Random Thoughts I shall probably always remember the two young men I saw at the festival’s poetry stage three years ago. I’d guess they were between eighteen and twenty-two years of age. Their clothing was of the low-slung variety topped off by the usual backward-facing baseball caps. There they sat, in seats for rows back from the front, listening intently to the poetry reading in progress. It wasn’t hip-hop poetry, but beautiful modern poetry that drew me in as well. I sat there enjoying the rhyme of the verse. So did they. Not once did squirm in their seats, look around or take their eyes off the poet. They were as entranced as the elderly couple who sat three rows back and off to their left. That memory (and my regret that I didn’t ask to interview them) has stayed with me ever since. It is one probably the primary reason I feel so strongly about the health of book festivals. They make reading fun. They can introduce or solidify an interest in poetry. They can accomplish so much because they create a celebration in the written word. Because I feel this way, I have pulled together two lists of book festivals along with descriptions. Because there are so many, I have divided the American ones into three pages: Alabama-Florida, Georgia-North Dakota, and Ohio-Wyoming). The international ones fit on two pages: Africa-England and France-Wales. Some of the latter are for both the trade and the public; when that is so it is noted in the description. Each list is updated once or twice a year to ensure its reliability. I strongly urge our readers to support ones in their neighborhood and even consider them as part of a vacation. Doing that would give the visitor an unusual look into the literary life of a place where most visitors probably do not go. And whether they are big or small, last a half-day or multiple days, these festivals are enchanting microcosms of the world of books as their communities see them. This week . . . A truly funny blog for those who delight in the illiteracy that can be found in business signs. Illiterate Businesses terms itself a “rant blog devoted to business signs that contain grammatical, spelling, and/or punctuation errors.” My only complaint is that too much time goes by between posts. But I enjoyed this so much it will be added to our coming Book-Related Humor page. If you glory in such mistakes you are going to love it too. Until next week, read well, read often and read on! Lauren |