Jack London Commemorative Year 2016
The Jack London Legacy Celebration 2016
Jack London’s great-granddaughter Tarnel Abbott talks about her famous relative during a news conference held in front of the wood cabin where the author spent a winter in Alaska, now in Jack London Square (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
2016 marks 100 years since Jack London’s death. He left behind a legacy of literature, full of energy and spirit that defines the American character. IN 2015, the CWC helped convene a Steering Committee, comprised of volunteers who love Jack London—not only his story but his books, essays, and short stories.
We began planning ways our respective organizations can showcase Jack and his legacy and celebrate the people living today who share his passions: adventure travel, advocacy, photography, sailing, sustainable farming. and writing in many forms.
And now for the million-dollar question…
Was Jack London an actual founder of the California Writer’s Club, or an honorary founder?
This eternal question is shrouded in mystery, perhaps because historical references report that Jack was both a co-founder and an “honorary” co-founder! In 1909, the year the CWC was founded, he had just returned from the Snark voyage. Living in Glen Ellen, now the site of the Jack London State Park, he came to Oakland frequently and connected with his friends who are documented CWC co-founders, whether or not he attended meetings!
A more documentable fact is that London was a member of the Alameda Press Club, along with poet Ina Coolrith, when that club merged with the California Writer’s Club in 1911.
Perhaps because he was too busy in 1909 to sign the original papers, London was clearly given the title “honorary” co-founder in 1913, in exchange for his short story “The Son of the Wolf,” published in West Winds, the CWC’s first anthology in 1913, the year the CWC incorporated.
Resources
- About Jack London
- Jack London Legacy Celebration 2016-Oakland
- “Discover Your Call of the Wild” at Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen
- Jack London Society (Bi-annual Symposium in Napa in September)
Upcoming Events
- Jan 17-Cookies and/or cupcakes for Jack at the CWC meeting
- Jan 23-New Jack London Historic Tour 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. @ Heinold’s in Jack London Square
- Jan 28-Alameda County Historic Society Luncheon
- Jan 6-Mar 31-History Room Exhibit at the Oakland Main Library
Media
Jack London died 99 years ago today; plans afoot for Centennial next year
140th anniversary of Jack London’s birth kicks off series of events