Q & A | Chapter 16

Living by the Grace of Inspiration

Richard Tillinghast talks with Chapter 16 about poetry, politics, and being Southern (or not)

By Maria Browning | July 19, 2011

July 19, 2011 Memphis native Richard Tillinghast has been traveling the globe and writing critically acclaimed poetry for more than four decades. Recently returned to the United States after several years in Ireland, Tillinghast answered questions from Chapter 16 about his various roles as poet, translator, critic, and citizen of the world. Tillinghast will give a reading on September 27 at the University of Memphis, followed by an interview on September 28. He will also appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 14-16.

Rehabilitating Butterfat

For Jeni Britton Bauer, making splendid ice cream is one way to make the world a better place

By Susannah Felts | July 18, 2011

July 18, 2011 For Jeni Britton Bauer, the creative force behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, butterfat is a blank canvas on which to explore a palette of exotic, tantalizing flavors: Salty Caramel, Wildberry Lavender, Cherry Lambic, Bangkok Peanut (cayenne pepper, coconut, honey, and peanut-butter ice cream). Her first store outside of her home state of Ohio opened in Nashville a few weeks ago, coinciding with the publication of her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. The book, which has made The New York Times bestseller list, explains how to make foolproof versions of Jeni’s fabulous flavors at home. It also reveals a business firmly in step with current food trends: artisanal production and locally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients. Bauer will demonstrate recipes and sign copies of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home at Williams-Sonoma in the Mall at Green Hills in Nashville on Thursday, July 21, at 3 p.m.

Soaking Up the Voices

Lee Martin talks with Chapter 16 about telling the stories of people on the margins

By Pablo Tanguay | July 15, 2011

July 15, 2011 A Lee Martin novel combines the fast pacing and suspense of a thriller with the craftsmanship and lyricism of literary fiction. One of Martin’s chief tactics is the drawn-out reveal: his characters cling to their secrets as long as they can, unburdening themselves slowly, layer by layer. In Martin’s fiction, revelation can lead to punishment (prison, retribution, outcasting), but it also, almost always, leads to freedom. We are only as sick, his fiction argues, as our secrets. Lee Martin will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville. Today he talks with Chapter 16 about his work.

Putting a Mustache on the Mona Lisa

Marilyn Kallet discusses the art of translating Benjamin Péret’s great work of Surrealist poetry, The Big Game

By Tristan Hickey | July 13, 2011

July 13, 2011 Marilyn Kallet, Lindsay Young Professor of English at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, has always been interested in Surrealism, but translating Benjamin Péret’s The Big Game has proven the most challenging—and most rewarding—of her forays. Kallet will read from the book on July 17 at 3 p.m. at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville. Also reading will be poets Jeff Daniel Marion and Donna Doyle.

Growing Up with the Joneses

In a new memoir, Georgette Jones writes about her relationship with her parents, George Jones and Tammy Wynette

By Paul McCoy | July 6, 2011

July 6, 2011 Not many infants receive recording contracts from legendary producers on the day they’re born, but exceptions are made when the child in question is the only daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, country music’s “First Couple.” In her new memoir, The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George, Georgette Jones offers an intimate portrait of her life with her storied parents and on her own. She will discuss the book at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on July 12 at 7 p.m.

Unstoppable

Meg Cabot is famous for The Princess Diaries and other YA titles, but a new series for adults is the next big thing for this publishing juggernaut

By Fernanda Moore | June 30, 2011

June 30, 2011 Meg Cabot may be the hardest working woman in the book business. To date, she has published more than fifty novels (for teens, preteens, and adults) and shows no sign of slowing down. Her books beget sequels, spinoffs, and both Hollywood and made-for-TV movies. She blogs. She tweets. She maintains a dauntingly thorough website. Today she talks with Chapter 16 prior to her visit to Nashville. Cabot will discuss Overbite at the Nashville Public Library on July 7 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event—a reception, reading, and book-signing—is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale.

Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past

By Tore C. Olsson
St. Martin's Press
288 pages
$30

“I recommend Red Dead’s History unreservedly not only to fans of the iconic video game, but also to anyone who wants to understand the riotousness — from Wild West gunslingers to Jim Crow to lynching — that darkened our past, and which continues to influence our culture. Olsson’s prose is graceful, his analysis profound. This is history at its most accessible and exciting.”

~Peter Cozzens, award-winning author of A Brutal Reckoning