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August 16, 2006
Brooklyn Soon Will Fete Its Literary Stars
NY Daily Sun
By Leon Neyfakh
Marty is throwing a party for Brooklyn's literary stars, including many whom are outspoken opponents of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Development proposal and who serve as members of Develop Don't Destroy's Advisory Board.
The president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, is throwing a party at Borough Hall on September 16. Guests will include Jonathan Safran Foer and his wife, Nicole Krauss, who moved to Park Slope last summer; Jonathan Lethem, who was born many years ago in Boerum Hill, and Jhumpa Lahiri, Rick Moody, and Colson Whitehead, who all live in Brooklyn. The list goes on and the shelves fill up. A lot of them have written articles for the New Yorker, and visitors to the Tea Lounge have probably witnessed them in the act without even knowing it.
The party — quaintly dubbed the Brooklyn Book Fest by Mr. Markowitz and his fellow organizers — will be a day-long celebration of their craft. For all the huffing and puffing the Jonathans have been doing against development in the Atlantic Yards, the borough is proud to host their creativity.
"There's no question that over the last five years Brooklyn has become the mecca for aspiring authors as well as accomplished authors," Mr. Markowitz, who is expecting between 5,000 and 15,000 people to attend the free event, said.
NoLandGrab: Lookie who just caught on — someone may want to tell Marty that Brooklyn has long been the home to "accomplished authors."
Note to authors: If Steve Buscemi's experience at this year's Botanic Garden "Celebrity Path" ceremony is any indication, the mere mention of preserving Brownstone Brooklyn's quality of life will illicit a head-smoking reaction from the Borough President.
Posted by lumi at August 16, 2006 8:15 AM