RELATED LINKS “Serious fun at The Swamp – and everywhere – at Miami Book Fair International” by Fernando González on Knight Blog, 11/17/14

“Miami Book Fair International kicks off its 31st edition with the weird and wonderful”  by Michael D. Bolden on Knight Blog, 11/17/14

“Miami Book Fair International opens Sunday” by Mitchell Kaplan on Knight Blog 11/14/14

“Meet the Swamp: A place for all things Florida” by Lissette Mendez on Knight Blog 11/13/14

“PBS Brings Miami Book Fair International to National Audiences,” Press Release, 11/10/14

“PBS to livestream, cover Miami Book Fair International” by Lissette Mendez on Knight Blog 11/10/14

“Broadsides and craft brews at Miami Book Fair’s ‘The Swamp'” by Lissette Mendez on Knight blog, 10/31/14

Growing up poor in Miami Beach, I lived in two Miami’s at once. And though I am as Miami as any Jewish, Mariel Boatlift-Cuban, tattooed, book-obsessed, PTA-mom-of-two can be, I still feel like a slight outsider in my own city.

Which is why I have a nagging preoccupation with not only the “Magic City,” but all of Florida – with the life of this place.  And why The Swamp at this year’s Miami International Book Fair.

The metaphorical love child of Jimbo’s and the Delano Hotel (two Miami places that represent so much for me), the Swamp will be the place to experience Florida stories – and not just of the literary kind. In addition to author events, there will be music, spoken word performances, film screenings, and participatory fun like literary karaoke and bocce ball challenges. The walls will be painted by six of Miami’s most talented street artists, and we’ll finish off the eight days with a Big Night in Little Haiti-style concert featuring the band Lakou Mizik.

I’m not an academic. So I make no “scholarly authenticity” claims for what will represent Florida at The Swamp. I’m just a reader. And though I prefer to read above all else, I love that stories can also be told through film and music, dance and theatre and visual arts.

We’ll do it again one more year—Book Fair 2015.  And I hope that, even though we won’t have time to work with all of the writers and other kinds of storytellers out there, the Swamp inspires all who come to explore our peninsula in their own ways.

Don’t miss the video for a hint of what The Swamp will look like. And visit miamibookfair.com for a full schedule of Swamp events.

Alberto Ibargüen, Lissette Mendez and Matt Haggman.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me build The Swamp this year. There are too many people to list—all of the participating artists, writers, performers, filmmakers and other “storytellers;” Delia Lopez, Fair operations director; and Nicole Swift and Steven Toth, coordinators for this and so much more for the Fair. Plus the rest of the Fair staff. Nothing would happen without them.

But most of all, sincere thanks to the Knight Arts Challenge for believing in my swampy idea.

Lissette Mendez is the programs director for the Miami Book Fair International, which won the Knight Arts Challenge for its idea to create the Swamp.