A culturally diverse lineup for Miami book fair

Miami Book Fair International has announced more names of culturally and literarily diverse authors who will appear this fall, and the list includes novelists, poets, memoirists, human rights activists — and Luther Campbell.

Wait. Luther Campbell?

Yes, Liberty City-born-and-bred rap star Uncle Luke will appear at the fair to talk about his memoir The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City (co-written with Tanner Colby). The book is available Tuesday.

Other authors scheduled to appear: poets Yusef Komunyakaa and Major Jackson; human rights activist Susan Abulhala; novelists Jennine Capó Crucet, Tananarive Due, and Katie D. Ulysse; actress and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey; novelist and memoirist Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

There are no times set yet for their appearances, but they will appear throughout the street fair weekend, Nov. 21-22.

With more than 100 authors of color scheduled — and that’s not even including the 60 or so lined up for the Spanish language programs — program director Lissette Mendez said showcasing a diversity of opinions and cultures is part of the fair’s mission.

“We want the community and the country to know how important it is to us to create a space for all kinds of different narratives,” she said. “There’s not a quota we follow. We always try to bring in authors who are writing good books. But considering what’s going on around the country, seeing that maybe we’re not as tolerant as we could or should be, we wanted to show how free expression is important to the fair and Miami Dade College.”

Miami Book Fair International runs from Nov. 15-22 at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave. in downtown Miami.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 12:57 PM with the headline "A culturally diverse lineup for Miami book fair."