Baltimore Youth Poetry Grand Slam 2018
Jan. 12
When tallying up the things Baltimore does really well, you have to put spoken word poetry near the top of the list. Look at Baltimore’s current Youth Poet Laureate, Mohamed Tall, who won the title by using his performance to out capitalism and Mayor Pugh for backing off her support for a $15 minimum wage. Or former Youth Poet Laureate Hannah Sawyerr, who recently released a book, “For Girls Growing into Their Hips,” and who we’ve profiled in this paper (“There’s something special about reciting a poem orally, and it’s obviously going to be different, but if your work makes no sense or is completely wack on paper, it’s just not it,” she told me about her writing process). Watch 12 other super-talented young people perform to compete in the international Brave New Voices youth poetry festival this summer in Chicago. 6-9 p.m., Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., (443) 602-7585, redemmas.org, free. (Lisa Snowden-McCray)
Baltimore County Public Library Pikesville Branch, 1301 Reisterstown Road, (410) 887-1234, bcpl.info. Photographer Amy Davis discusses “Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore’s Forgotten Movie Theaters” her book of historic movie theatre in Baltimore. Jan. 10, 2:30 p.m. John Shields—chef, author, and owner of Gertrude’s—discusses his book, “Chesapeake Bay Cooking.” Jan. 17, 2:30 p.m.
Bird In Hand, 11 E. 33rd St., (410) 814-0373, birdinhandcharlesvillage.com. Writer and aid-worker Malka Older, novelist Ariel S. Winter, and short-story writer Tom Doyle share their work as part of the reading series Charm City Spec. Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
Cylburn Arboretum, Volmer Center, 4915 Greenspring Ave., cylburn.org. Dr. Allan Armitage comes to the Arboretum to discuss his book about the origins of the common names for popular and obscure plants, “Of Naked Ladies and Forget-Me-Nots.” Jan. 12, 6 p.m.
Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles St., prattlibrary.org. The Enoch Pratt Free Library presents Donna Brazile, a longtime Washington insider and the author of “Hacks: The Inside Story Of The Break-Ins And Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump In The White House.” Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Road, (410) 377-2966, theivybookshop.com. Children’s author, animator, puppet maker, toy designer, sculptor, and art director Timothy Young reads from his book “I’m Going To Outer Space.” Jan. 14, 10 a.m.