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Jacob Was Robbed!

Of course, I'm just a tad bit biased. But Honorable Mention and a tee shirt?

PARTYWARE is Jacob's entry in the Enoch Pratt Library's altered books competition, Un(bound). Here's his Artist's Statement:

PARTYWARE
 Enlighten the Mind, Nourish the Soul: Written Works Abused. 

To begin this project I reviewed a number of books that present more than stories to millions and millions around the world. These are books that actually change civilizations. These are books that comfort and fortify some — yet annoy — and often frighten and horrify others. 

I looked at books that change the way people think, act, and respond. I looked at books and documents that speak of peace, love, and respect yet cause people to go to war, to conquer, to ravage, to maim, and to kill. 

In designing the project, I found the theme of sustenance and nourishment to run through all of these books and works. 

PARTYWARE is a study in contrasts assembled with this thought in mind: What food is for one may be poison for another. 

The word PARTY in the title of this project may refer to political parties, celebrations, events, obstructers, conspirators, or other concepts. The pick is yours. 

The juxtapositions are many. And, I hope, complex. 

The Torah and Mein Kampf create the tablecloth. The placemat is the Declaration of Independence. 

Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species provides the rich water bottle where life might have begun. The King James Bible, provides the plate the where creation might have been presented. 

There are many concepts and thoughts presented here and if you search for them I’ve achieved my intent.

-- Jacob R Bouknight

Books used in this project: Constitution of the United States - Holy Bible, King James Edition - Kojiki, Book of Ancient Records - Mein Kampf - On the Origin of the Species - Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong - Qur’an - Torah - Writings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.

To be fair and honest, the competition was stiff. There were 47 entries and some are pretty remarkable special decent. But, Honorable Mention and a tee shirt?

Drop by the Enoch Pratt central library and see all the finalists. Un(bound): An Altered Books Competition is on display through October in the Central Hall and in Periodicals.

But, Honorable Mention and a tee shirt...

Herblock Celebrated by Library of Congress

By all estimates, Herbert Lawrence Block was one of the most influential of all U.S. editorial cartoonists. Working as Herblock, he was certainly one of the most of the award-winning.

For as long as I can remember his cartoons would make me gasp. Gasp audibly.  And, think.

Herblock's first cartoon appeared in the Chicago Daily News on April 24, 1929. It advocated for the conservation of America's forests.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of Herblock's birth, the Library of Congress and the Herb Block Foundation, in association with WW Norton Company, have published HERBLOCK: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist.

On October 15th the authors, Haynes Johnson and Harry L Katz, will discuss the retrospective volume and the public is invited. Complete information is available at LOC - News.

The book accompanies a Library of Congress exhibition titled "Herblock!" featuring 82 original Herblock drawings that have never before been displayed.

These works were selected from the Herb Block Foundation 2002 gift of the cartoonist’s entire personal and professional archives comprising more than 14,000 finished cartoons and three seminal cartoons on loan from The Washington Post collection. The exhibition is free and open to the public, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Oct. 13, 2009, through May 1, 2010.

Make plans to head down the short road to Washington, DC in October. DC is, after all, just Baltimore's southern-most suburb. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.) Learn from all of the Herblock events at LOC. And while most events focus on Herblock's content, it's fascinating to see how cartoonists used to work and the artistic techniques they used. Think: blue non-photo pencil, graphite, White-Out, crayon, charcoal, white tape, opaque paint, grease pencil, and more. Tell your designer friends, this is a study in style.

Now That the O's Are Winning Again...

Head over the the website of the Library of Congress for a super wonderful video presentation by Paul Dickson. He's the author of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary.

The DBD is an indispensable resource for hard-core fans as well as anyone newly interested in our national pastime.

It was 25 years in the making. Contains more than 10,000 terms with 18,000 individual entries. Was written with the help of 300 baseball and lexical experts. And the origins of many of the words and terms are remarkable.

This isn't just for baseball folks, though. If you love words, terms, dictionaries, research... you'll love this presentation. I did and I thought out of left field meant presenting a bad advertising concept.

2009 - The Year of Poe, Poe... And More Poe in Baltimore

 

Just in from Nevermore2009.Com:

"January 19, 2009 marks the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and to commemorate this historic milestone, the city of Baltimore will host Nevermore 2009, a year-long celebration of the life and works of one of Baltimore's most famed residents. The year will be filled with a variety of events, including birthday celebrations, lectures, wine tastings, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, special tours and more."

OK, I'm already on board. The Poe schedule is amazing and begins with the launch in January '09. Here are just three highlights - the scope of this year-long project is facinating:

January 17 
7 p.m.
Westminster Hall
EDGAR ALLAN POE BICENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Come toast Poe’s 200th birthday while enjoying a rare exhibition of Poe artifacts along with a number of special performances. Only in Baltimore will you experience this world-famous event. The evening will include:

• An Edgar Allan Poe tributeby noted actor John Astin of “The Addams Family” fame. Mr. Astin will present a spellbinding hour of Poe’s most beloved works interspersed with comments and observations on Poe’s life.
• Theatrical performance of Hop Frog, Poe’s chilling tale of revenge,complete with special effects, life-size puppets and live actors. A feast for the eyes and the imagination.
• A musical tribute to Poeby soloist Paula McCabe from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Ms. McCabe sang at the funerals of beloved sportscaster Jim McKay and football legend Johnny Unitas.
• A sparkling apple cider toastto Poe conducted by Jeff Jerome from the Poe House and Museum and John Astin will conclude the evening’s event.
• This event is sponsored by the City of Baltimore

and

March 27
Time TBA
Westminster Hall and Catacombs
CASK OF AMONTILLADO WINE TASTING AMONG THE BONES
Sample the wines mentioned in Poe's stories while enjoying the ambience of the Westminster catacombs. Witness Montressor luring Fortunado to a gruesome death in a theatrical performance of The Cask of Amontillado. Enjoy characters from Poe's stories as they mingle among the living.

and

October 10 
Two services – noon and 4:30 p.m.
Westminster Hall
POE'S FUNERAL SERVICE
A horse-drawn funeral hearse will bring Poe's body from his home on Amity Street to the Westminster Hall for burial services. A drum and fife corps will lead the procession. The funeral service will include musical selections performed by a pianist, soloist, violinist and a choir. Guest speakers will include five people who knew Poe, "legacies" such as "Alfred Hitchcock," "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," "Charles Baudelaire" and "H. G. Wells" will present eulogies. Invited representatives from the literary, stage and movie industries will present their own eulogies for Poe. Tributes from ambassadors from many countries will also be read.

The full year schedule is amazing and will grow.

Check it out & let's find a great source for some fine Amontillado. Then, let's all meet up at Annabelle Lee Tavern... and lift a glass.

Holiday Shopping? Maryland Science Center Has You Covered

Remember that old song, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth?

I was remined by way of an email from the Maryland Science Center that a present for me, as a kid, was never quite that simple. I wanted chemistry sets, telescopes, test tubes & and stuff to fill them with, oh yes... and books and more books. Sets of books.

Having a father that worked for Raytheon, a mother that adored books and knowledge, and a grandmother working for doctors, I usually got exactly what I asked for (plus extra test tubes). But in my wildest dreams I couldn't have come up with a present this perfect:

Popular Science Magazine says, "This is the device amateur stargazers have been waiting for since, well, Galileo." Everyone is talking about the Celestron Sky Scout Personal Planetarium.

Point it at a star, planet, comet, any one of 6,000 sky objects and it tells you what you're looking at; check it out here in detail. Then visit the Maryland Science Center's store for this and other great gifts. And make certain you buy from our Science Center, named by Parent's Magazine as one of the Top 10 Science Centers in the United States.

What did my parents get for their investment in all those microscopes, petri dishes, prisms and coils of wire? The basement smelled like burning sulfur, my mother's yellow daffodils bloomed green one year, and I went into advertising.

The Sun's Restaurant Critic, Elizabeth Large Had a "Cripes Day" Last Week. Yep, Me Too.

On HER blog a few days ago, EL mentioned - as an aside - that Baltimore's venerable Burke's Cafe had closed. I was horrified. When asked about the facts Large wrote, "Cripes..."

On MY blog a few days ago, I was praising an organization that I admire and a man that I've met. I posted a picture of Gregg Wilhelm that wasn't him at all. When I was notified by the real Gregg Wilhelm, I was horrified. I borrowed EL's word and thought, "Cripes..."

CRIPES is a great word. (I know others; they don't fit here.)

Elizabeth Large wrote that while she doesn't like to change a blog post once it's online, she did change her blog post to avoid any possible confusion about Burke's having closed. (Burke's is as open as it has been since 1934.)

I don't like to change a blog post once it's online either. However, I changed my blog post this afternoon for a similar reason. As the image-spider systems of Google and other search engines are not perfect and tend to find any tagged image on a page that references a name, I don't want to further misidentify the real Gregg Wilhelm.

Here he is, the Executive Director of the CityLit Project, Gregg Wilhelm:

 

Sorry for the confusion. And, please revisit my altered post below. And visit CityLit at the Baltimore Book Festival.

The CityLit Project & the 2008 Baltimore Book Festival - What a Combo!

Everyone knows I'm a huge fan of Baltimore's Book Festival. It's, for me, at the top of the heap of all the great events held in Mt. Vernon and around our Washington Monument. I especially enjoy hitting the Johns Hopkins University Press tent. (The folks browsing the JHUP offerings are as intense as a vegetarian-locavore at the JFX Farmers Market before the price increases...)

Even if you aren't looking to add to your library, the days at the Festival are still a total pleasure. One of my favorite activities is watching the truly cool parents who are introducing their little ones to the joys of books and reading. It always reminds me of my parents who bought me every book I ever glanced at and read to me every single night of my early life. Lit Parents are wonderful. I snapped this photo in 2005.

 

You gotta love it. I do and my kids are cats.

But wait, it gets better. Gregg Wilhelm and the CityLit Project are back again this with year with an expanded calendar of events on the CityLit Stage.

I first wrote about CityLit last February. I'm always happy to report on organizations that make a huge difference in our city. I'm even more pleased when the folks behind the organization are all extraordinary in their own right.

   

Gregg Wilhelm, CityLit's Executive Director, sent me their full line-up a few days ago. It's impressive.

I'll looking forward to these events and dozens of others:

Saturday the 27th - Michael Olesker - Tonight at Six: A Daily Show Masquerading as Local TV News (Maybe next year we can get him to address my concept, The Reinvented Baltimore Sun Masquerading as a Newspaper.)

And on Sunday, the 28th - Leonard Augsburger - Treasure in the Cellar: A Tale of Gold in Depression-Era Baltimore.

Visit the CityLit Project's website and check out the full schedule. And if you can't find it right away, just post a comment and I'll email you a PDF. See you at the Baltimore Book Festival.

Laura Lippman on Baltimore, Crab Cakes & Her New Book

Baltimore author, resident, and gal-about-town, Laura Lippman loves the Crab Cakes at Faidley's in Lexington Market just like we all do. She writes crime novels like none of us will ever be able to. She's much prettier than most authors that we'll ever know. She holds Baltimore dear, in her heart, like we all seem to. And, she wins awards like the Edgar, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Quill, and more. Her newest book, Another Thing To Fall is receiving rave reviews.

I keep up on her doings and such by way of Author Tracker: a service of Harper Collins, her publisher.

Check out this video from Lippman.

And, visit her personal website: LauraLippman.Com

Get LIT in Baltimore! - Part 2

I posted a note on Sunday about getting LIT in Baltimore by way of an email from Carole Evitts. Here's the follow-up...

Spring 2008 brings a lot of good things to the mid-Atlantic. One of the best promises to be this year's 5th Annual CityLit Festival. Rub elbows with, and learn from, some of the best in the literature scene on April 19th at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (downtown on Cathedral Street). 10AM - 5PM. Think: Laura Lippman, Manil Suri, Dan Fesperman, Carole Boston Weatherford, Michael Olesker, and dozens of others. This event is free to attendees and free to exhibitors. Put on your thinking caps, you Lit-Types!

President and CEO of the CityLIt Project, Gregg A. Wilhelm, wants us to know that: CityLit Project nurtures the culture of literature in Baltimore and throughout Maryland. Programs include free public events, registration-based writers' workshops and conferences, a rock-n-read concert that targets the 18-34 crowd (which represents the steepest rate of decline in reading), and efforts to get youth to dig reading and writing as creative, expressive arts.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! (OK, too much late night TV. Way too much.) Gregg Wilhelm is too modest. Here are just a couple of quotes from those in the know:

“CityLit Festival is one of my favorite events of the year. The energy and creativity that CityLit Project brings to it--and to each of its programs--is worthy of the library’s support, and the entire community’s support.”
Dr. Carla Hayden
Executive Director
Enoch Pratt Free Library

“We value the content CityLit Project has provided the Baltimore Book Festival over the years. In a city rich with a variety of creative arts, Baltimore is fortunate to have CityLit as a champion of the literary arts.”
Bill Gilmore
Executive Director
Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts

“After searching for a way to become involved with the local literary community, I found exactly what I was looking for— it’s the nonprofit CityLit Project. At the happy hour, it was apparent that CityLit and JMWW are achieving their mission to nurture the culture of literature.”
Corinne Levinstein
Writer

Baltimore! Get Lit! REALLY, Get LIT!

A couple of days ago I wrote about the sad state of the iffy, dicey, and generally lame media releases that arrive on my desk after January and continue to arrive until the sun warms us up a bit and Baltimore's collective community spirit brightens. I was a tad-bit blue as I wrote that last post because we haven't had a decent snow storm this winter -- and, nothing makes me happier (and nothing warms ME up) more than a Baltimore snow-day.

Just then, I received a wonderful email notice from Carole Evitts. I read it, and I smiled, and I felt much warmer and a whole lot more positive. I felt the sunshine. (But, still no decent snow for 2008 was in the forecast. Rats...)

Here's the sidebar: I consider the Evitts' family one of the smartest and most productive and giving literary families in current-day Baltimore. Here's a very condensed Evitts' snapshot: Carole's husband, author, professor, and truly nice guy, William J Evitts PhD, has been a fixture at Johns Hopkins University for a long, long time. Evitts' son, Michael, is the amazingly knowledgeable voice of Baltimore's Downtown Partnership. Their daughter, the award winning writer Elizabeth Evitts, was editor of Baltimore's slick, glossy -- and intelligently written magazine -- Urbanite. The magazine for Baltimore's Curious. I hear that Elizabeth is now setting up her own shop as most high-level, creative Baltimorians tend to do.

Oh yes, and then there's Carole A Evitts. When I was introduced to her a couple of years ago by way of a project for the Historic Charles Street Association, I knew that we'd met a decade or so before. We worked it out and sure enough... Carole and I were working on Zoomerang together way back in the late 1980s. We decided that, yes, Baltimore will always be a small town where friends live, leave, return, and reunite.

Stay tuned for the announcement from Carole that turns smart Baltimore smarter and more positive each year... and GET LIT!

Oh and by the way, if you want to learn about the Civil Rights Movement (and the Baltimore riots) in our city from folks who lived here and lived those events, click here for a PDF: Baltimore Riots. It is a must read.

Would You Party With This Man?

Tomorrow is the birthday of that Baltimore son and rascal, Edgar Allen Poe. The 199th to be exact. I've never really thought about his birthday until I read the MetroMix suggestions on how to observe Poe's special day.

Metromix says, "We at MetroMix think this calls for a celebration. You could pay homage by killing your loved one and stashing her dismembered limbs in walls and under floorboards, but the police (dare we say the Poe-Poe?) wouldn't be too fond of that. Instead, pay your respects at the Poe house and his grave at Westminster Hall, then do as he did and go on a Baltimorean bender. We've staked out the spots—all you need is a glass and a penchant for thinking in rhymed couplets."

NOTE: I'm not advocating here, I'm just reporting.

MetroMix also provides a couple of pick-up lines. They begin this way:

"Let's drink a whole Cask of Amontillado and put my Pendulum in your..."

You get the idea. One final thought... Don't Try Any of This at Home.

I'm Totally Humbled. I Didn't Know this Author: Jabari Asim

Once, every so often... when I'm feeling way too smart for my own good and full-of-myself, I read an email that makes me feel small and not very bright. That was certainly the case last week when I received an email about the 2007 Book Festival in Baltimore's Mount Vernon.

One of the featured authors is Jabari Asim. And I wondered, "Who's that?" Well, it turns out that Mr. Asim has a backgound & a profile that I should have known.

Per the Baltimore Book Festival notification:

"Jabari Asim is the new editor-in-chief of The Crisis, the NAACP's flagship publication founded by W.E.B. DuBois in 1910. For the past 11 years he has been an editor at The Washington Post Book World. He is the author of several books, including Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice and Life, Daddy Goes to Work, and The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and children."

I've never met this man, this author. However, I intend to. Reading his bio and reading through his website make this fellow a must visit. The reviews of his latest book are stellar.

Make plans to attend the 2007 Book Festival. I'll see you there.

150 Years of the Peabody Institute - Audio Now Online

An email arrived today announcing the Peabody's 2007-08 Concert Series. The run of presentations is impressive and the box office opens tomorrow, August 29th, at 10AM.

There are 15 concerts in the series and subscribers may choose 5 for $50 - just $10 per concert. Does it get better than that? Not to my way of thinking.

While I was visiting the Peabody's website to look at concert details, I noticed that the audio of "150 Years of the Peabody Institute" is online.

According the JHU & the Peabody:

"Featuring readings of historic documents and interviews with Peabody students, alumni, and faculty, as well as local community leaders, the documentary is a sound-rich celebration of one of America's most prestigious conservatories of music. Jeffrey Sharkey, Director of the Peabody Institute, also speaks of present day Peabody and leads listeners to future successes of the Institute."

Even if you can't make the 2007-08 season, spend an hour listening to this audio documentary. It's wonderfully done and was first heard a couple of months ago on Baltimore's National Public Radio Station, WYPR.

Wine, Cheese, and Jennifer Bodine

In February I wrote a snippet about my favorite American photographer, A. Aubry Bodine and a retrospective of his work being hosted by the Baltimore Museum of Industry. (For the photography challenged, Bodine is to Maryland as Ansel Adams is to the United States.) Yesterday an email arrived from the late Baltimore Sun photographer's daughter, Jennifer B. Bodine, with an invitation to a must-attend event:

Bodine's Chesapeake Bay Country at the Maryland Historical Society with the MdHS Maritime Committee. It's part of their Authors & Artifacts series. Jennifer Bodine will be presenting.

Bodine photographed every aspect of Maryland life. And, his daughter will be sharing a personal account of her father's genius. She will show over 175 of her father's Chesapeake Bay related images along with anecdotes and insights into the man, his personality, and his work.

Wine and cheese reception at 5:30PM. Jennifer B. Bodine at 6PM. $8. in advance, $10. at the door.

Maryland Historical Society - 201 W Monument Street - Baltimore, MD 21201

 

Laura Lippman - On the Air

Last week I mentioned Laura Lippman, her latest book, What the Dead Know, and her upcoming appearance at the Enoch Pratt Central Library. A fine interview with her is now archived on NPR's Weekend Edition website.

An even more compelling archived video interview is Lippman's conversation with Harry Smith on the Early Show. Lippman's passion for story telling never shows more than when she's on camera.

Listen, watch and enjoy. Here's a miniscule excerpt from what the Washington Post had to say:

It's an all but flawless performance by a writer at the peak of her powers. It was Lippman's destiny to drive past that shopping plaza and write this novel. If you only know her from her Tess Monaghan series, or if you don't know her work at all, read "What the Dead Know."
- Patrick Anderson for the Post

What the Dead Know

Baltimore author, Laura Lippman, is on tour with her latest book.

What the Dead Know -- Thirty years ago two sisters disappeared from a shopping mall. Their bodies were never found and those familiar with the case have always been tortured by these questions: How do you kidnap two girls? Who—or what—could have lured the two sisters away from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness? And, so begins Lippman's latest tale.

She'll be at the Enoch Pratt Free Library on Thursday, March 15th at 7PM. The central library's Wheeler Auditorium on Cathedral Street is a wonderful venue for the creator of Tess Monaghan. If you can't get out to see Lippman in person, she'll be on NPR's Weekend Edition - Sunday.