A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

The Bridge and its Tolls

November 8, 2012 David Madden’s prodigious research—and his boundless imagination and curiosity—are evident everywhere in London Bridge in Plague and Fire. For readers interested in historical fiction, this novel stands out for its multi-dimensional plot, dynamic wordplay, and richly nuanced characters. The book is a treasure trove of entertainment and suspense. David Madden will read from London Bridge in Plague and Fire on November 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hodges Library Auditorium on the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee. This free public event, part of the “Writers in the Library” series, is co-sponsored by the UT Creative Writing Program.

Under Attack

November 6, 2012 While Grant gathered his forces and defeated Bragg in Chattanooga, Confederate James Longstreet tried to retake Knoxville from Union forces under Ambrose Burnside. The struggle for Knoxville, usually regarded as a sideshow to the more strategically vital Chattanooga battle, has been comparatively understudied, but in The Knoxville Campaign: Burnside and Longstreet in East Tennessee, Earl J. Hess has given it the scholarly but readable treatment it deserves. Hess will discuss and sign his book at the Frank H. McClung Museum on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville on November 11 at 2 p.m.

Imagination and Wit, with a Side of Conscience

October 23, 2012 Since her first novel, The Edible Woman, was published in 1969, Margaret Atwood has always seemed a writer very much of her time and yet prescient, with an almost uncanny ability to show us clearly who we are and where we might be headed. One of a tiny handful of authors who enjoy both critical respect and wide popular appeal, Atwood has used her prominence to advocate for the environmental causes that are her passionate concern. As the Nashville Public Library Foundation prepares to honor Atwood with the 2012 Nashville Public Library Literary Award, Chapter 16 surveys her body of work. Atwood will give a free public reading on October 27 at 10 a.m. in the auditorium of the Nashville Public Library downtown.

Love and Death in Venice

October 22, 2012 When Lady Emily Hargreaves heads to Italy, it’s a fair bet that she isn’t on vacation. In fact, Emily—the heroine of Death in the Floating City, Tasha Alexander’s seventh Victorian mystery—arrives in Venice to solve a murder. To find the killer, she must investigate not only those around her but also the lives of star-crossed lovers who lived centuries before. Fans of Alexander, a former Franklin resident, know Emily will manage it all with charm, intelligence, and ladylike decorum. Tasha Alexander will discuss Death in the Floating City at Parnassus Books on October 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Seeing Better in the Dark

October 17, 2012 Dennis Lehane built his literary reputation on postmodern thrillers that explore the lives of damaged South Boston cops, criminals, and private detectives. His masterpiece, Mystic River, marked him as a genre-bending literary artist who had achieved a rare alchemy of popular and critical appeal. Lehane’s reputation (and audience) has since grown exponentially, thanks to award-winning film adaptations of his work—Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, and Ben Affleck’s Gone, Baby, Gone—and his teleplay work for HBO’s The Wire. In his new novel, Live by Night, Lehane offers all the tropes of noir: morally dubious anti-heroes; femmes fatales; cars, guns, and sharp suits; doomed love; and, above all, violence. Lehane will read from Live by Night at the Nashville Public Library on October 23 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

Very Brave

October 16, 2012 Since his emergence in 1994 with the acclaimed collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Sherman Alexie has mapped a career both prolific and virtuosic, penning dozens of stories, novels, poems, and screenplays. His work has been recognized with countless awards and honors, including the PEN/Faulkner, PEN/Malamud, and PEN/Hemingway Awards and the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Alexie is a gifted speaker, and his dynamic and irreverent performances draw unusually large crowds for literary readings. Sherman Alexie will appear on October 18 at Montgomery Bell Academy as part of the Salon@615 series . The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 6:15 p.m. in the Dead Poets Society Auditorium in Lowry Hall, with a signing to follow. Parnassus Books will be on hand to sell copies.

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