Chapter 16 - Part 11

Like Taking a Writer’s Yearbook Picture

Dwight Garner talks with Chapter 16 about being one of the last full-time book critics in the country

By Margaret Renkl | January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014 It’s not easy to find a silver lining in the decline of local literary coverage across the country, but if there must be only a handful of full-time book critics working today, it’s good news, at least, that one of them is Dwight Garner, who writes for the daily New York Times. Prior to his appearance at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on January 16, 2014, at 7 p.m. in Buttrick Hall, Room 101, Garner answered questions from Chapter 16. The event is free and open to the public.

Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity In Early Modern England

Paul Lim
Oxford University Press
512 pages
$74

“Since the Reformation, mystery has always been difficult for Protestants. Paul Lim’s erudite book demonstrates just how challenging it was when, during the English seventeenth century, Christianity’s central mystery of the Trinity moved to the center of political, cultural, and religious controversies. With enormous theological and scriptural learning, Lim lets us see these controversies from the inside. In doing so, he decisively shows the threat that anti-Trinitarianism and (more surprisingly) the defense of Christian orthodoxy together posed to both throne and altar.”

–Jonathan Sheehan, University of California, Berkeley

Calling All Friends of Chapter 16

Please consider a year-end gift to protect the future of this publication

By Margaret Renkl | December 23, 2013

December 23, 2013 At Chapter 16, our mission is to help readers find the books that will change their lives.

Free to a Good Bookshelf

Madison Smartt Bell’s publisher is giving away his new book—but there’s a wonderful catch

By Margaret Renkl | December 7, 2013

December 6, 2013 Madison Smartt Bell’s new book, a collection of short stories called Zig Zag Wanderer, sounds like vintage MSB: “Stretching from New York to Haiti and beyond, these luminous stories reveal Bell’s sharp eye and deep empathy for his characters—punks, hustlers, mixed figures, and lost souls of all ages, backgrounds, and denominations,” according to the book’s publisher, Concord Free Press.

Remembering John

Friends and colleagues recall John Egerton, Nashville’s beloved writer, activist, and mentor

By Margaret Renkl | December 5, 2013

December 5, 2013 As soon as news spread of John Egerton’s death, people who loved and admired him began to share recollections of his lasting impact on the world. In advance of a public celebration of Egerton’s life that will be held at the Nashville Public Library on December 8 at 2:30 p.m., we have gathered together some reminiscences from friends and colleagues in Nashville, as well as excerpts from the many obituaries and essays about John in the national media that have appeared during the last two weeks.

The Head of the Table

Remembering the late John Egerton, who loved the South as fiercely as he fought its injustices

By Margaret Renkl | November 26, 2013

November 26, 2013 It would not be possible to overstate the cultural and literary influence of Nashville author John Egerton, who died last Thursday of an apparent heart attack at age 78. In books like Speak Now Against the Day and Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History, Egerton’s great project was chronicling and interpreting “this eccentric and enigmatic region in which we live,” as he put it. Here at Chapter 16, we mourn the loss of a great writer—and a great friend.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher