Steinbeck Institute of Arts and Culture will open on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 with writer and activist Luis Rodriguez
Save the Date: On Wednesday September 21 The Steinbeck Institute of Arts and Culture in Salinas CA will host Luis Rodriguez! The event will open with a performance by Poetic Justice, a theatre group of formerly incarcerated actors.
- Salinas, CA (1888PressRelease) September 05, 2011 - Under the direction of the National Steinbeck Center, The Steinbeck Institute of Arts and Culture, located at 940 N. Main Street (formerly known as Sherwood Hall), is a place for the Salinas community to experience a spirit of collaboration, share resources, and unify in a sustainable and respectful physical space. The Steinbeck Institute of Arts and Culture aims to unite the community by providing a space and opportunity to experience arts, culture, and entertainment. The Institute will launch several events this fall due to the generosity of its presenting sponsor the Sally Hughes Church Foundation (board members: Anne C. Leach, President; W.B. Lindley, Vice President; Harry D. Wardwell, Secretary; Ross Merrill, Treasurer).
The series will open on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 with writer and activist Luis Rodriguez. The event will open with a performance by Poetic Justice, a theatre group of formerly incarcerated actors. Luis J. Rodriguez is convinced that a writer can change the world. Through education and the power of words Rodriguez saw his own way out of poverty and despair in the barrio of East LA. Successfully breaking free from the years of violence and desperation he spent as an active gang member, he has achieved success as an award-winning poet.
He was sure the streets would haunt him no more - until his 15-year-old son joined a gang. Rodriguez responded by telling his own story in the bestselling books Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A., a fearless memoir that explores the lure of gang life and cautions against the hopelessness and destruction it engenders. His other books include Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times and It Doesn't Have to Be This Way: A Barrio Story. His sequel to Always Running will be released this October and is titled, It Calls You Back: A Writer's Odyssey through Love, Addictions, Recovery, and Healing and describes the challenges in his life as husband and father as he tries to leave his criminal past completely behind. Rodriguez writes that "art is the heart's explosion on the world. There is probably no more powerful force for change in this uncertain and crisis-ridden world than young people and their art. It is the consciousness of the world breaking away from the strangle grip of an archaic social order."
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7pm
Members: $10/Non-members: $15
Students with ID: $7
For tickets call: 831.775.4726 or at www.steinbeck.org.
http://www.luisjrodriguez.com/
Background on the National Steinbeck Center:
The National Steinbeck Center is located in Salinas , California , the birthplace of John Steinbeck. The National Steinbeck Center is a museum and cultural institution whose mission is "to tell the story of John Steinbeck's rich legacy, and to present, create and explore stories of the human condition." The Center offers three visitor experiences: the John Steinbeck Exhibition Hall, which houses seven themed theaters with film clips and interactive exhibits from the Nobel prize-winning author's works, the Rabobank Agriculture Museum, which explores the stories of the Salinas Valley "from field to fork," and changing art and cultural exhibits and a variety of educational and public programs.
For more information, please visit the National Steinbeck Center 's website at www.steinbeck.org. For more information on upcoming events or purchase tickets call (831) 775-4726.
Media Seats And Interviews Available. Please contact Marci Bracco (831) 747-7455 or marcibracco ( @ ) yahoo dot com
Press Contact: Marci Bracco (831) 747-7455
Program Contact: Colleen Bailey (831) 775-4724
###
space
space
Satisfied Users & 
Approved Press Releases
Print
Email
Report Spam