Fantasy and reality kicked off the Miami Book Fair International on Sunday, with Christopher Paolini (who writes about dragons and the heroes who ride them) and Rosanne Cash (who writes about herself and her famous musical family).
But magic infused both presentations at the 28th annual fair, which runs through Nov. 20 at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami. There was even some magic at the opening of the China Pavilion: Dragons -- more dragons! -- arrived amid the popping of champagne corks to celebrate the fair's exploration of the country's culture and arts (Chinese artist Ye Hongxing designed the fair's funky, eye-catching poster).
Cash, whose memoir
Composed chronicles her life as a songwriter and famous daughter of legend Johnny Cash, hadn't originally planned to sing at her presentation, which had a smaller-than-expected crowd for an opening night audience. But she is, after all, a performer. So she improvised, borrowing a blue guitar and treating the rapt audience to lovely versions of
Sleeping in Paris, Bob Dylan's
Girl From the North Country and her own hit
Seven Year Ache. In between songs, she read from
Composed and talked about finding her voice as a writer.
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