Salman Rushdie and Emory English professor Deepika Bahri in Rushdie archive exhibition, "A World Mapped by Stories, " now on display at Emory's library. AJC/Elissa Eubanks

So what does a Knight Bachelor, Booker Prize-winning author, fatwa subject and ex-husband of Padma Lakshmi put on display when a university comes looking for the actual words and objects that have made up his life?

Now that Salman Rushdie’s archive is on display at Emory University, we can see: e-mails and letters from the past 30 years, old computers, calendars and journals, family records, photos and doodles.

The whole thing was curated by Emory Associate Professor of English and Director of Asian Studies Deepika Bahri, but I rather like Rushdie comment, made during a media tour attended by AJCer Katie Leslie:

“From the moment I agreed to do this, I knew it was going to be sort of embarrassing,” Rushdie said during a media tour of the exhibit. “The biggest issue for me in the whole discussion with …

Continue reading Salman Rushdie archive, lectures at Emory University »

“Bodies…The Exhibition" had 400,000 visitors at the Atlanta Civic Center in 2006 and later returned to the Premier Exhibition Center in Atlantic Station. Atlanta can't seem to get enough exhibitions. AJC file photo

Reading this story felt like a newsy depiction of my Google calendar: “Atlanta a fast-rising star in world of major exhibitions.”

For months now, I’ve been bouncing from arena to museum to warehouse to stage to see artifacts from the Titanic, the key that locked Martin Luther King Jr. in a Birmingham jail cell, life-size dinosaurs that eat and roar, acrobats on horses, the work of Leonardo da Vinci, plastinated bodies, golden jewelry, Sesame Street puppets, Grand Canyon images, Henry Moore sculptures, Princess Diana’s wedding dress and the innards of a tornado.

Princess Diana's wedding dress is on display at the Atlanta Civic Center through June 13. AJC/Vino Wong

It seems obvious to me that the number and caliber of exhibitions around Atlanta is picking up, and …

Continue reading Exhibitions love Atlanta: Titanic, Cavalia, Diana, what next? »

We’re down to the final few days for two exhibitions with special ties to Atlanta.

“America I AM: The African-American Imprint,” a blockbuster exhibit with hundreds of historic artifacts, was extended once, but will finish its run here on Sunday.

“A Keeping of Records: the Art and Life of Alice Walker,” is based on items purchased by Emory University, but this is the first public showing. It won’t always be so easy to see them up close, and with the context the museum exhibit provides.

Here’s a look at what’s in each exhibit, the story behind it and how to see it.

Tavis Smiley escorts Rev. Bernice King, left, and Christine King Farris, the daughter and sister of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., through "America I AM" in Atlanta. AJC file photo

“America I  AM: The African-American Imprint”

What you’ll see: 500 years of history, from “The Door of No Return” from Ghana to Barack Obama speehes. The exhibition is 22,000 square feet and contains nearly 300 artifacts, including more …

Continue reading ‘America I Am’, Alice Walker exhibits close this weekend »

Author Tony Horwitz will be in Duluth on Oct. 18 for the Gwinnett Reads finale. File photo

The Gwinnett County Public Library just announced its 2009 Gwinnett Reads selection, “A Voyage Long and Strange,” by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Horwitz —and a long list of community events to accompany it.

2009 Gwinnett Reads

For the book, Horwitz retraced the path of Europeans who traveled to the United States between Columbus’ 1492 journey and the pilgrims arrival. From the library bio:

Tracing this legacy with his own epic trek—from Florida’s Fountain of Youth to Plymouth’s sacred Rock, from desert pueblos to subarctic sweat lodges—Tony Horwitz explores the revealing gap between what we enshrine and what we forget. Displaying his trademark talent for humor, narrative, and historical insight, A Voyage Long and Strange allows us to rediscover the New World for ourselves.

Here are reviews of the book from The New York Times and Salon. You can also see a video of a lecture Horwitz …

Continue reading Pulitzer winner Tony Horwitz to speak about ‘Voyage Long and Strange’ at Gwinnett Reads finale on October 18 »

Book shopping during DBF 2007. Expect a bigger crowd this year. AJC file photo

In four years, the AJC Decatur Book Festival has grown into one of the largest gatherings of lit lovers in the United States. Some 70,000 people attended last year and with more scheduled authors and events at this weekend’s festival, expect even more.

The whole operation runs on the passion of readers and logistical wizardry, which means it’s easy to be overwhelmed, whether you’re dropping by to get a book signed or moving in Friday to stay the whole weekend. Use this guide to help you get started. Meanwhile, if any DBF veterans in the crowd have tips or recommendations, share in the comments!

Bookzilla attacks!

GOT A MAP?
Here’s a printable map of the Decatur Book Festival stages, street fair and activities, plus a list of exhibitors.

GOT A SCHEDULE?
There are so many readings, signings, performances fashion shows, cooking demos, wrestling matches, the DBF is best enjoyed with a little planning …

Continue reading What to know before you go: AJC Decatur Book Festival »

Yoga instructor Kimberly Hard taught a class at Georgia Aquarium in February. AJC file photo.

I’ve had an on-and-off relationship with yoga since college, one I wish was based on a maturing sense of how to take care of myself, deal with stress, blah, blah, blah. I’m well aware that it improves my quality of life, but realistically, there’s a direct line between my dedication to yoga and the distance I have to travel to do it.

When I moved to Atlanta, there was a yoga studio outside my front window. I had no excuse not to go once a week, sometimes twice a week, and hey, maybe once on the weekend, too! These days, I can’t smell incense in the breeze, but I only have to go about a mile for a class. Not bad.

But I see, too, a lot of unconventional yoga spots in the area — destination yoga, perhaps, where it’s as much about the place as the practice.

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center
I received an e-mail yesterday about a new “Outdoor Yoga for Life” class in Callanwolde’s gardens. The …

Continue reading Yoga outside the studio — in gardens, fishtanks, libraries »

My heart sank when I saw the headline: “Gwinnett libraries cut hours.”

I rely on a different library system for the stack of books next to my bed, but it’s always sad to see fun stuff going away. Like every system, they’re part of the Bad Economy=Busy Library trend. Library program usage is up 30 percent there since last year, spokeswoman Michelle Long said, and as June ended, the system broke its Summer Reading Program record with 33,000 kids and teens participating.

“The reason being that programs are free,” Long said. (And let’s not forget: air conditioned.)

Unfortunately, that bad economy also means it’s hard to keep funding levels up. Long says they’ve been “very, very, very lucky,” in the past, but this time, a proposed tax increase failed and the county had to make cuts. As of Aug. 9, the 14-branch system will close Sundays and Monday and the rest of the week at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

So what’s going away?

• The annual Gwinnett Reading Festival is suspended. “That’s …

Continue reading Gwinnett library cuts: expect longer waits, event changes »