MORNING IN MARIN

A land of natural beauty, creativity, and exclusivity.

In this admiring cultural history of Northern California’s Marin County, Perlis tracks a cohort of midcentury artists, writers, musicians, actors, and filmmakers who lived across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. In doing so, the Marin County native—a writer, musician, and filmmaker—features bohemian enclaves on Mount Tamalpais and at the Sausalito marina; the rucksack revolution of Jack Kerouac, Joanne Kyger, Lew Welch, and Gary Snyder; the San Francisco rock stars who migrated north in the late 1960s; and filmmaker George Lucas’ decision to set up shop in San Anselmo in the 1970s. Along the way, the author looks in on painter Jean “Yanko” Varda, who lived on a refurbished ferry and taught at the California School of Fine Arts; Varda’s shipmate, Alan Watts, whose books and lectures popularized Zen Buddhism; writers Philip K. Dick, Sam Shepard, Anne Lamott, Shel Silverstein, and Frank Herbert; musicians Vince Guaraldi, Jerry Garcia, John Cipollina, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, and Huey Lewis; comedian and actor Robin Williams; dancer Anna Halprin; and back-to-the-land gurus Stewart Brand and Lloyd Kahn. He also recalls the region’s self-improvement offerings, most notably Erhard Seminars Training (est) as well as Synanon, the drug-treatment community whose 3,200 acres near Point Reyes were sold when founder Chuck Dederich was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Although these figures and others shaped the region’s reputation, the county’s small population retained its basic character, which Perlis describes as “white, affluent, exclusive, and environmentally conscious.” Concluding his history in the mid-1980s, he writes, “The rucksack revolution has not yet ended the cycle of consumerism in America, but give it time. The Marinaissance is complete, but the morning is young.” Perlis offers little explanation for the concentration of talent at the center of his story nor does he trace its influence and legacy. Despite this lack of analysis, the book’s impressive cast and sprightly narration leave no doubt about the extraordinary nature of this place and period.

A lively account of a countercultural haven.