Synopsis
Santa Barbara, CA (pop. 92,000) is known for producing a wide variety of literary talent, notably Ross MacDonald, Sue Grafton, John Sanford and T.C. Boyle. Memoirs like “Hannibal by the Sea” and “Montecito Boy” speak to growing up in the early 20th century. Christopher Buckley has written an excellent Santa Barbara memoir "Cruising State" yet not much has been written about growing up in Santa Barbara in the 1960's and 1970's, particularly the more suburban provincial Goleta Valley, west of town along Highway 101. Jon Obermeyer spent the summer of 2017 going down the "worm holes" of memory each day, spelunking in the caves of his Santa Barbara childhood (Goleta and Montecito) and his early adult years living off Micheltorena Street. Jon observes, “The challenge of memoir is avoiding a tepid, shallow Sears Roebuck catalogue of artifacts and trivia and examining thoughtfully why and how these events made me the person I became.” He adds, for almost four decades, my poems (some published) have covered much of this territory, yet it's been enjoyable to work in the flexibility of a prose narrative.” A stroke survivor, Jon took up the memoir genre in 2016 as part of a therapy assignment, writing a cradle-to-grave memoir in early 2017. He found the Santa Barbara sections more compelling and entertaining, and decided to focus on the first 25 years of life He wanted to explore how a childhood in Santa Barbara was a formative and distinct experience. This eclectic memoir draws on the fields of popular music, natural history, biology, geology, psychology, neurobiology, California history, sports (surfing, hiking), economics, linguistics and etymology, literature and examines themes like childhood trauma, depression, creative expression and spirituality. The book also features a unique “Mix Tape” compilation of “A side” and “B side” popular music from the years 1958-1983 and a Santa Barbara literary bibliography titled “’D’” is For Dectective Fiction.” Jon moved from Santa Barbara in 1983. With the exception of three years living and working in San Francisco recently, he has lived on the East Coast for the past thirty years. Writing from a geographical distance, might be an advantage, he guesses. “I’m not there everyday, driving on Shoreline Drive or Hollister or A.P.S. I have to pull this out of my brain.” Jon no longer has immediate family living in Santa Barbara, although his cousin and uncle live in Ventura. Due to multiple cross-country moves, he has misplaced most of his family photographs and his “Olive and Gold” S.B.H.S. yearbooks from 1974-76. Jon uses topical prompts to begin and develop each chapter. He also credits two Santa Barbara Facebook groups for inspiration and obscure fact checking. For example, who was the Santa Barbara High teacher (and assistant football coach) who wore a toga in Roman History class? Answer: Mr. Everett.
About the Author
Jon Obermeyer is a Santa Barbara native who currently lives and writes in Durham, North Carolina. Born at Cottage Hospital during Fiesta (Old Spanish Days), Jon grew up in the Bay Canyon neighborhood in Goleta and spent his junior high and high school years in Montecito. A surfer from 1969-1977, Jon surfed the south coast from Jalama to Emma Wood, primarily at The Pit and Hammond's Reef. He also surfed many California coast spots, from Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz to Ocean Beach in San Diego. Equally at home on Santa Barbara trails, he considers Hurricane Deck in the backcountry and Cold Springs on the front range as his favorite trails. Jon is a 1976 graduate of Santa Barbara High School. He earned a degree in English from Westmont College, where he served as editor of the student literary magazine, The Phoenix. Following two years living, working and writing in San Francisco after college, Jon returned to Santa Barbara, wrote poems and short stories and worked in a local bank in the basement vault. He contributed to the Santa Barbara News & Review, published poems in Spectrum (UCSB) and Santa Barbara Magazine, and his short story "Not Really Mine to Give" place second in the 1982 News & Review fiction contest. Jon is a graduate
of Westmont College, with a degree in English. He holds the Master of Fine Arts in
Creative Writing degree from the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro. He is the author of "The Reassurance of Ghosts" (poems), "The Winter Practice" (short stories), "The Low Wire: Meditations on Loss and Creative Restoration"(essays) and "Centripetal Force" (short stories). His poems have appeared in The Greensboro Review, International Poetry Review, A Carolina Literary Companion, Spectrum, Spectrum 60th Anthology, Blue Pitcher, Coraddi, Phoenix, Santa Barbara Magazine, Stroke Connection Magazine, Northern Virginia Review and in the Greensboro anthology, Edge of Our World. Jon's short stories have appeared
in Equator, Cities & Roads, and O.Henry Festival Stories. His short story "Not Really Mine to Give" was runner-up in the 1982 Santa Barbara News & Review fiction contest. Clyde Edgerton selected "Confessions of a Pacifist" as a finalist story for publication in the 1987 North Carolina Writers Network's Fiction Syndication Competition. His essays and book reviews have appeared in the News & Review and The New York Times. A stroke survivor, Jon plunged into memoir writing in 2017 as part of an assignment from his therapist.
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