Miami Book Fair International kicked off Sunday night at Miami Dade College with novelist Margaret Atwood, poet Elizabeth Alexander and a fingers-crossed hope that troublesome Topical Storm Ida keeps heading north.

With Ida on track for the northern Gulf Coast, fair organizers breathed a sigh of relief (while keeping an eye on the Weather Channel).

``We had to cancel a fair once, years ago,'' remembered fair cofounder Mitchell Kaplan, recalling how the threat of Tropical Storm Gordon caused the unthinkable. Winds destroyed more than 100 of the tents set up outside. ``We called off the street fair on Wednesday. Then it was a beautiful weekend. It never hit.''

This year, the show goes on. Sunday marked the first time the fair, which runs through Nov. 15, charged a $10 admission for its ``Evening With . . .'' series. But the fee did not seem to have much effect on opening-night attendance, which was close to capacity. And many fans of the fair seemed more than happy to help out during these tough economic times.

``It's not a big price,'' said first-time fair-goer Julie Ugarte of Miami Beach.

``I'm happy to pay for quality,'' said Raul Hernandez of Miami. ``It's a privilege, this fair. You want to contribute and keep it here in Miami.''

Author of more than 40 works -- most recently the dystopian nightmare The Year of the Flood, in which a plague wipes out most of humankind -- the wry, witty Atwood proved that quality is indeed a highlight of this fair. She read from Flood and joked that in keeping with her subject matter, ``I'm washing my hands a lot'' on this tour.

But lest the darker aspects of the novel trouble readers, she reminded: ``First of all, there's jokes. . . . And it's only a book. Close the covers. Keep that future in the book.''

She even sang one of the hymns from the book -- We praise the tiny perfect Moles/That garden underground; The Ant, the Worm, the Nematode/Wherever they are found -- to ringing applause.

Earlier in the evening, a free event featured poet and Yale professor Elizabeth Alexander reading some of her works, including Praise Song for the Day, the poem she read at President Barack Obama's inauguration. She read it in Spanish and English.

``I will not lie,'' she admitted about reading in Spanish in front of a Miami crowd. ``That made me more nervous than the inaugural day.''

In the audience to see Alexander, who was introduced by childhood friend and Miami poet Campbell McGrath, was novelist and memoirist Edwidge Danticat.

``Her work is both quirky and innovative,'' Danticat said. ``It's storytelling for a new age. She's been such a well-kept secret, such a personal treasure. It's rare a poet has this forum.''

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