Sunday, May 1^st,@4 pm Occidental Center for the Arts’ Literary Series presents American Peace Gardens: A Memoir, 1996 to 2020 by Stephen C. Fowler.  In August of 1996, Steve Fowler set out on an odyssey, gathering soils from organic farmers all across America in preparation for a ceremony, with Native American collaborators, on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The narrative of that adventure, and the personal challenges that led up to it, are the subject of this short book. The connection between peace work and farm practices is the main theme. Quixotic and quirky, this is the script of a work of performance art by an actor and poet (50 Cent Poems, 2017) who is a gardener by trade. Free admission, all donations gratefully invited. Refreshments for sale. Selected readings, Q&A, book sales (Hand assembled in loose-leaf binders; includes a 70 minute CD which contains 32 tracks, mostly interviews with farmers, plus a few musical interludes)& signing. OCA: 3850 Doris Murphy Way, Occidental, CA. OCA’s facilities are accessible to people with disabilities. For more info: occidentalcenterforthearts.org or 707-874-9392.