A Memphis poet considers the legacy of his parents’ wise gift
At the close of the year I found myself thinking about one of the most wonderful, significant Christmas gifts I ever received. I was ten, and I got it because I didn’t get the thing I asked for first.
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There’s nothing like the connections that bring writers and readers together at the Southern Festival of Books
Here it is, finally, the day when writers and readers throng into Nashville on an October weekend seeking fellowship and elevation of the spirit and news and gossip. But especially old friends and new books.
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Novelist and scholar Richard Marius hauntingly recalls the farm where he grew up in East Tennessee
This essay originally appeared in Touchstone, a publication of Humanities Tennessee, in 1986.
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It was 1966, and only one of us died in Vietnam
On Memorial Day I always think of my friend George Mangrum of Lauderdale County, Alabama. This is his story. It needs to be told.
Writers across the state—and the nation—are grieving the loss of Rivendell Writers’ Colony
Rivendell Writers’ Colony, established in 2013, is closing its doors at the end of March. I’m still in shock at the news because Rivendell was flourishing, on course to be a nationally known residency program, but its benefactor has now made other plans for the property.
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In a polarized political world, a holiday meal is unexpectedly universal
My mother has dementia, but her old friends in no way shunned or ignored her. She was clearly happy to be there among them, and she said over and over again what wonderful people they are. There was no talk of politics, race, or religion within my hearing.
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