Three years ago, 18-year-old artist Israel Hernandez, also known as Reefa, was fatally tasered by police officers who found him creating a piece of illegal street art. The news split Miami in two. Some accused the cops of unwarranted brutality; others condemned Hernandez as a criminal. But filmmaker and producer…
Craig Pittman knows a thing or two about weird Florida. A native Floridian, the Tampa Bay Times reporter has spent his career wading through the wacky workings of the Sunshine State. His new book, Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, dives deep into the bizarre…
Harry Potter has returned, and he’s officially adulting. Strange as it sounds, the boy who lived is 36 years old and embarking on a whole new adventure. One that involves a cursed child, apparently. A new play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2, written by Jack…
Alex Noghaven and Atena Sherry can barely contain their excitement about the outlook of Miami’s writing scene. They talk in caffeinated bursts, speaking for and maneuvering around each other in conversation to fawn about the blooming literary landscape. “Miami is just kind of burgeoning with this stuff,” says Noghaven, 25…
Among the canon of misquotes, “Write drunk, edit sober” is something of a masterpiece. Most often attributed to Daiquiri namesake Ernest Hemingway, the louche imperative is actually a corruption of a fairly instructive Peter De Vries remark. While it may not be responsible for any Nobels, the advice has resonated…
It’s always intriguing to see how outsiders portray Miami in their work. When artist or authors use Miami as inspiration and research in their work, reflecting our city’s strange sense of normality back at unsuspecting consumers, it sometimes presents an even more authentic version of ourselves. Lauren Weisberger, author of…
If you like books with your booze, you’ve probably attended a Bookleggers pop-up event. The independent mobile library has been running pop-ups at venues all around South Florida each month for the past four years — and those venues often have a tasty drink and a party atmosphere. But last…
Bookleggers, the non-profit community mobile library that has built a cult following in Miami over the past few years, is heading to the big leagues — specifically, Major League Baseball. The organization is partnering with Marlins Park for a burger, beer, and book event July 8th. Budweiser Burger & Beer…
Leave it to Mitchell Kaplan, the godfather of Miami’s bookselling scene, to keep bringing literary innovation to South Florida more than three decades after opening his first store. Kaplan’s newest venture — a books-meets-bikes-meets-art shop — has popped up in Miami’s most colorfully dressed neighborhood: Wynwood. The concept, which sits…
Miami doesn’t have much of a literary reputation. Despite the town’s rich cultural diversity and ideal setting, few big-name local writers have emerged from South Florida. VONA is an organization looking to change that. Founded in 1999 by Junot Diaz, Elmaz Abinader, and Diem Jones, VONA gives a voice to…
The advice we get when we are particularly disgusted by a politician is to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. But wouldn’t it be nice if instead of having to choose between a billionaire narcissist or a two-faced phony, there could be a candidate who…
If you haven’t gotten around to checking out Jenny Holzer’s Inflammatory Essays at the Pérez Art Museum, you’ll want to pencil that in before the installation comes down on Friday, June 17. First wheat-pasted onto buildings in Manhattan between 1979 and 1982, Holzer’s essays made their way from the streets…
Facades in Wynwood are typically covered in so much color, it’s hard to discern what the original foundation was. Yet, on the corner of Northwest Fifth Avenue and 26 Street, there sits a white storefront with only large, black letters indicating what’s inside. Books + Books + Bikes + Lebo,…
Everyone has an opinion about the current state of American politics and the upcoming presidential election. Candidates and party leaders almost seem like caricatures of themselves, so it’s no wonder so many observers sit stunned. In the midst of this circus, some of us have given up and others are…
When you read the first line in the book cover for Diane Guerrero’s memoir, it’s hard not to get goosebumps. “The actress was just fourteen years old on the day her parents were detained and deported while she was at school.” Notably known for her role as Maritza on Orange…
You might remember seeing a bleach-blonde, grillz-wearing hair genius on Season 14 of America’s Next Top Model and wondering who the hell he was. For starters, he calls himself Weaven Steven. Think of him as the “baddest white boy in the hair business” (and that’s not because he fancies a sophisticated…
When author Edwidge Danticat was two years old, her father, André, left Duvalier’s Haiti and moved to New York City. Danticat remained in Bel Air with her uncle Joseph. Ten years later, she joined her father in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Danticat eventually became a writer and moved to Miami’s Little Haiti…
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, before the tourists arrived en masse, South Beach was a forgotten haven for artists, writers, and washed-up local characters. Poet Richard Blanco and artist Carlos Betancourt were two young Cuban-American gay men who met in that creative bustle. Their decades-long friendship and professional…
If you attended author Fabienne Josaphat’s panel at the Miami Book Fair last November, then you heard her read a small sampling from her debut novel, Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow. As she read, you could feel the tension in the room, notice the silence, and hear a collective murmur…
Remember a time when comic books were actually geeky? That is no longer true. Now is the golden age of comics. The biggest movies of the year are often based on comic books and universally loved by fans and critics. TV networks also turn to the art form for inspiration. …
The Dania Beach Hurricane was once the tallest wooden roller coaster in Florida. Standing 100 feet tall and 3,200 feet long, it was hard to miss if you were driving on I-95 in southern Broward. These days, it’s surrounded by a chainlink fence with an open gate. Unkempt trees hide…
In Janice Y.K. Lee’s new novel, The Expatriates, modern-day Hong Kong is brought to life through the eyes of several women who in some way or another don’t fit in. Lee’s first book, The Piano Teacher, was also set in Hong Kong, but this time she has her eye trained…
