Happiness Is a Sad Song
From the Chapter 16 archive: When he was a child, he was often called “the boy with the hundred year old voice.” In his book Man of Constant Sorrow, Stanley recounts a career spanning six decades and millions of miles.
Q & A
The Body as Storyteller
From the Chapter 16 archive: “When I was a kid, I loved any kind of historical drama. I loved being transported to different worlds, historical or fantastical.” Fiction writer—and new Memphis transplant—Chanelle Benz talks with Chapter 16.
The Choice Either to Wail or Smile
From the Chapter 16 archive: Chattanooga-area novelist Tim Gautreaux talks about the pitfalls of regionalism, the influence of James Dickey and Flannery O’Connor, the challenges of writing short fiction, and the imperatives of religious faith.
Rivers Untamed
The Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, and the Arkansas rivers loom large in American history. In Holding Back the River: The Struggle Against Nature on America’s Waterways, Tyler J. Kelley uses the stories of several memorable characters to examine the history of efforts to tame the rivers. He also considers a daunting future of crumbling levees and rising waters.
Traumas of the Spirit
Disturbing Spirits, by historian Beverly Tsacoyianis, trains its lens on the psychological scars of war and upheaval in 20th-century Syria and Lebanon. She will discuss the book at a virtual event hosted by Novel in Memphis on June 17.
A Good Man in a Nest of Evil
When Evil Lived in Laurel, by legendary journalist Curtis Wilkie, tells a story of civil rights, murder, far-right lunacy, and a brave man who stood up against injustice.
