Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

The People’s Job

Barry Friedman argues for public control of law enforcement in Unwarranted

In Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission, former Vanderbilt Law professor Barry Friedman takes a sobering look at the practices of modern law enforcement. He will discuss Unwarranted at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 12 at 2 p.m.

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Dog’s Best Friend

In Gizelle’s Bucket List, Lauren Fern Watt takes her dying mastiff on an epic adventure

In Gizelle’s Bucket List, the touching story of an unlikely duo who tackle life together, Lauren Fern Watt remembers the six magical years she shared with a giant English mastiff. Watt will discuss her debut memoir at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 11 at 2 p.m.

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A Glowing Review

Lynn Frierson Faust shares her passion for bioluminescent beetles—a.k.a. lightning bugs

Lynn Frierson Faust’s new book, Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs, is an accessible, beautiful, and comprehensive guide to fireflies and their cousins. Faust will discuss her work at the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society in Oak Ridge on March 9 at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and Union Ave. Books will be on hand for book purchases.

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Great Success

Acclaimed novelist Gary Shteyngart talks with Chapter 16 about his memoir, Little Failure

In Little Failure, Gary Shteyngart turns his sharp satirical skills on his own history as a Russian Jewish immigrant coming of age in 1980s New York, and on the long and painful history of his family. Shteyngart will discuss Little Failure at the First Amendment Center on the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville on March 2. 

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The Heart of Hoodoo

Tony Kail examines traditional beliefs and practices still alive in Memphis

A Secret History of Memphis Hoodoo: Rootworkers, Conjurors & Spirituals, is Tony Kail’s comprehensive examination of the traditional folk practices of hoodoo, specifically in Memphis and more generally in West Tennessee and the South. On February 25, Kail will launch the book at A. Schwab on Beale Street. Several additional Memphis events will follow.

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Breathing New Life into an Old Story

Shakespearean James Shapiro talks with Chapter 16 about The Year of Lear

Along with Jerry Brotton, Shakespearean scholar James Shapiro will discuss “Jews and Muslims in Shakespeare’s World” in Hardie Auditorium on the Rhodes College campus in Memphis on February 22 at 6 p.m. The event, part of the Communities in Conversation series, is free and open to the public.

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