The first annual (hopefully) North Park Book Fair was held today!
Book lovers, authors, poets, artists, and everyone and anyone who loves reading, writing and creativity showed up for the two block long festival!
As you can see from the upcoming photos, North Park Way between 29th Street and Ray Street was absolutely alive!
At first I just wandered past the booths, trying to absorb it all, amazed by everything that I saw. Then I figured I’d blog about the event and began to record smiles!
Read the photo captions to learn more about what I discovered…
Not only was there live painting, local authors and small presses, but one could enjoy poetry readings, storytelling for kids, and perusing thousands of books for sale! And food, too!When I reported the street was packed, I wasn’t kidding!A friendly North Park Main Street volunteer smiles for a pic. Thanks for the great event!The San Diego Public Library had tables full of used books for sale.Friends of the San Diego Public Library smile! I’ve purchased oodles of used books at the Central Library over the years.I almost bought this book about San Diego. I have too much to read, already.Kids could draw fun comic panels at the Little Fish Comic Book Studio booth.Keithan Jones of KID Comics smiles. Look at all the cool independent comic book art he created!He did this great Wonder Woman sketch!I listened for a while as poets presented their words to the gathered crowd.Live poetry at the North Park Book Fair! This animated poet received big applause!A smile from an Accidental Aliens writer!Smiles from two Accidental Aliens artists!Beatrice Zamora wrote award-winning children’s book The Spirit of Chicano Park. She’ll be dancing at the big Danza event at Chicano Park tomorrow!Book, books, books everywhere!Armando Elizarraras created some very cool artwork based on portraits of famous authors. Check out his tattooed Edgar Allan Poe with The Tell-Tale Heart!MORE. LESS. etc. Three sequential books by artist, author and poet Ted Washington! Can poems include mathematical formulas?The folks of Write Out Loud were at the North Park Book Fair, presenting this fun, fishy Kamishibai street theatre story!Book fair goers could indicate with chalk the place where they most like to read…In bed, on the toilet, by the pool, at the beach, with a cat . . . or anyplace!The smile of superhero creator @boypoetic!Tamra L. Dempsey took photographs for the beautiful book A Journey Through Literary America! It includes literary passages by famous authors.One smile and one semi-smile. It’s all good. Keep on creating!Cynthia Diamond wrote all these Wyrd Love books. I remembered seeing her years ago at a big Liberty Station book event!Douglas W. Mengers wrote a book about San Diego Trolleys. I learned some interesting history when we chatted.This book contains lots of old images of rail transportation in San Diego.Lots to see and do at the North Park Book Fair!
Yesterday I enjoyed a long walk in Poway. As I explored the area near Old Poway Park, I happened upon a San Diego County Library bookmobile. I took these photos.
I love how this bookmobile features painted images of diverse people reading, devouring the written word. Gaining knowledge. Activating limitless human imagination.
My own love of reading has only grown stronger with time. Experience has shown me that books are like windows that can be opened to previously undiscovered truths. They enrich one’s inner life.
When I saw the image of the boy pushing books in a cart, I had to smile. In middle school I worked as a page at a library shelving books. I can still picture that library–each room and each wonderful section.
One cool thing about being a library page was I could determine which books were showcased at the end of the shelves. There were so many fascinating titles, so many beautiful covers.
I could choose from a whole world at my fingertips.
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Back when I was a kid pushing carts full of returned library books, I had no idea that one day my own fiction would be read by people everywhere around the world. And that my short story, One Thousand Likes, would be included in a textbook by a major international publisher.
Much like a book, the pages of a life turn and strange surprises await!
There’s a special, very beautifully written song that celebrates Coronado. The song, which has become beloved by many over the years, was written by composer and Coronado resident Joan Brown Goldberg, who passed away in early 2020.
I learned about The Coronado Song yesterday in Encinitas of all places. I was outside the old 19th century schoolhouse, lingering after a historical walking tour of Encinitas, when I approached a pianist who was playing among nearby vendors at a small crafts event.
The musician, whom you can see in my photos, is Famous Frank. He told me about Joan Brown Goldberg and how he’d played The Coronado Song during a music festival at the Emerald C Gallery a couple years ago. He described The Coronado Song as the unofficial theme song of Coronado.
I did a little searching, and discovered here that “…For a time the song with piano accompaniment was sold around town and at the Hotel del Coronado.”
I also found here that Joan Brown Goldberg “…was a talented composer, writing over 40 songs. Her most recognized work was ‘The Coronado Song,’ which won several international contests. The song was played before the annual Coronado July 4th Parade at the grandstand for 20 years.”
I’ve published another very short work of fiction. This piece is titled The Fight. It’s about living and dying . . . and laughter.
Perhaps you’ll enjoy this little story. It includes life experiences that are relatable.
Getting this simple story to work has been a struggle. I published The Fight prematurely a couple weeks ago, then pulled it down. A tale about life and death should be written carefully.
You might remember a few photographs I took of buildings reflected in puddles. I posted those last month, after downtown San Diego had experienced a night of rain.
Looking into those silver puddles was almost like peering into a strange, bright world just beyond our own. To see those photos again, you can click here.
Well, during my walk among those magic puddles a seed was planted.
That seed germinated, grew, broke through, has blossomed.
If you’d like to read my newly completed short story, which I titled The Shining World, click here.
I was walking past a bus stop in North Park when my attention was arrested by a large teddy bear. The bear was sitting alone at the end of the bench. I looked around. Absolutely nobody was nearby.
I had to pause to take in this strange sight. Then it occurred to me: either this cute, very loveable teddy bear had been accidentally left behind, or it had been left there intentionally.
Either scenario meant heartbreak.
It’s one small story in the city that you and I will never know.
What made my discovery really weird–almost eerie–is that for weeks I had been working on a short story concerning a similar teddy bear on the streets of a city.
Even though the story is very short, it had persistently troubled me. I knew it had potential. But I couldn’t seem to get it right.
Seeing that mysterious bear inspired me to work on the story with renewed purpose.
I published The Teddy Bear yesterday. Since then I’ve made a number of changes. But I think it might be finished. It remains painful. Like many of my little stories it has a surprise ending.
I spent a couple hours today with my friend Mitchell. He plays didgeridoo in Balboa Park.
We went on a walk and got lunch at the Japanese Tea Pavilion. Then I listened for a while to his extraordinary pulsating music.
During the concert a traveling poet came by, watched and listened.
After I said goodbye to Mitchell and began down El Prado, I came upon the poet sitting at a small table before his manual typewriter.
His name is Ben Bernthal. He will write an original poem based on words passersby give him. I gave him the word “didgeridoo.”
What I received was an exceptional piece of poetry and a friendly chat.
After I headed off on my way, it occurred to me that Balboa Park is one enormous, colorful poem. In the way every life is a sort of poem.
Visit Ben Bernthal’s website and learn more about a really great writer by clicking here. You can request a poem online. He will type the poem on high quality paper and mail it to you!
Better yet, if you’re in San Diego, look for him sitting at his typewriter in Balboa Park . . . before life’s grand adventure turns him elsewhere.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Would you like to read two very short stories about Christmas?
Both works of fiction might touch your heart.
The first short story is titled A Wise Man. It concerns how we all can become jaded over the years, and how one seemingly ordinary moment can renew our appreciation of life’s preciousness and beauty. Read it here.
The second short story is titled An Encounter With Santa Claus. It’s about the spirit of Christmas. About unselfishness, not rampant materialism. Read it here.
It has been months since I promoted my blog Short Stories by Richard, but I just now published a new short story titled Father’s Paintbrush, and I think some readers might enjoy it.
Like several other stories I’ve written, it has a surprising O. Henry-like ending!
If you’re interested, you can read this small work of fiction about life, learning and magic by clicking here.
I have more photographs taken yesterday at Presidio Park coming up, so stay tuned!
