Blumlein Memorial
A memorial service for author Michael Blumlein, who died last October, was held January 25, 2020 at the San Francisco Film Festival Centre in the Presidion in San Francisco, CA. More than 200 people attended a two-act performance with an intermission, celebrating Blumlein’s “many worlds, passions, and relationships,” hosted by the author’s daughter, Risa Blumlein.
An actor performed sections from Blumlein’s last novel Longer, and several authors read from essays in his collection Thoreau’s Microscope. Kim Stanley Robinson read “Otzi Crosses Over” by poet Gary Snyder, who was unable to attend. Other attendees spoke as well, and two songs were performed, including an original written for Blumlein.
Literary figures in attendance included Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman, Eileen Gunn, Cecelia Holland, Pat Murphy, Charles Platt, Carter Scholz, Rudy Rucker, and more.