Politics & Prose at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V, welcomes D. Watkins to present his new book The Beast Side.
Watkins grew up in Baltimore’s East side—aka “the beast side”—surviving both rival drug dealers and law enforcement to earn two masters degrees and become a writing teacher, a Salon columnist, a CNN and NPR commentator, and Baltimore magazine’s “Best Writer” of 2015. This powerful memoir is also an astute socio-cultural history and an urgent call to action, following Watkins’s experience and that of his community as Trayvon Martin was killed, as Ferguson was torn apart, and as Baltimore itself exploded after the death of Freddie Gray.
Sep 16, 2026 3:00 pm
