FIU librarian to read from her book at Miami Book Fair

FIU Reference Librarian Beatriz F. Fernandez will be among participants of the Miami Book Fair‘s final event, Poems: Reading From New Books, Sunday, Nov. 22.

Fernandez will be reading selections from her book, Shining from a Different Firmament – published by Finishing Line Press earlier this year. The chapbook features poems in the voices of historical, fictional and literary women. Fernandez says they are people “we don’t know that much about and haven’t heard that much from.”

The collection – described as “pithy and surprising” by FIU poet and professor Julie Wade – is Fernandez’ first book, although she is no stranger to poetry. She was the grand prize winner of the Second Annual Writer’s Digest poetry award and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2014.

This will be her first public reading, and she admits to nerves.

“It wouldn’t be bad speaking to a nice, empty room – talk about an easy crowd,” she jokes. But she’s also excited to be part of the largest literary festival in the country. She’s been attending the Miami Book Fair for years, loving the “excitement about books and being around people who are excited about books.”

Poems: Reading From New Books starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Centre Gallery. Shining From a Different Firmament is available to check out from FIU Libraries.

For more information about Fernandez and her work, check out her blog.