Brooklyn is the destination for anyone who enjoys turning a page to enlightenment when the borough’s 13th annual book festival return for a week of literary harvest.
Three hundred writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels are expected to showcase the diversity of the city and the Caribbean diaspora from Sept. 16 to 23 with books aplenty introducing new and seasoned authors and first-time and avid readers yearning for a one-stop location where they will be able to discover some of the latest literary works from a diverse demography of scribes focusing on a myriad of subjects.
Textbooks, novels, how-to publications, children’s and even magazines will provide alluring reasons to stop by, listen and learn or maybe browse and buy a myriad of old and new books.
Teachers, students, mentors, parents and occasional readers are invited to visit the borough whose Borough President Eric Adams promise an eye-fest of words and literary collection to satiate a range of generations.
The media room at 209 Joralemon St. along with the Brooklyn Historical Society, a stone’s throw further at 128 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn Law School and St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church at 157 Montague St. nearby are hubs offering “Poetry At The Crossroads,” “Uncharted Territory: Families in the New Frontier” “My Brother’s Keeper,” and other enlightening presentations.
Marlon James and Joyce Carol Oates in conversation should be a 5 pm must attend event on Sept. 22 when Oprah Winfrey’ magazine book editor, Leigh Haber, moderates at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity.
Needless to say, everything from electronic to handy table-top books will be displayed for purchase throughout a marketplace along the plaza bordering Borough Hall during Brooklyn’s hosting of the festival in the heart of downtown.
Medgar Evers Center for Black Literature has collaborated with Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Center, 1368 Fulton St. to present a forum titled “Bold New Voices Explore The Race and Relationships.’
Check this one in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant on Sept. 19 from 6:30 to 8 pm.
The week-long offering also bookends similar outings in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.
Particularly alluring to Caribbean nationals are the myriad from the diaspora making their debut with conversations and books on poetry and other forms of writing expressions.
On Sept. 20 at 7:30 pm, ‘Image Conscious – Repainting the Imaginary of Caribbean Picture Books, Novels and Graphic Novels’ offer a One Book One Bronx presentation at the Bartow Community Center at Co-op City, 2049 Bartow Ave., (across from Bay Plaza) in the Bronx.
“Boonoonooonus Hair with Olive Senior and Laura James” the following day at 2 pm will launch a children’s picture book focusing on hair.
The love your hair NYC launch will be held at the Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road also in the Bronx.
A reading in celebration of Audre Lorde begins on Sept. 21 at 2 pm at Alice Austen House Museum, 2 Hylan Blvd. on Staten Island.
And slated for South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford St. (bet Hanson & Atlantic) readings from “Rum & Reasoning” (where you come from)’ will begin at 7:30 pm with short story author of ‘The Dark of the Sea’ Imam Baksh from Guyana, Carlette DeLeon who penned ‘#Joys of Parenting’ and ‘The Pain Tree’ writer, Olive Senior from Jamaica, and ‘Now/After’ publisher Anton Nimblett from the twin islands of Trinidad & Tobago.
Presented by the Brooklyn-based Caribbean Cultural Theater in conjunction with St. Kitt & Nevis’ Caribbean Read, Read Jamaica and the 2019 Brooklyn Book Festival, the event is slated for Sept. 21.
Ewayne McDonald, artistic director has been promoting the annual from a campus at St. Augustine in Trinidad and has been relentlessly advocating the annual from bases at Jamaica’s University of the West Indies as well as in Brooklyn where he first launched what he called a literary ‘lime.”
His invitations usually urge patrons to “come for the reasoning or come for the lime, but oonu mus’ come.’
For sure plenty of spirits will flow, including; Appleton Estate Special and J. Wray & Nephew, (brands from Jamaica) Caroni and Rebellion from TT, El Dorado and and Demerara from Guyana and maybe even Haiti’s Babancourt.
For more information, call 718-783-8345 or 347-636-0079.
Catch You On The Inside!