Chapter 16

Is There Life On Mars?

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith talks about inspiration, personal reflection, and recitation

By Tom Markham | May 29, 2018

To contemplate the afterlife might seem like a pointless exercise: what can we really know of such matters? When U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith was writing her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Life On Mars, she learned that fulfillment could be found in the contemplation itself. Smith will deliver the Willis Plenary Address at the 2018 Christian Scholars’ Conference held at Lipscomb University in Nashville June 6-8.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Adam H. Alfrey
Arcadia Publishing
128 pages
$21.99

“Drawing from public and private collections of vintage postcards, Adam H. Alfrey, curator of exhibitions at the East Tennessee History Center, illustrates how a rallying cry for preservation, pleasure, and profit sustained a successful grassroots campaign to create Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States.”

—From the publisher

Purple Church

Starner Jones
Texas Review Press
160 pages
$22.95

“Starner Jones’ impressive first novel, Purple Church, is a sharply written narrative of sin and redemption that carries the reader quickly and surely through a fast-paced plot with many unexpected turns and reversals. The surprise ending, which involves the antagonist and protagonist, who have been changed forever in the course of the action, reminds one of O. Henry.”

—George Core, editor, Sewanee Review

The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous)

Chris Chamberlain
Thomas Nelson
288 pages
$24.99

“The Southern Foodie shows you where the South eats and how to create those distinct flavors at home. You’re sure to rediscover old favorites and get a closer look at the delicious new traditions in Southern cuisine.”

—From the publisher

Smokey: The True Stories behind the University of Tennessee's Beloved Mascot

Thomas J. Mattingly
University of Tennessee Press
152 pages
$29.95

“Filled with photographs and memorabilia, including vintage game programs, football schedules, letters, cartoons, and more, this book brings to life the magic of UT football and the endearing canines that have become such an indispensable part of the experience.”

—From the publisher

Outpost Scotland

Abbott A. Brayton
Celtic Cat Publishing
282 pages
$18

“This is a very entertaining book about a part of WWII that is seldom reported and a beautiful area of the British Isles that is sadly neglected as a setting for stories. Brayton has brought them together in a confident, competent, and most entertaining manner.”

—John C. Rains, Major, USAF retired

Isabel and the Invisible World

By Alan Lightman, illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki
MIT Kids Press
40 pages
$18.99

“In simple, engaging language, complemented by luminous artwork from best-selling illustrator Ramona Kaulitzki, author and physicist Alan Lightman unveils the hidden world of light waves—the ones you can see and the ones you can’t.”

~ the publisher