Walking Tours Open the Book on Brooklyn

Intrepid independent booksellers set out Wednesday afternoon on seven literary walking tours through some of Brooklyn's most storied neighborhoods. Here are some snapshots of the tours.

The Literary Brooklyn Walking Tour

The Literary Brooklyn Walking Tour, led by Peter Charles Melman, kept booksellers entertained and engaged while traveling through the "Fruit District," which includes Cranberry, Orange, and Pineapple Streets. Special notice was given to 98 Cranberry, where, in a building demolished in 1964, Walt Whitman printed the first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. Bookseller Vicky Uminowicz of Titcomb's Bookshop in East Sandwich, Massachusetts, was delighted to meet Melman, whose first book, Landsman (Counterpoint Press), was released today. "I loved the book, and didn't realize that I'd be on the walking tour with the author," she said.

Author Sherill Tippins (center) led the Walking Literary Brooklyn Heights tour to the scenic Brooklyn waterfront.

Sherill Tippins, author of February House (Houghton), led a tour of Brooklyn Heights that included stops at some of the residences of the borough's past and present literary luminaries. Among the sites were lovingly restored houses marked with plaques, such as those that were once the homes of W.H. Auden and Thomas Wolfe, as well as the residences of more contemporary authors such as Norman Mailer and Erica Jong. The view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was of particular interest to many of the booksellers.

For the booksellers who embarked on the "Brooklyn Bridge Tour" with Kevin Baker (author of Dreamland, Paradise Alley, and Strivers Row, all Harper Perennial) what they saw -- and heard -- was fascinating. On a glorious Wednesday afternoon, the dramatic views of New York City and New York Harbor made for a mesmerizing background to Baker's narrative history of the bridge and the surrounding area. "It was great," said Karl Pohrt of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "I especially liked the moment that Baker began reading Whitman -- it was the moment I was waiting for. You couldn't have picked a more fabulous day."

Other Walking Tours of Brooklyn included:

• Booksellers displayed Brooklyn pride at an important stop on Alan Rosen and Bruce Feiler's Famous Brooklyn Food tour: Junior's Restaurant.

  Walking Historic Green-Wood Cemetery With Barnet Schecter, author of The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution (Penguin) and The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America (Walker & Co.).

• Walking Fort Greene With Adrienne Onofri, author of the brand-new book Walking Brooklyn (Wilderness Press).

• Children's Booksellers Tour: Walking Cobble Hill & Boerum Hill With Emily Jenkins, whose books include Five Creatures (Frances Foster Books/FSG), That New Animal (Frances Foster Books/FSG), Toys Go Out (Random House/Schwartz & Wade), and the forthcoming What Happens on Wednesdays (Frances Foster Books/FSG).

• Famous Brooklyn Food Tour With Alan Rosen, author of Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook (Taunton Press), and Bruce Feiler, whose books include Where God Was Born and Walking the Bible (Harper Perennial).

Booksellers Get a Taste of Brooklyn

At the conclusion of their cardio-literary workouts, the booksellers arrived at Brooklyn's Historic Borough Hall. There, they were welcomed by Borough President Marty Markowitz, and enjoyed beer courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery and mammoth slices of cheesecake courtesy of Junior's restaurant as they noshed and talked amid the marble columns.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz told booksellers that "no city has more character - or characters - than Brooklyn."

ABA President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, introduced Markowitz, noting that "since entering Borough Hall in January 2002, Marty has reinvigorated the office of borough president, serving as the chief advocate for Brooklyn's economic, social, and cultural interests, while initiating and promoting efforts to improve Brooklynites' quality of life."

An exuberant Markowitz welcomed "independent booksellers from across the nation" and told them choosing to come to Brooklyn showed that "obviously, you've got class - you're hip." He advised them, "If you're looking for a city where everyone looks alike, this is not your place," and predicted that "once you're here, you'll never forget about us." Markowitz extolled some cultural highlights of the borough that "one in every seven Americans can trace their ancestors to," and proclaimed, "the epicenter of literary America is right here in Brooklyn."

Booksellers and authors enjoy beer and cheesecake at historic Borough Hall.

That claim was validated when ABA's Lawrence thanked the almost 30 Brooklyn authors scheduled to attend the reception, including Cathleen Bell, Catherine Lloyd Burns, Kate Christensen, Susanne Dunlap, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Valerie Frankel, Ben Greenman, George Hagen, Lynn Harris, Kathryn Harrison, John Haskell, Joanna Hershon, Tad Hills, Heather Hunter, Leonard Marcus, Matt Marinovich, Lauren Mechling, Tim McLoughlin, Blake Nelson, Aaron Petrovich, Arthur Phillips, Melissa Plaut, Katie Roiphe, Alex Rose, and Paul Zelinsky. -- Reported by Linda M. Castellitto, Dan Cullen, David Grogan, Rosemary Hawkins, Nomi Schwartz, Karen Schechner