Q & A | Chapter 16

The Birth of Black Power

Historian Aram Goudsouzian talks with Chapter 16 about the fiftieth anniversary of James Meredith’s March Against Fear

By Clay Risen | June 2, 2016

June 2, 2016 As Aram Goudsouzian recounts in his book Down to the Crossroads, the Meredith March Against Fear represented a crucial turning point in civil-rights history. In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the march, Goudsouzian will discuss Down to the Crossroads at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on June 9, 2016, at 6 p.m.

All the World’s a Stage

In 1616 Thomas Christensen collects enchanting stories and striking art to describe a world in motion

By Aram Goudsouzian | April 15, 2016

April 15, 2016 In 1616: The World in Motion, Thomas Christensen describes a time of great change, remarkable people, and global connections. Christensen will discuss the book at Rhodes College in Memphis on April 21, 2016, at 6 p.m. and at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis on April 23, 2016, at 1 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

Surviving the Family

Siblings stare down their childhoods in Ann Packer’s The Children’s Crusade

By Peggy Burch | April 11, 2016

April 11, 2016 Bestselling novelist Ann Packer will appear at The Skillery in Nashville on April 14, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. to read from and sign The Children’s Crusade, released this month in paperback. The novel, about a family that puts down roots in the 1950s in a wooded area that will become Silicon Valley, shifts among narratives by four siblings, each affected by the chemistry of their mother’s indifference and their father’s devotion.

Dirty, Mangled, Smelly—and as Beautiful as Any Treasure

William Joyce takes young readers on an epic journey to rescue a beloved toy

By Julie Danielson | April 5, 2016

April 5, 2016 Bestselling author-illustrator William Joyce discusses his epic new children’s novel, Ollie’s Odyssey, a tale of love and remembrance. Joyce will appear at Christ the King School in Nashville on April 12, 2016, at 6 p.m., and at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on April 13, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

Holding a Wolf by the Ears

In his Pulitzer-winning history, The Internal Enemy, Alan Taylor recounts how slaves shaped the War of 1812 and altered the nation’s history

By Aram Goudsouzian | March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016 Alan Taylor won the second of his two Pulitzer Prizes in History for The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832. On March 31, 2016, at 6 p.m. at the University Center Theatre on the campus of the University of Memphis, Taylor will deliver the Belle McWilliams Lecture in American History on the subject of “The Economy of Violence: The American Revolution in the South.”

Perilous Waters

Nonfiction master Erik Larson takes readers aboard the final voyage of the Lusitania

By Michael Ray Taylor | March 14, 2016

March 14, 2015 Erik Larson’s Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, now out in paperback, follows the crew and passengers of the doomed ship, along with their pursuers aboard a German submarine, toward their fateful meeting on May 7, 1915. Larson will discuss the book at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on March 26, 2016, at 7 p.m., and at Christian Brothers University in Memphis on April 15, 2016, at 7 p.m.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker