Out of a ‘dark place’ and into the country

By Eric Bartels

The Portland Tribune, Aug 26, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Motherhood is not cramping Beth Lisick’s style.

The multitalented multimedia queen of the San Francisco arts scene is flying high with the publication of her new book, “Everybody Into the Pool,” a collection of flat-out funny essays that has earned her comparisons to talents like Amy Vowell and David Sedaris.

Even in the earliest stages of parenting, Lisick, 36, continued to write and perform, covering the Bay Area’s hipster landscape for her column in the online publication SFGate.com, writing and directing stage shows and short films, and penning the new book.

“I was determined not to let it get in the way of my job,” she says. “I think I did my first reading when (son Gus) was 2 1/2 weeks old.”

Now, with help with her musician husband, she’s about to embark on a new book project that will take her around the country soaking up the wisdom of various teachers/experts who work out of their homes.

With Gus having turned 3, she says she and her husband are getting their lives back.

“We feel like we’re just recovering, coming out of this dark place,” she says. “Gus was a really hard baby. He was the kind of kid that would wake up 10 or 11 times a night.”

Surprisingly, she says, the kid doesn’t seem to share the couple’s artistic inclinations or hipster cool.

“He can barely listen to music. He just started not turning off the stereo when we put on music,” she says. “He won’t wear short pants. No sandals. He wears these brown, lace-up oxfords that his grandparents bought him.”

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