Jericho Brown’s raw, lyrical poetry begs to be sung
January 19, 2011 Jericho Brown’s poetry affects the reader like a song that’s impossible to shake; his beautiful lyrics read like music, hitting the subconscious in the same direct and soul-inspiring way. Brown will read from his work at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center on the Vanderbilt University campus on January 20 at 7 p.m.
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Death-penalty opponent Margaret Vandiver talks with Chapter 16 about the future of capital punishment in the Volunteer State
January 12, 2011 In their essay collection, Tennessee’s New Abolitionists, editors Amy L. Sayward and Margaret Vandiver document efforts to halt capital punishment in Tennessee. In an email interview with Chapter 16, Vandiver, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Memphis, weighs in on the future of capital punishment in the Volunteer State. Vandiver and contributor Pete Gathje, a professor of Christian ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary, will read from Tennessee’s New Abolitionists at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on January 15 at 1 p.m.
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Amy Greene talks with Chapter 16 about her gorgeous new novel, Bloodroot
December 22, 2010 Amy Greene’s first novel—a multigenerational epic called Bloodroot—is getting the kind of attention that most debut novelists can only dream about, garnering reviews in publications as far-flung as The Boston Gobe and Entertainment Weekly. Greene found time in her eighteen-city tour to answer a few questions from Chapter 16.
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Chapter 16 talks with Adam Ross about the most talked-about debut novel of the year
December 21, 2010 By the time Knopf announced last winter—in an open letter to booksellers by legendary editor Gary Fisketjon, no less—that it would launch Nashville novelist Adam Ross’s debut book, Mr. Peanut, with a print run of 60,000 copies, and that it would be published in fourteen countries, chatter in the book world had already begun. The book officially hit shelves in June, by which time the chatter had grown to a roar, with Michiko Kakutani calling it “dark, dazzling” and Ross himself “an audacious new writer.” Ross took time to discuss his novel with Chapter 16 before the launch event at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville.
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Author-physician Abraham Verghese talks with Chapter 16 about his dual career and his latest novel, Cutting For Stone
December 20, 2010 An accomplished physician and teacher, Abraham Verghese put his life on hold to attend the celebrated Iowa Writers Workshop. Since graduating from the program in 1991, he’s balanced his day job with a writing career, publishing two nonfiction books and contributing to the likes of Esquire and The Atlantic Monthly. In his first novel, Cutting For Stone, Verghese tells the story of Marion Stone, an orphaned twin conceived of an illicit affair between an Indian nun and a dashing but volatile British surgeon. With wise and compelling prose, the epic tale weaves its themes of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice together with the destinies of a country and a proud yet fractured family. Verghese appears February 26 at noon in 208 Light Hall on the Vanderbilt University campus, and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on February 27 at 2 p.m.
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How Melissa Duke Mooney channeled a passion for rock ‘n’ roll into a bold new children’s book
December 15, 2010 Melissa Duke Mooney loved music, and when she began shopping for an ABC book for her then 4-year-old daughter, Nola, but found nothing that inspired her, she hit on an idea: what if there were an alphabet book based on rock ‘n’ roll artists, with famous acts representing each of the twenty-six letters? Being the woman she was—a do-er, a crafter, an instigator of many fun projects—Mooney decided that, since the book didn’t exist, she’d have to create it herself. The work that resulted, The ABCs of Rock, is an essential addition to the hip kid’s library, as splashy and loud and irrepressible as the artists to whom it pays homage. Tragically, Mooney died before the book was finished. Her husband Neil saw the project through. Today he talks with Chapter 16 about the book and about the passionate, creative woman behind it.
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