Miami Book Fair
Amalia and I had the pleasure of attending the Miami Book Fair this weekend. It was our first visit which is rather embarrassing because the fair is celebrating his 40th anniversary. It is a first class event running an entire week and it has evolved into a major cultural and community statement. It has become national in scope with over 400 writers participating in the programs. You should definitely bookmark the fair on your calendar if you will be in Miami in a future November. It is a cultural appetizer before the Art Basel main course which commences in early December. The Book Fair stands on its own as a must visit and it is also a symbol of the cultural revolution that has occurred in Miami and Miami Beach in the last 40 years. We began to visit Amalia's parents in the early 1980s and we frequently joked then that Miami was a “cowtown”. Great weather, world-class beaches, a great place to connect with the Cuban diaspora (Family and friends), but not a serious world-class city. No theatre, no opera, no ballet and even the restaurant choices were limited. It has been a gradual process, but Miami has matured into a first class international destination. The art scene is flourishing and the music scene, both contemporary and classical, is buzzing. Restaurant wise-it is now internationally renowned. The Food and Wine Festival and the International Film Festival are serious players. Congratulations Miami!
The book fair entry fee is $7, a great value. This gives you access to all the writer panels. There were 75 panels the day we attended. There is a broad range of genres represented; Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories, biographies, politics and current affairs. Emerging writers share the dais with Pulitzer Prize winners. There are special ticketed events each evening featuring iconic speakers, journalists and cultural personalities. This year's evening discussion menu included actresses Kerry Washington, columnist David Brooks, songwriter Joan Baez, actress and influencer Jada Pinkett Smith and author Abraham Verghese. There is a street fair covering three blocks adjacent to the Miami Dade College Wolfson campus. The panels are conducted in MDC classrooms and auditoriums. There is live music at the street fair and at rooftops bars in the evening. Book signing tables manned by the participating authors are easily accessible throughout the grounds.
The choice is almost overwhelming. Six or seven panels occur in each time slot and the challenge is to find your sweet spots. Amalia and I are curious souls and seek to hear from authors discussing books that would not usually make our reading lists. Broaden your horizons! The sampling of panel topics this year included: Echoing the Caribbean; Exploring Identity Culture and Resistance in Contemporary Literature; Humanism; Rise and Fall; Urbanism and Global Cities; Immigration and Enslavement; John Prine’s Life and Legacy; Timothy McVeigh and Right Wing Extremism; Racial Equity and the Legacy of Dr King; You get the picture! Another outstanding feature is that many of the authors make themselves available for post panel discussions.
Of course, the goal is to sell books and I've always been a soft touch. Unfortunately my library space is shrinking and my Kindle library is growing so I am more disciplined on purchases than in years’ past. I was selective but came away with signed hard copies of the following books;
1) Collision of Power; Trump, Bezos and the Washington Post by Martin Baron
2) The Night Travellers by Armando Correa
3) Homegrown; Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin
4) The World; a Family History of Humanity by Simon Seabag Montefiore
5) Foreign Bodies; Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations by Simon Schama.
These tomes will keep me busy through the end of the year and I will share my reviews in future postings. The Miami book fair was exhilarating. Experience is always the best teacher, but the range of our personal experiences is limited by the clock. Therefore the full range of human potential exceeds our grasp. The best alternative to personal experience is reading - devour everything you can! Be selective or indiscriminate- I don’t care! Just do it! I embrace that mantra personally and am convinced reading keeps your mind sharp as you adjust to retirement. It also keeps you young-new worlds open up to you even as you hit 70.
Reading is a joy and the Miami Book Fair is a winner!
