SE writers shine at book festival

About 200 book-lovers flocked to the Harry Dow Room at Tent City, 130 Dartmouth Street, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, November 18 for the South End Authors Book Festival, which showcased 22 authors in a variety of genres.

The organizing committee included South End author and historian Alison Barnet, founder and former columnist for the South End News and author of "South End Character" and the novel "Sitting Ducks"; longtime South End denizen Russ Lopez, adjunct professor at Boston University School of Public Health and author of "Boston's South End: The Clash of Ideas in a Historic Neighborhood" and the recently released "Boston 1945-2015: The Decline and Rebirth of a Great World City"; and librarian Anne Smart of the South End Branch Library. In a departure from the previous two years, the festival moved from the Harriet Tubman House at United South End Settlements to the Harry Dow Room, named for Harry Dow, a local immigration lawyer and community activist who was the first Chinese American to be admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.

Lopez was happy with attendance. "It was a pretty good turnout. I'm not sure how many more people we could have had without violating the fire code!" he quipped. Many of the authors sold at least a portion of their inventory, and Lopez observed, "An event like this will often boost on-line sales for at least a couple of days."

Legendary community activist, former mayoral candidate and founder of the South End Technology Center Mel King signed copies of his recently revised book, "Chain of Change" and talked with neighbors. King and his wife, Joyce, are lifelong South Enders.

Charlie Caizzi, who spent much of his life in the South End before moving to Middleboro some years ago, was a friendly presence right at the entrance to the book festival, introducing himself and his memoir of his youth in the neighborhood, "Just So You Know".

The title of Caizzi's book reflects the matter-of-fact storytelling of the book, which is peppered with funny and colorful slices of life. Author William Kuhn, who lives in the Ellis neighborhood, explores social history in his novels, "Prince Harry, Boy to Man" and "Mrs. Queen Takes the Train" and his non-fiction work, "Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books" about former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

A full-time writer, Kuhn is now working on a book about Lord Byron. While author Stephanie Schorow is not a South End resident, her books, "Combat Zone", "Drinking Boston" and "Boston on Fire" include episodes involving the South End as well as other nearby areas. Explaining the moniker of the former red-light district, Schorow said that the earliest reference to the "Combat Zone" came in a newspaper account of a judge who was sentencing a man who was charged with a barroom stabbing in 1950.

"The judge said, "This [area] is terrible. Clean it up; it really is a combat zone," Schorow said. Schorow added that the name became more popular after an article in the Boston Record-American about shady activities in the Combat Zone.

Retired teacher Jean Gibran of West Canton Street presented her recent publication, "Kahlil Gibran: Beyond Borders", a revision of "Kahlil Gibran: His Life and World", an examination of the life of the poet Kahlil Gibran, author of "The Prophet".

Jean Gibran wrote the book with her late husband, the internationally renowned sculptor Kahlil G. Gibran, younger cousin of the poet. Jean Gibran also authored "Love Made Visible: Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage", a candid and eloquent memoir of her 50 years with the sculptor.

At the other end of the bright and airy venue, artist, illustrator and humorist Thom Donovan exhibited some of his work, which encompasses illustrations of the Emerald Necklace and a South End visitor map as well as a graphic novel on John Lennon's final days entitled "Lennon at Sea" and a book of clever, edgy verbal and visual puns entitled "Yes, Pun Intended".

Donovan feels the event is good exposure for his work. "I like it because it is my target demographic: baby boomers. Everyone knows who John Lennon is." One visitor to Donovan's table purchased 25 postcards of cartoons from "Yes, Pun Intended" and asked him to inscribe them on the back "To a Hero", with the intention to send them to soldiers over the holidays.