Many authors have hailed from the Napa Valley or made this area their home. Others have found the area a perfect setting for their literary works. The Napa Valley is incredibly unique, and that uniqueness is showcased through the literary talent associated with the area.
Napa and the Napa Valley have been home to many writers and can boast a rich literary tradition. Here are some of the literary works that they have penned.
| Author | Title | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Petry, Count Galleazo Ciano, Jessamyn West, Max Shulman | OmniBook Magazine: Authorized Abridgements of Four Current Best-Sellers (The Street, The Ciano Diaries, The Friendly Persuasion, and The Zebra Derby) |
CAL 051 Book-reader |
| Jessamyn West | Love is Not What You Think |
CAL 289.6082 West |
| Luther Osborne | The Insanity Racket: A Story of one of the Worst Hell Holes in this Country |
CAL 344.044 Osborne |
| Sara Bard Field | "The Vintage Festival: A Play Pageant & Festivities Celebrating the Vine in the Autumn of Each Year at St. Helena in the Napa Valley" (Printed by John Henry Nash for the Book Club of California - San Francisco - MDCCCCXX) |
CAL 791.6 Field |
| Galway Kinnell | 1984 Poetry Calendar (singed by the author on the cover) |
CAL 811 Kinnell |
| Adrian C. Van Dyk, Jr. | Love in the Valley: A Collection of Poetic Expression |
CAL 811 Van Dyk |
| Dorothy Lee Hansen | Africa to Me: Poems about West Africa (Inscription by author) |
CAL 811.54 Hansen |
| Jessel Miller | Angels in the Vineyards (Inscription by Author: To 5th Grade Class 2001-2002 You are all surrounded by Ease + Grace with (heart image) Jessel Miller) | |
| Edited by: Michael Dow and Carl T. Endemann | Voices of the Wineland: An Anthology by 22 Napa Valley Poets (Contents: "Moon, Man, Wine" - Michael Down; "Spring Song" - W.W. Lyman; "Flirtation" - Helen Hoyt Lyman; "Morning on This Hill" - HIldegarde Flanner; "House on the Hill" - Karen Demmin; "The Road to Alta Napa" - Carl T. Endemann; "I Have" - Madeline E. Underwood; "Wine Life Cycle" - Oscar E. Olson; "The Rites of Alta Napa" - Joy Martin; "In Praise of October" - Thelma Crossler; "As One Born Here" - Olga Cossi; "A Trip to Mayacamas" - Michelle Turner; "Snow" - Vi Berke; "Fog" - Barbara Rosson; "People of the Valley" - Erme Burton Hand; "Working in the Vineyard" - Domenico Barberis ; "Napa Valley Reminisced" - Isis; "In the Beginning" - Helen Marie Cleary; "Napa Valley Long, Long Ago..." - Mildred de Laneaux; "Grape Kaleidescope" - Beverly Hays; "The Old Bale Mill" - Josephine Hays; "Seeking the Hills" - Lee Perron; "A Private Ikon" - Walter Barnes; "Above the Clouds" - Edith Walker) (Printed with poets' signatures) |
CAL 811.54 Voices |
| Ethel Brodt Wilson | On a Blue Mountain (Note inside: To Laurie, These mountain stories, with love from Emily and Derrick - Christmas 1934) |
CAL 814 Wilson |
| Nadia Gordon | Sharp Shooter: A Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery |
:CAL FIC Gordon |
| Feliz Guthrie | The Last California: An Historical Novel of the Rancheria Massacre (Illustrated with drawings by the author) (Signed by Feliz Guthrie January 17, 1987) |
CAL Guthrie |
| Idwal Jones | The Vineyard (Forward by Robert Mondavi) |
CAL Jones |
| Janice E. Pond | Stubbed Toes and Grapevines: Stories of an Earlier Napa Valley (signed by Janice E. Pond) |
CAL Pond |
Napa Valley College has a rich history of creative writing, and several collections have been published of students' works over the years. Here are a few that we still have in our Special Collections.
| Title | Year | Call Number |
| NJC Review | 1959 |
CAL 811 NJC |
| Unsilenced IV | January 1978 |
CAL 811 Unsilenced |
| Unsilenced Six | June 1978 |
CAL 811 Unsilenced |
| Unsilenced Seven | February 1979 |
CAL 811 Unsilenced |
| Voyage of the 12 Poets | 1979 |
CAL 811 Voyage |
Napa Valley College once featured a student poetry collection publication titled Enclave. Students were responsible for choosing which poems would be featured in the collections and for the editing, design, etc. of the publications. The holdings are listed below.
| Editor(s) | Title | Year | Call Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip D. Dow and Suzie Hall | Enclave | n.d. |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| John Levin, Herb Hallowell | Enclave (2 copies) | n.d. |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Loris Dorn, Dave Evans, H. Hallowell, Kris Harris, Roger Widmeyer | Enclave | 1965-1976 |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Herb Hallowell | Enclave | Spring 1971 |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Herb Hallowell and Constance Shawgo | Enclave | 1972 |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Anne Green | Enclave | 1978 |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Kristine Lauritsen | Enclave: Summer Solstice Festival 1980 | 1980 |
CAL 811 Enclave |
| Jill Hall | Enclave: Poems to be Read and Sung | 1983 |
CAL 811 Poems |
| Marion Croizier | Poets of the Valley (A Napa College Enclave Production) | 1981 |
CAL 811 Poets |
| Kris Harris | 10 Women: An Anthology (A Napa College Enclave Productionc) | 1977 |
CAL 811 Ten |
| Stephanie Mines & Natalie Ednie | The Restless Mind: an Anthology (A Napa College Enclave Production) | 1981 |
CAL 811 Restless |
For the last 40+ years, Napa Valley College has featured the Jessamym West Writing Contest (current name). At one point, the lucky winners were published in the Jessamyn West Review. We have several of these collections of poetry both in our Non-Circulating and in the circulating California Collection. Check out our fabulous student writers!
| Ttile | Year | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
| Jessamyn West Creative Writing Contest: Winning Prose and Poetry Entries (3 copies) | 1984 and 1985 |
CAL West Review 1984-1985 |
| Jessamyn West: Creative Writing Contest (2 copies) | 1986 |
CAL West Review 1986 |
| Jessamyn West Creative Wrting Context: Winning Prose and Poetry Entries (3 copies) | 1987 |
CAL West Review 1987 |
| Jessamyn West Creative Writing Contest: Winning Prose and Poetry Entries (3 copies) | 1988 |
CAL West Review 1988 |
| Jessamyn West Review: Creative Writing Contest (3 copies) | 1989 |
CAL West Review 1989 |
| Jessamyn West Review: Creative Writing Contest (2 copies) | 1990 |
CAL West Review 1990 |
| Jessamyn West Review: Creative Writing Contest (2 copies) | 1991 |
CAL West Review 1991 |
| Jessamyn West Review: Creative Writing Contest (2 copies) | 1992 and 1993 |
CAL West Review 1992-1993 |