L. John Harris

L. John Harris is a Berkeley-based artist and writer whose most recent book is My Little Plague Journal, chronicles the year from spring 2020 when a global pandemic, climate catastrophe, and news of social and political chaos descended upon the Bay Area. The book delights with witty texts, fanciful illustrations, and intimate photographs that both amuse and console. Harris studied art at the University of California, Berkeley from 1965-1969. Through the 1970s, while working part-time at some of Berkeley’s legendary food businesses—the Cheese Board, Chez Panisse, and The Swallow Café—Harris worked as a journalist and wrote The Book of Garlic (1974), which inspired garlic festivals and garlic-themed restaurants from California to New York. In 1981, Harris founded Aris Books, a specialty cookbook publisher, and in 1988 he launched his Foodoodle cartoon byline in several Bay Area magazines. Harris’ illustrated book, Café French: A Flâneur’s Guide to the Language, Lore and Food of the Paris Café won the 2019 Paris Book Festival award in the travel book category. He lives in Berkeley’s renowned Villa Maybeck, a 100-year-old Bernard Maybeck-designed residence that serves as a venue for cultural and musical events, many featuring his collection of historic guitars. Harris is Curator of the Harris Guitar Collection at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.