Book Week Section: TSAL December 2022 Quarterly Remix

TSAL READING ROOM BOOK WEEK RECAP

Amy Sherald Amirah Cunningham

BOOK WEEK R

BY HARRY ATWELL, TSAL COMMUN

In true celebratory fashion and tradition, ThirdSpace kicked off its annual schedule of summer festivities during Juneteenth weekend. However, the 2022 summer kick off was truly an exciting and very special one indeed. After a nearly two year hiatus, we were able to relaunch our monthly Intergenerational Lunch and Freedom Friday community events within the space.

Guests coming back for the first time were ushered into a brand new interior designed by close friend of ThirdSpace, Celia Williamson. Filled with light, color, warmth and texture, the sunny main room has been appointed with plush, comfortable seating areas to foster the exchange of ideas and enhance connections and conversations with one another.

BOOK WEEK R

BY HARRY ATWELL, TSAL COMMUN

The transformation of this space was then completed with the grand opening of the ThirdSpace Reading Room bookstore; fully activating the first floor of The Madison building. The ThirdSpace Reading Room, currently the only bookstore in the Glenville neighborhood, offers a selection of both new and previously loved books in a wide array of genres for readers of all ages.

Our doors have only been open for a short while but thanks to the kind and generous support of our community, we’ve been able to celebrate many milestones during our first six months of operation; some of which I’d like to share with you, now.

CLEVELAND BOOK WEEK

The 7th Annual Cleveland Book Week ran from September 9th to September 18th this year and ThirdSpace Reading Room was invited to be a part of several events throughout the ten day literary arts celebration.

The ThirdSpace Reading Room table at the 2022 Inkubator Writing Conference Book Fair, along with a few of the selections offered during the two day event.

GREAT LAKES AFRICAN-AMERICANS WRITERS CONFERENCE

WATCH THE REPLAY HERE

The Reading Room returned to the Louis Stokes Wing the next weekend on September 17th, where the series of Book Week events were capped off with the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC, also affectionally known and pronounced as “glossy”). We were invited to be one of the local booksellers during the event but one of highlight of the afternoon was the Black Booksellers Panel Discussion. Facilitated by ThirdSpace Action Lab co founder and Creative Director, Mordecai Cargill, with panelists Virginia Mixon, manager of the Schomburg Shop in New York City, and Carlos Franklin, co owner of Black Stone Bookstore and Culture Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Along with sharing honest, practical knowledge of the books selling business and giving insight into the day to day runnings of a bookstore, the in depth, sixty minute conversation also touched on the huge importance of their community’s support during the pandemic, which was key to the survival if their businesses. Virginia and Carlos each discussed how they curate an inventory that reflects the needs of their shoppers and through a very candid exchange, shared their approach to adding new titles to their shelves.

ThirdSpace Action Lab co founder and creative director, Mordecai Cargill, far left seated. Speaking at the podium is Dr. Leah Lewis, J.D. founder and executive producer of the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference. On screen at the left is Virginia Mixon, manager of the Schomburg Shop in New York City, and Carlos Franklin, co owner of Black Stone Bookstore and Culture Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

AUTHOR TALK: NADIA OWUSU READINGROOMAUTHORTALKS

Later that same evening, back home in our own space, we sat down with Brooklyn based writer and urban planner, Nadia Owusu. In an intimate and truthful conversation with ThirdSpace ActionLab co-founder and CEO, Evelyn Burnett, Owusu chatted about the early life experiences that were poured into her award winning debut memoir, Aftershocks. While reading excerpts from her memoir and recounting the vivid, heartfelt details behind them, she peeled back the curtain with our audience in a first hand account of several scenes within the book. Afterwards, Owusu graciously shared parts of her approach to the writing process, autographed copies of her incredible book and interacted with the attendees over light fair and drinks.

KEYNOTE: TONI TIPTON-MARTIN

We wrapped up our 2022 Cleveland Book Week festivities on Sunday, September 18th with the GLAAWC Sunday Brunch at Landerhaven, where we were invited as the feature bookseller. The morning began with live music and a cooking demonstration from local celebrity chef, Eric Wells, who shared expert cooking tips and techniques as he made shrimp and grits. Mistress of Ceremonies, Margaret Bernstein of WKYC, introduced the keynote speaker: two time James Beard Award winning author, food and nutrition journalist, and current editor in chief of Cooks Country magazine, Toni Tipton-Martin, former food editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Martin opened up the hour with pause and reflection, expressing how being at Landerhaven was a bit of a homecoming for her. She took a moment to revisit the past and graciously took everyone along for the ride. She went on to explain that once in Cleveland, she attended her first event in the city at Landerhaven, where she was introduced to the local culinary community during a taste testing with top restaurants in the city.

KEYNOTE: TONI TIPTON-MARTIN

Martin spoke about how she began collecting Black cookbooks after organizing the Los Angeles Times’ test kitchen library, where a search for cookbooks authored by African Americans would often only turn up one volume. “Where are all the Black cooks?” was question she’d often ask herself. Slowly but surely she began discovering them and eventually amassed a collection of over 400 cookbooks written by African American cooks, chefs, entrepreneurs and food educators, some dating back to as early as 1827. Part of this personal collection can be found among the pages of her 2015 award winning book, The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, which beautifully honors 160 of these found works; finally placing the authors and their culinary contributions in their rightful historical context.

Four years after the initial publication of the Jemima Code, Toni Tipton Martin released a follow up cookbook in 2019, ceremoniously entitled: Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, as an ode to 200 years of Black culinary expertise. The recipes found in Jubilee bridges the gap between past and present with a hopeful nod to the future, declaring us "the freedom to cook with creativity and joy.” The afternoon closed with Toni Tipton Martin answering questions from the audience and signing copies of her two most recent books.

KEYNOTE: TONI TIPTON-MARTIN

BY HARRY ATWELL

Copies of both The Jemima Code and Jubilee were available for purchase during the event and we ended up selling out of both. Serendipitously, ThirdSpace Reading Room’s 90th day was just the day before; it was a nice way to commemorate our first three months of business.

Many thanks to everyone who helped make the ThirdSpace Reading Room’s first Cleveland Book Week a success.

WHAT WE ARE READING

MIND TheIntellectualWork LA'S ALTERNATIVE BOOKSTORES PUT COMMUNITY AND CULTURE FIRST

BY SARAH QUIÑONES WOLFSON, NEXT CITY

"Storytelling is a powerful tool to empower our communities, affirm our existence and affirm community power,” says El Monte city planning commissioner Amy J. Wong, who co-founded the lending library this year with her partner Andrew Yip. 'We saw an opportunity to transform this shop into a library where people can read books that reflect their stories and lives and share space."

Artist Credit: Mickalene Thomas