This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town.All information here is for historical reference only.

The inside of Amicus Books.

Amicus Books Literary Arts Center and Bookstore was a privately owned literary arts center, funded by an independent bookstore. It served a ten-county region in the Sacramento Valley, focusing on programs for the area's authors and writers. James and Kara Davis were its founders and directors.

Amicus Books opened to the public April 1, 2005, in Yuba City,¹ and within its first year produced Wordcolors, an anthology of poetry, short stories and photography, in collaboration with the members of its first literary program, Poetry from The Green Chair.² Also during 2005, the center established The Literary Lounge, a consortium of the region’s authors, writers, publishers, illustrators and editors.³ The consortium has been showcased at the Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council⁴ and includes many published authors, notably Chris Enss, author of several books on women of the Old West.

In March 2006, Amicus Books relocated to 413 D Street, in the historic downtown district of Marysville.⁵ Later that year, it founded the Downtown Marysville Art Chautauqua, collaborating with local businesses, artists and writers to provide a regular venue for the literary and visual arts.⁶ In July 2006, Amicus Books launched the Intrepid Press, a zine written, edited and directed by local writers and artists, ages 16 to 23.⁷⁸ The center also hosted several educational and literary events, including presentations by authors Candy Chand, Richard Beban, Selden Edwards, Lueza Gelb, Erica Ross-Krieger, and most notably, John Esam, a Beat Generation poet and a chief organizer of the 1965 International Poetry Incarnation.⁹¹⁰

City Historian Henry Delamere's history talks, "Moments in Marysville's History," were a regular feature at Amicus Books. In addition, Literary Lounge members have been collaborating to preserve the writings of Mr. Delamere.

The building that housed Amicus Books has been alleged to be haunted.¹¹

Links

Amicus Books Official Website Intrepid Press Official Website Amicus Books entry on Wikipedia

Footnotes

1. Dickey, John. "A place to learn and grow." The Appeal-Democrat, April 3, 2005
2. Picard, Jennifer. "Writers, Literary Lovers Find Friends At Amicus." The Appeal-Democrat, November 17, 2005
3. Buis, Kyle. "Literary Lessons in Marysville." The Appeal-Democrat, July 30, 2007
4. Life Briefs. The Appeal-Democrat, August 22, 2008
5. Hightower, Eve. "A Good Read For Marysville." The Appeal-Democrat, June 14, 2006
6. Laughlin, Breeana. "A Festival of the Arts." The Appeal-Democrat, November 26, 2006
7. Pasternack, Nancy. "Down an Author or Two: Intrepid Press publishing despite writer shortage." The Appeal-Democrat, September 17, 2007
8. Weeks, Justin. "D Street's literary revolution." The Appeal-Democrat, February 19, 2009
9. Whitehead, Peter. Wholly Communion (Grove Press, 1966)
10. Sargaent, Jack. Interview with Peter Whitehead. Naked Lens: Beat Cinema (Creation Books, 1997)
11. Pasternack, Nancy. "Marysville's Haunted History." The Appeal-Democrat, October 31, 2008