will feature award-winning author David Borofka, who explores the relationship of spirituality with sexuality, religion with the deceptions of piety. Elizabeth Gaffney, writing in The New York Times Book Review, observes that “moments of giddy redemption leaven the woes of Mr. Borofka’s characters, but the real miracle is the deftness, subtlety and humor with which he makes their many bedeviled lives cohere in a single vision of well-earned affirmation.”
“Writing fiction is not rocket science or calculus,” says Borofka, “it is not dependent on theory or lofty abstraction, nor is it the life-and-death drama of medicine or the cutthroat battle of the courtroom. The writer of fiction does not need the alphabet of credentials after his or her name in order to play the game.
“But what the writer of fiction absolutely needs is the willingness to dream, to trust the truthfulness of his or her intuition, and the ability to translate those dreams onto paper, knowing full well that no matter how distant the contents of the story or how effaced the writer remains, his or her heart is going to be on display.
“That can be a dangerous exploration and a certain kind of bravery is required, for those who write face dragons every day.”
The author’s reading begins at 7 p.m.
Before the reading, beginning at 6 p.m., there will be a performance by Suite 121, a jazz and blues band in the Fresno area. This band began near the end of 2012 with Jennifer Coull as primary vocalist, Garrett Masterson on guitar and vocals, Bill Turini on bass and vocals and Mark Shuklian on drums and vocals. They play jazz standards, blues and original music.
Respite by the River takes place at The Barn at the San Joaquin Valley River Center (11605 Old Friant Rd.). The event is free, but any proceeds or donations made from Respite by the River go toward supporting the River Parkway Trust’s mission to protect and preserve the San Joaquin River Parkway.
