Spring Break
Annual Book Festival highlights local talents
Issue date: 10/2/08
In the middle of Saturday's series of rainstorms, groups of Hopkins students and Baltimore natives trekked in raincoats and boots to the 2008 Baltimore Book Festival at Mount Vernon Place in the 600 block of N. Charles Street. The 13th annual production of the Book Festival went on from Friday through Sunday despite the weather, presenting public readings and performances from over 200 nationally and locally renowned authors and performers along with all the culture and fun that Baltimore street fairs are known for.
Tents filled with book vendors, local store representatives and publishers lined Charles Street, offering a variety of special interest books. One of the most popular attractions for this year included the Radical Bookfair Pavilion which featured stands from well-known Baltimore names like Atomic Books and Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse as well as independent groups. Tables of independently produced magazines, literature and artwork were displayed by such groups as Justseeds: Radical Artists' Cooperative and Industrial Workers of the World Baltimore division. Author Hanne Blank was present to discuss her new book, Virgin: The Untouched History. The idea to write this book, Blank says, comes from her strongly feminist viewpoints and her idea of the double standard for virginity between men and women. Blank's book is available from and was presented by Atomic Books.
Free magazines with names like Hot Pants: Do-It-Yourself Gynecology, Dropping Out for Students and Young People, Zapatistas in their Own Words and White Shark Tales: Vanarchy in the USA were offered.
Artists who can honestly and genuinely define themselves as punk, many of them from the original generation, sported a range of hair and dress styles at their tables sponsored by independent groups. They presented independently produced art as well as literature. The Radical Printmakers Cooperative offered a presentation of their projects as well as a lecture.
The CityLit Project presented one of the most popular and frequented showcases at the fair. The group, which focuses on producing cultural and literary events throughout Baltimore, presented readings and questionnaires with local writers and academics including professors from most of Baltimore's colleges. Mary Jo Salter represented Hopkins with Brad Leithauser at the "Married, with Writer" panel in which professors from Hopkins and Loyola, as well as freelance writers, answered questions about their work in literature as well as their teaching experiences. Authors offered insight into the teaching experience and their exchanges with students, as well as advice for aspiring authors and journalists.
Tents filled with book vendors, local store representatives and publishers lined Charles Street, offering a variety of special interest books. One of the most popular attractions for this year included the Radical Bookfair Pavilion which featured stands from well-known Baltimore names like Atomic Books and Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse as well as independent groups. Tables of independently produced magazines, literature and artwork were displayed by such groups as Justseeds: Radical Artists' Cooperative and Industrial Workers of the World Baltimore division. Author Hanne Blank was present to discuss her new book, Virgin: The Untouched History. The idea to write this book, Blank says, comes from her strongly feminist viewpoints and her idea of the double standard for virginity between men and women. Blank's book is available from and was presented by Atomic Books.
Free magazines with names like Hot Pants: Do-It-Yourself Gynecology, Dropping Out for Students and Young People, Zapatistas in their Own Words and White Shark Tales: Vanarchy in the USA were offered.
Artists who can honestly and genuinely define themselves as punk, many of them from the original generation, sported a range of hair and dress styles at their tables sponsored by independent groups. They presented independently produced art as well as literature. The Radical Printmakers Cooperative offered a presentation of their projects as well as a lecture.
The CityLit Project presented one of the most popular and frequented showcases at the fair. The group, which focuses on producing cultural and literary events throughout Baltimore, presented readings and questionnaires with local writers and academics including professors from most of Baltimore's colleges. Mary Jo Salter represented Hopkins with Brad Leithauser at the "Married, with Writer" panel in which professors from Hopkins and Loyola, as well as freelance writers, answered questions about their work in literature as well as their teaching experiences. Authors offered insight into the teaching experience and their exchanges with students, as well as advice for aspiring authors and journalists.
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