Kristin Caven presents "Walkin' with Joaquin Miller"

Oakland's own Victorian poet was a walking, talking symbol of the Golden West. We remember him for his frontier ethics and bad boy antics but don't fully understand his uplifting magnetism. Kristen Caven, the California Writers Club Writer in Residence at Joaquin Miller Park, will paint us a new picture of Joaquin Miller as America's late romantic by introducing us to the many fascinating women who loved him. From the legendary Paquita, his Indian bride, to the "White Witch of Oakland," his daughter Juanita, we'll meet poets, actresses, heiresses, and the nation's wealthiest female tycoon.

Kristen Caven is a creative dervish: as an author, playwright, cartoonist, lyricist, and independent historian. She is also known as a dancer, poet and impresario, but her work is grounded in the field of mental health and wellness from a family perspective. Her unique perspectives on Oakland have given us fresh takes on Mills College (with her cartoon history, "Inside the Mills Revolution"), Oaktoberfest (with her animated play, "The Dirndl Diaspora" and her "Dirndl Diversity" fashion shows and movement), Lake Merritt (with her Pergola play, "Be Mused"), and her song, "Joaquin Miller Went Walkin'." She's also lectured to the Art Deco Societies of San Francisco and Miami Beach on the Virtues of Vintage Cookbooks. Her most recent book is The Uplift Family Playbook, an illustrated companion to The Winning Family: Where No One Has to Lose, and you can watch her last lecture, "Reconsidering Joaquin Miller" on the Oakland Public Library YouTube channel. You can find her books and follow her blogs, "Walkin' with Joaquin" and "Generous Muse" on kristencaven.com.

Please reserve here on Eventbrite or call Richelle Lieberman 510.381.1973 or [email protected]. Hope to see you soon.

$25 per person, all proceeds go to the museum.

Host or Publisher Pardee Home Museum