Miami, Nov. 5, 2018 – From Poet Laureates to emerging lyricists, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) 35th Miami Book Fair, Nov. 11 – 18, will present some of the world’s most celebrated poets during the nation’s largest literary gathering.
This year’s poets include:
The Fair will present U.S. Poet Laureates Billy Collins and Juan Felipe Herrera in conversation at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18, in the Auditorium (Building 1, 2nd floor). In The Rain in Portugal, Collins contemplates everything from the whimsical to the elegiac. In Jabberwalking, Herrera shares the secrets of how turn the wonders of the world into weird, wild incandescent poetry.
The 2018 National Book Award Nominees and Finalists in Poetry, in recognition of some of the most outstanding poetry collections published in the U.S. this year, include Rae Armantrout, Jos Charles, J. Michael Martinez, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Raquel Salas Rivera, and Jenny Xie. Moderated by local award-winning poet Denise Duhamel.
Also presenting this year are the winners of the 2017 National Poetry Series, which was established in 1978 to recognize and promote excellence in contemporary poetry by ensuring the publication of five books of poetry annually. The 2017 winners are Lindsay Bernal, Jos Charles, Dominique Christina, J. Michael Martinez, and GennaRose Nethercott. Moderated by 2009 NPS winner Erika Meitner.
Several fresh voices will make their debut at the Fair this year, including Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (co-founder of UndocuPoets and author of Cenzontle), Emily Jungmin Yoon (author of A Cruelty Specific to Our Species), Duy Doan (Yale Younger Poets Prizewinner, We Play a Game), Jose Olivarez (author of Citizen Illegal), and Tiana Clark (author of I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood), among others. In addition, Florida poets Neil de la Flor, P. Scott Cunningham, Mia Leonin, Barbara Hamby, Maureen Seaton, Steve Kronen, Barbra Nightingale, and Chase Twichell will present their most recent poetry collections.
Other nationally renowned guest poets include Tom Sleigh (author of essay collection The Land Between Two Rivers and poetry collection House of Fact, House of Ruin), Kevin Young (author of Brown: Poems), Aimee Nezhukumatathil (author of Oceanic), Fatimah Asghar (author of If They Come For Us and screenwriter for Emmy-nominated web series, Brown Girls), Mahogany L. Browne (editor for BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic), Ruth Behar (author of bilingual poetry collection, Everything I Kept/Todo Lo Que Guardé), and Hieu Minh Nguyen (author of Not Here).
View and download the complete Fair Guide at www.miamibookfair.com.
For Miami Book Fair updates, please visit www.miamibookfair.com, call 305-237-3528 or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.
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About Miami Book Fair
Founded in 1984 by Miami Dade College and partners, Miami Book Fair engages the community through inclusive, accessible programs that promote reading and support writers year-round. The annual eight-day festival has grown into the largest and most comprehensive community-rooted literary gathering in the United States. The Fair features readings and discussions with the world’s most renowned authors, generating discourse on contemporary literature and current issues of international importance. The Fair also include live music and interdisciplinary performances; interactive, educational activities for children; and more than 200 booksellers and publishers during the Street Fair. Events take place in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and French. In addition to the annual festival, the Miami Book Fair responds to community needs with a year-round schedule of activities, including The Little Haiti Book Festival, highlighting Haiti’s literary acumen; creative writing and publishing workshops; author presentations; reading campaigns; and Read to Learn Books for Free, a partnership with The Children’s Trust that distributes more than 150,000 free books a year to children in Miami-Dade County.
Miami Book Fair is made possible through the generous support of the State of Florida and the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of Miami; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Miami Downtown Development Authority; and the Friends of the Fair; as well as many corporate partners. Miami Book Fair: Building community, one reader at a time.
Miami Book Fair contact: Lisa Palley, 305-642-3132 lpalley@bellsouth.net.