Obviously, we at THL love the Miami Book Fair International in a way this is sort of creepy and borderline obsessive. We held a week in honor of John Waters, Dirty Boy!, and to which a bunch of friends contributed their visions of the great man.

Sure, Waters said some things I’d heard him say before, but he also said things I’d never heard and gave advice to burgeoning filmmakers, like use your friends’ music, otherwise you’ll end up paying for the rights to use other songs. He spoke quite a bit about Divine (his parents owned a nursery and made him dress as Santa for Christmas), how he and Divine were asked to leave the beach in Kew West, because they just looked like perverts, one skinny, one large. How reading Tennessee Williams’ short stories as a kid saved his life. I also felt like there was hope for me when I read Tennessee Williams’ short stories and plays as a kid, with all of their oddities and strangenesses, and I’m a straight girl. A strange one, but whatever.

He mentioned wanting to ask Little Richard what it felt like to wake up in the morning and be Little Richard. A completely valid question. He also asked his good friend Manson Girl Leslie Van Houten if she had thought that she was cool when she was hanging out with Charlie, and she said no. When interviewer Brett Sokol of Ocean Drive asked him if he had thought he was cool, he confidently announced, “we were cool!” While Leslie and the Manson crew built roads from nowhere to nowhere in the desert, he and his group of stranglings were roaming back and forth across the country, being awesome.

What a look.

I know you wanted to see me and John Waters.

Brett Sokol interviewing John Waters.

John Waters signed a boob.

That was Wednesday. On Friday, after much anticipation, the big night came for Patti Smith to read from her book, Just Kids, only two days after winning the National Book Award. The reason it was all very exciting was because O, Miami the poetry festival funded by Knight Foundation, had planned a “random act of culture.” P. Scott Cunningham of O, Miami, University of Wynwood, and Miami Poetry Collective introduced Mrs. Smith. Halfway through the intro, she eccentrically wandered out and walked about the stage, even sitting in the audience. When Scott finished speaking, it was the audience’s turn to read. Many people in the crowd had been given a Rimbaud poem, Vowels, to read and a particular line on which to begin. We all stood and read at the appropriate moment, and after, the room cheered. It was a really lovely moment, and Patti Smith said she’d never seen anything like it. When she first arrived in New York, she was carrying a Rimbaud book of poems, so it was a fitting welcome.

The best part of the Patti Smith event was her firecracker, grumpy Jersey girl battitude, asking a photographer with a particularly massive flash if she had her shot. She ended up smiling a lot too though, once she loosened up. She performed three songs. During her first song, I had to choke back tears, and then her third was an a cappella, singalong version of “Because the Night” that was, for sure, emotional for everyone. She read wonderfully seductive clips from the book, many of which included stories of other famous people. She told us about when Allen Ginsberg bought her food when she was starving, and he chatted with her until she spoke. He surprisingly said, “you’re a girl!” or “I thought you were a boy.” Anyway, you get the gist.

Next, on Saturday morning there was Dave Eggers. Very funny, cool, and charming, you can read my writeup here.

I didn’t make it to see Ian Frazier, whose book, Travels in Siberia I read, and whom I interviewed for the Miami New Times – read it here, yo. The book is really great, though long, but I would definitely worth a read.

Last but not least, I was fortunate enough to attend an event at Townhouse cohosted by Ocean Drive and Brett Sokol as well as Choire Sicha of The Awl. where I was introduced to two lovely comediennes, Julie Klausner and Miami-native Sascha Rothchild, both whom spoke on a panel at the fair, but which I missed because of my shitty ear troubles and necessary acupuncture.

Although I was unable to get out to every event I wanted to attend, what I did witness was fantastic. Finally, Miami’s getting it’s brain working and people are reading and listening. Dave Eggers signed his book for my brother (Christmas gift – turns out he already read Zeitoun) “Keep listening.” To the Miami masses, also, keep reading, you retards. I know you got something in there somewhere. Maybe eventually you’ll start writing, too. I’m not holding my breath, but my fingers are crossed.

The Rimbaud poem, ready to be read.

P. Scott Cunningham introducing Patti Smith.

Patt Smith popped a squat in the audience.

Jessica Gross was a few letters ahead of me, and so, I took her picture when she stood up to read.

Everyone was fully energized after reading the poem.

Patti Smith reading…

Patti Smith smiling.

Dave Eggers talking…

Dave Eggers chatting with everyone.