Turn On, Tune Out

By Cynthia Adina Kirkwood ’76. Available on Amazon. In TURN ON, TUNE OUT, former San Francisco journalist Cynthia Adina Kirkwood, writes a cautionary tale in which turning on the computer threatens to tune out reality and creativity. The most frightening dystopia is one that seems normal to its citizens.  In this futuristic novel, an avant-garde composer from Britain turns outlaw in Los Angeles. She flouts a California law which dulls people’s minds.  Angelica Morgan moves to L.A. in search of like-minded artists. She finds them and also, unexpectedly, love.  Her neighbour, Rosetta, an outspoken painter, cautions the musician about the law that requires four daily hours of computer screen-watching.  Angelica dismisses the warning.