[ALOUD] at Central Library
Thursday, July 23, 2009 7:00 PM
NOVELLA CARPENTER
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer 
podcast

In conversation with Evan Kleiman, host, KCRW's "Good Food", restaurateur, and cook book author

Urban and rural collide in this wry inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm.

A child of back-to-the-land hippies, Novella Carpenter grew up in rural Idaho and Washington State. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Biology and English. Past careers include: assassin bug handler, book editor, media projectionist, hamster oocyte collector, and most recently, free-lance journalist. Carpenter studied under Michael Pollan at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism for two years. Her subsequent journalistic work reflects her interests–in farming, food, the environment, and culture. As an Urban Farmer, Carpenter has been cultivating the city for over ten years now, starting with a few chickens, then some bees, until she had a full-blown farm near downtown Oakland.

ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com

Evan Kleiman, renowned owner and executive chef of one of LA's favorite restaurants, Angeli Caffe, and best-selling author of numerous cookbooks, including Cucina Fresca and Pasta Fresca, was the host of "Good Food" on KCRW for over ten years. Kleiman has a rich and varied background in food -- as scholar of Italian cooking and culture, entrepreneur and trend-setter for the popular trattoria concept, avid gardener, and admired teacher and chef -- which has won her the esteem of her culinary colleagues both here and abroad. In addition to her restaurant and writing pursuits, Kleiman also serves on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Farmers' Market and on the Board of Overseers of The Chef's Collaborative 2000 -- organizations which are devoted to educating the public on issues of sustainability.