David Perlis at Mrs. Dalloway's
Join us at Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM when David Perlis comes to the store to present his new book Morning in Marin: Zen, Drugs, and Ewoks on the California Coast. David will sign copies of his book after the presentation.
Click here to preorder a copy of Morning In Marin.
"Those of us who grew up in Marin always knew it was a special place. Just how special, and why, is brilliantly articulated in this exhaustively researched book." —Huey Lewis
"As close to a perfect history of Northern California and the various artists that nursed at its breast." —Peter Coyote
Just north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, lies Marin County—a landscape of redwood forests and misted hills that, between World War II and the 1980s, became the unlikely epicenter of a cultural awakening. From blockbuster cinema to psychedelic rock, Eastern spirituality to speculative fiction, Marin helped forge a new American mythology.
In Morning in Marin: Zen, Drugs, and Ewoks on the California Coast, David Perlis delivers the first comprehensive narrative history of this awakening—what he calls the “Marinaissance.” The movement gave rise to Star Wars, nurtured the improvisational ethos of the Grateful Dead, and seeded a creative revolution that reverberated across music, religion, literature, film, and philosophy.
Marin was not only home to cultural juggernauts such as George Lucas, Alan Watts, Janis Joplin, Robin Williams, Gary Snyder, and Philip K. Dick—it profoundly shaped their work. As Perlis writes, “The Marinaissance is multitudes,” manifesting everywhere from the Jedi’s belief in the power of the self to Shel Silverstein’s anti-authoritarian children’s verse. Marin was a nexus of East-meets-West spirituality and a proving ground for sounds and stories that would dominate global culture.
Drawing from deep archival research and dozens of firsthand interviews—including voices like Anne Lamott and Peter Coyote—Perlis reconstructs an era of radical experimentation. From mud-sunk Sausalito houseboats to back-to-the-land communes, Morning in Marin traces how a loose network of freethinkers—united by Zen practice, psychedelic exploration, reverence for nature, self-sufficiency, and a belief in human potential—sparked an “inner revolution” that ultimately reshaped global entertainment and spiritual life.
DAVID PERLIS is a writer, musician, and filmmaker from Marin County, California. For nearly a decade he co-hosted the late night talk show Night People on WFMU. He has worked for the New York Public Library and the American Museum of Natural History. He now lives in Corrales, New Mexico. Morning in Marin is his first book.
THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on September 3.
BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.
DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.
WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.
WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.
PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.
OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM, please plan accordingly.
