The cultural heart and soul of Big Sur, the Henry Miller Memorial Library, named for and created in honor of the famed (and famously banned at one time) American writer who called the area home between 1944 and 1962, describes itself as a place “where nothing happens.” Which is true—half the time. During the winter, it’s a sleepy spot where you can hole up, make yourself a cup of coffee, and browse the library’s extensive collection of books by the author, including such influential works as Tropic of Cancer, Sexus, and (of course), Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, Miller’s love letter to the region. One can also check out prints of some of his visual art—he painted watercolors—as well as works of local artists that are on display.
Come May through October, though, the calendar is chock-full of happenings. The annual Big Sur International Short Film Screening Series is an outdoor film festival that takes place on Thursday nights over the course of 13 weeks from June through August, just outside the snug coastal cabin. And if music is more your thing, you’re also in luck. The Live at the Henry Miller Library series showcases a wide variety of artists, from intimate acoustic acts that perform inside the library, to larger-name draws—the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Pixies, to name a few, have both made appearances—who play for 300 lucky capacity-filling listeners in a lush redwood grove adjacent to the library.