City Lit hosts literary and gustatory festivals
by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com
There’s reading between the lines, and now there’s eating between the lines. CityLit Project first series of fundraisers, “Eat Between the Lines,” debuts this week and continues throughout May. CityLit is a non-profit which helps support the culture of literature throughout the city.
Each of three special events in May will combine what organizers figure is a winning combination of irresistible books, authors, locations and food.
On May 10, there’s “Verse and Vision” in a private home from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (location TBA with tickets). The evening includes vision and verse of poet, art critic, and physician Michael Salcman with a tour of modern masterpieces and readings from his latest collection, The Clock Made of Confetti. The cost for the evening is $75 and includes light fare, beer/wine, and a personalized book.
“Zen Monaghan” is held on May 17 at Zen West, 5914 York Road, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Spend the evening with writer Laura Lippman, whose protagonist Tess Monaghan solves mysteries while eating her way through Baltimore. Cost for the evening is $80 and includes buffet, beer/wine, and autographing (books sold separately).
“Ink & Lit” is held on May 31 at the Baltimore Tattoo Museum, 1534 Eastern Avenue, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. The literature of tattoos is explored with Ina Saltz, art director, designer, professor, and author of “Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh.” Cost for the evening is $35 and includes lite fare, beer/wine, and autographing (books sold separately).
Tickets for each event are available by contacting Gregg Wilhelm at gregg@citylitproject.org or by calling 410-274-5691. To mail payment, send checks to CityLit Project c/o Gregg Wilhelm, 120 S. Curley Street, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Note: For a complete listing, go to www.prattlibrary.org and click on “Events.”
Partial list of City Lit events
All of the events below will be held at the Central Library, 400 Cathedral Street, downtown.
Authors
Robyn Ringgold reads from her new children’s book, “My Mom Hugs Trees,” at 10:30 a.m.
Connie Briscoe with photographer Michael Cunningham (”Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50″), 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Jackie Urbanovic reads from her new children’s book, “Duck at the Door,” at 12 p.m.
Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher (”Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas”), 3 p.m-4:30 p.m.
Jabari Asim (”The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why”), 1:30 p.m.
Panel discussions, workshops
“Written in Baltimore” is hosted by Sheila Kast of WYPR’s “Maryland Morning,” who will talk with a panel of local writers and journalists including Clarinda Harris, founder and director of BrickHouse Books; Fred Rasmussen and Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun; and Laura Wexler, Style Magazine, 11 a.m.
“Blogging About Books” is a conversation in which Scott McKenzie, editor of SlushPile.net, talks with Lizzie Skurnick (”Old Hag”) and Sarah Weinman (”Galley Cat”) about book blogs, 12:15 p.m.
“Peers, Sneers, and Cheers: Writing for Young Adults” will feature award-winning author John Green (”Looking for Alaska” and “An Abundance of Katherines”), poet Kwame Alexander (”Crush”), and Frank Joseph (”To Love Mercy”) to talk about writing for teens. Moderated by Deborah Taylor, Enoch Pratt Free Library, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
