Friday, September 14, 2001

A Slammin' Book Festival Lineupby Mary Quattlebaum
READING AND WRITING will rock next week in Fairfax with tall tales, teen poetry slams andpresentations by authors for kids and adults.
The third annual Fall for the Book Festival opens Wednesday, with most programs for young
people scheduled next Friday and Saturday in downtown Fairfax and at George Mason
University. Goodies include puppet and magic shows, concerts and a chance to sip tea with"historic ladies." For eager young writers, the festival abounds with opportunities to create.
Writing workshops led by Joan Leotta, the festival's roving storyteller, should prove a hit withupper elementary students next Saturday. Leotta welcomes dabbler and dedicated wordsmith
alike to her 90-minute sessions, which explore oral and written aspects of story. "Kids getplenty of silent, individual writing at school," she says. "I hope to show that writing is also aboutcommunication and connection."
Drawing on 18 years' experience as a story performer and writing teacher, Leotta guides
youngsters in fashioning short plays, story poems, fables and pourquoi tales (stories about whysomething came to be). "Playful writing can help children become more aware of their own
creativity and of ways to shape their ideas," she says, then adds with a laugh: "And the kids
have fun -- that's what's important."
Young people 11 and up can learn to strut their literary stuff at next Friday's poetry
performance workshop. Says instructor Nancy Schwalb: "I try to help participants realize thatthe poem on the page is vital. It has to be powerful, to make sense. You can't just hope todazzle the audience with your performance."
Schwalb speaks highly of her workshop assistant, 14-year-old Larry Robertson, one of her
former creative writing students at Charles Hart Middle School in Southeast Washington. Now afreshman at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Larry is a prize-winning poet who can offer
tips from his own experience.
Capping Schwalb's workshop is a Friday evening poetry slam that is open to the public. For
those who've never experienced one, a slam can be a raucous, heady experience for bothparticipant and audience. Forget demure reading. A slam is all about letting loose the poem'semotion. "It's sort of like an athletic competition but with poems," explains Schwalb. "Kids canact up with words -- and are celebrated for it." She believes those qualities appeal especially toan audience laced with kids. "Going to a slam is a terrific way to get young people interested inwriting. They like the energy, they're curious. They want to try this, too."While Schwalb's young poets promise panache, the Little Maids of History plan to spice up theold days with humor. Bonnie Fairbank and Pat Sowers use antique items and dress inreproductions of 18th- and 19th-century clothing for their interactive interpretations of thepast.
"We're trying to bring history to life and teach children about their heritage and the early daysof this country," says Fairbank, who, with Sowers, created the Little Maids concept about 10years ago. The program has proven popular indeed, keeping the two former Woodlawn
Plantation docents trotting to schools, museums, book events and TV appearances. Fairbank
explains the program's draw: "Kids love to be part of the show. They learn something abouthistory. And they may also come away with the sense that people long ago liked some of thesame things -- like dances and stories -- that we still enjoy today."FALL FOR THE BOOK LITERARY FESTIVAL -- Events take place at George Mason University,
Fairfax campus, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, or at University Drive and North Street in
downtown Fairfax. 703/993-3986. Web site: www.fallforthebook.org. Free. For information on
programs for adults call or check the Web site. The events below are geared toward kids.
SECTION: WEEKEND; PG. T51
LENGTH: 1018 WORDS