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Monday, May 31, 2010
Two Florida writers from elsewhere
We continue to explore Florida's Literary Landmarks. Dariel Suarez delved into the history behind the Key West landmark
for José Martí this Spring, and now he's covered the story of Stephen Crane's marker in Daytona Beach. In both cases, these writers covered more Florida territory than that: Martí of course
was also a big presence in Tampa, and having read Dariel's interesting tale, it seems there might be a marker for Crane on
a historic brothel (if it still stands) in Jacksonville. It's striking, too, how both men were focused on getting
to Cuba: Crane's ill-fated venture on the Commodore led to his famous story "The Open Boat," and Marti's
return to his homeland resulted in his death the next month. I can't help but think how the so-near-yet-so-far relationship
between Cuba and Florida has played out over the past century and more, and Crane's words from "The Open Boat":
"Slowly and beautifully the land loomed out of the sea . . . Finally, a new sound struck the ears of the men in the boat.
It was the low thunder of the surf on the shore."
—Lynne Barrett
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thanks, Under the Sun
Kind words for our Book Fair live blog from WLRN's Under the Sun: http://wlrnunderthesun.org/2009/11/blogging-the-book-fair/ You can listen there to Under the Sun's previous radio episodes (of course we recommend Episode 3, Literary South Florida)
online and go by the WLRN booth at the Book Fair to suggest new "What's Up With South Florida?" stories for them
to investigate. —Lynne Barrett
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Back to the Book Fair
 The publishing industry may be in a tizzy, but Miami Book Fair International promises to be a big, lively celebration of writing
and reading. We kick off our live-blog with James Elens' report from Margaret Atwood's Evenings With... appearance on Sunday. And lots more is coming.
Fair-goers can stop by to read what was going on at the reading that was in conflict with the one they chose, and everyone
far from Miami can enjoy the vicarious experience of being here. We have a team of reporters, but we'll also be gathering
quotes and observations from the public. Stop by the Gulf Stream Magazine/Miami Poetry Collective booth on NE 1st Ave (that's Section F, around the corner from the Comix Galaxy), where our Blogging Gator will be set up
to collect your comments.
—Lynne Barrett
Sunday, April 12, 2009
New work, new ways of seeing the past
Everything old is new again, or rather, of new pertinence in the light of current events. I’ve been finding this
theme in a lot of our latest pieces on FBR. Antolin Garcia Carbonell shows how research about projects built in the
Depression, like that done for the essays in The New Deal in South Florida, can inform thinking about how to take action now, while Molly McGreevy’s look at Great Houses of Florida prompted some thoughts on how pauses in building let us appreciate and save what we have. In Nick Garnett’s reconsideration of Elmore Leonard’s Stick we get a vision of the gumption people need when starting over. John Bond’s piece on Shadow Country, Peter Matthiessen's novel which reworks and revises three predecessors, looks at the myth-making that underlies all
Florida storytelling, whether we call it fiction or not. And I’m proud to announce our new feature, “American History, Florida Style,” a memoir piece by Dan Wakefield, which shows with rueful wit how different the old lessons look from here.
—Lynne Barrett
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Congratulations to the Florida Book Award Winners
The winners of the Florida Book Awards for 2008 are posted in the column to the right. Lots more information about
the awards is at the Florida Book Awards website. —Lynne Barrett
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2009.11.01 |
2009.04.01 |
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2008.11.01 |
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2007.07.01 |
2007.06.01 |
2007.04.01 |
2007.02.01
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| (Image from a Florida postcard) |
Weblinks to follow the weather:
www.nhc.noaa.gov - This is the official site of the National Hurricane Center. It's probably the most "official" site on the web,
so if you have trust issues, go here. They've improved over time, most notably with better maps and a new small news feed
at the top. In the past, their maps have been less definitive, with a huge cone, especially for slow-moving storms. Their
text descriptions are also very technical and dense. Plus, the site's not as colorful, and we all like colors, don't we?
www.wunderground.com/tropical/ - This is Weather Underground's tropical weather site. They are good if you want easy access to a wide range of information,
including things like the "historical" diagram which shows how similar past storms have moved. They have a good
variety of computer models (which are lacking on the NHC), and they're very easy to navigate. They're also the best source
I know of for hurricane blogging - Dr. Jeff Masters blogs about tropical activity pretty consistently, although if you're
a complete beginner he may seem a bit jargonish. Plus, they're the best location for hurricane news if you're trying to "one-stop
shop" for weather info at your mansion on Fisher Island, your home in the Hamptons, the Manhattan apartment, the London
flat and the Chateau on the Loire. On the con side, they are a commercial entity, so there are ads around the site.
www.skeetobiteweather.com - These guys have very clear diagrams that show not just where the storm will go, but how strong it will be in different
locations. They're also good for more minor systems, as they show details "investigation areas" that may develop
into depressions, which neither the NHC nor Weather Underground does. Their historical records, previously the least complete,
have been updated to include all storms since 2008, bringing them up to par with the others on that front. They have a slightly
wider variety of computer models than Weather Underground, though you need to visit both sites to see all of them. They can
be a bit slow in updating (they normally have a 45-minute to an hour lag in updating after the NHC, as compared to Weather
Underground's 5-minute lag), but that's because they end up presenting much more information with their diagrams. They come
across as no-frills, with their relatively plain layout and lack of things like "wind history" that the other two
throw in. --James Barrett-Morison
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Winners of the 2009 Florida Book Awards Children's Literature Gold
Medal: Joan Hiatt Harlow, Secret of the Night Ponies
Florida Nonfiction Gold Medal: Jack E. Davis, An Everglades Providence: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the American Environmental Century
Silver
Medal: Carlton Ward, Jr., Florida Cowboys Bronze Medal: Todd
T. Turrell, Naples Waterfront—Changes in Time General Fiction Gold Medal: N.M. Kelby, A
Travel Guide for Reckless Heart.
Silver Medal: Janet Burroway, Bridge of
Sand
Bronze Medal: Ana Menendez, The Last War A. Manette
Ansay, Good Things I Wish You
Michael Lister, Double
Exposure
Popular Fiction Gold Medal:
Glynn Marsh Alam, Moon Water Madness
Silver Medal: Diane A.S. Stuckart,
Portrait of a Lady: A Leonardo DaVinci Mystery
Bronze Medal: Jonthon
King, The Styx
Chris Kuznecki, The Lost Throne
Tim Dorsey, Nuclear Jellyfish
Poetry Gold Medal: Campbell McGrath, Shannon
Silver
Medal: Denise Duhamel, Ka-Ching!
Bronze Medal: Jesse Millner,
Neighborhoods of My Past Sorrow
Peter Meinke, Lines
from Neuchatel
Spanish
Language Book Gold Medal: Juan Cueto-Roig, Veintiún cuentos concisos
Silver Medal: José Álvarez, País y la revolución cubana Young Adult Literature
Gold Medal: Alex Sanchez, Bait
Silver Medal: Rick Yancey, The Monstrumentologist
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