Two Literary Events in Baltimore

In the Baltimore area, it’s already an eventful year for lovers of literature. Here are two upcoming events sponsored by the Maryland Writers’ Association.

Filmmaker Talks About Picturing Words

Christpher Reed, filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Film, Video and Theatre at Stevenson University, discusses "Picturing Words: How to Write for and about the Cinema." The cinema is a visual art form, but it also uses sound (dialogue, music, effects). Movies begin as written scripts, but, once filmed, these scripts are reshaped in the editing process.

"I believe that filmmaking is a wonderful pastiche of different disciplines, from which emerges a unique art form. It is deeply collaborative. There is no one author, unless only one person has been involved, filming him- or herself, from start to finish," says Reed. "Still, at the start of every filming process, there needs to be a blueprint, and that blueprint is the script."

Using examples from his favorite films and film texts, Reed will address the ideas behind successful screenwriting. How does one write visually, so that the words appear as moving pictures before the eyes of the reader? And how does one write about films, so that a simple description can transport the reader into the world of the movie?

Picturing Words: How to Write for and about the Cinema takes place Wednesday, January 14 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the annex building of the Chesapeake Arts Center, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, Maryland 21225.

And …

Maryland Authors Share Their Work

The Maryland Writers’ Association’s Baltimore Chapter, co-sponsored by the CityLit Project and the Write Here, Write Now workshops, invites the public to help us kick off the new year right with another in the popular series of open mic readings in the relaxed coffee-house atmosphere of Baltimore Chop Books in downtown Baltimore.

For members, this is a chance to try out your latest writing in front of an audience of fellow writers -- no critiques, just claps! For guests and visitors, we invite you to come and enjoy this literary sampler.

Come early to shop the Chop's terrific collection of books (it's Baltimore City's only remaining independent general bookstore), and to get a nice hot mug of your favorite hot beverage and fresh desert before you read. (Browsing and caffeinating is also encouraged throughout the evening's festivities, of course.)

The event takes place at Baltimore Chop Bookstore and Espresso Bar, Baltimore City's only independent general bookstore, 625 Washington Blvd, in Baltimore.

To learn more about these events, visit the website of the Maryland Writers’ Association.

www.marylandwriters.org.