Chapter 16 - Part 13

Mining the Past, Uncertain of the Future

The grief and dislocation of Nick Flynn’s life become a study in bewilderment

By Susannah Felts | November 3, 2011

November 3, 2011 In much of his work—which spans two collections of poetry, essays, a play, collaborations with other artists and writers, and two memoirs—Nick Flynn has grappled with a tragic family history, and he bears his own deep scars, too: years of drug and alcohol use, a string of damaged relationships with women. But out of this well of grief, Flynn has pulled a well-received body of literature. His newest memoir, The Ticking is the Bomb, again mines this difficult past to critical acclaim. It is a survivor’s tale—the voice of a troubled mind still struggling to make sense of the wreckage, still doubtful of its own stability. Flynn will read from his work at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on November 10 at 7 p.m. in Furman Hall, Room 114. The event is free and open to the public.

Great Self-Doubt—and Intense Dedication

Sarah Shun-lien Bynum talks with Chapter 16 about teaching and writing

By Susannah Felts | October 27, 2011

October 27, 2011 In Sarah Shun-lien Bynum’s charming collection of linked stories, Ms. Hempel Chronicles, a young seventh-grade English teacher, Beatrice Hempel, offers lovingly detailed observations of a middle-school ecosystem—observations that are immediately resonant and often suffused with wry humor, both for readers who have taught and those who have done time in those locker-lined halls only as students. Bynum answered questions from Chapter 16 prior to her reading at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on November 3 at 7 p.m.

A Stranger Comes to Town

In Sightseeing, Rattawut Lapcharoensap explores the tension between tourists and locals

By Susannah Felts | October 19, 2011

October 19, 2011 Set in modern Thailand, the seven stories in Rattawut Lapcharoensap’s debut collection, Sightseeing, offer glimpses of the country’s pressure points: the tension between tourists and natives, between citizens and government, and within families. While Lapcharoensap turns an eye to the seamier side of Bangkok and Thai outposts, his characters are often innocents, gentle spirits who are keenly aware of the pain of the world that surrounds them. Lapcharoensap will give a reading at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on October 20.

Shaped by Nature

The island residents in Michael Parker’s new novel are as inescapably affected by ocean and sky as any sandbar or dune

By Susannah Felts | September 30, 2011

September 30, 2011 Based loosely on historical figures, Michael Parker’s new novel, The Watery Part of the World, focuses on the last three remaining residents of tiny Yaupon Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where the people are shaped and worn by the fierce forces of nature. The novel dazzles in its lyrical evocation of the harsh truths and beauties of the Outer Banks and in its piercing exploration of its characters’ hearts. Michael Parker will discuss The Watery Part of the World at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

A Dark Horse No More

After decades of writing brilliant novels that few readers could even find, National Book Award-winner Jaimy Gordon is now a literary star

By Susannah Felts | September 21, 2011

September 21, 2011 In 2010, when Jaimy Gordon won the National Book Award for her sixth novel, Lord of Misrule, small-press loyalists and below-the-radar-fiction lovers found good cause for celebration. The novel is now out from Vintage in paperback, along with a re-release of Gordon’s previous title, Bogeywoman—a very different but equally brilliant work in which Gordon’s talent for inventive narrative voice is on dazzling display. Gordon answered questions from Chapter 16 via email prior to her reading at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on September 22. The event is free and open to the public.

Potter 2G

Victoria Schwab grew up with her head in J.K. Rowling’s fictional world; now she’s writing fiction of her own

By Susannah Felts | August 2, 2011

August 2, 2011 In The Near Witch, the debut young-adult novel from Nashville author Victoria Schwab, an unfamiliar boy shows up in the insular village of Near, which has not been visited by strangers in decades. Soon, children are going missing from their homes, night after night. Only a young girl, Lexi, who narrates the story, is convinced that the strange boy is not to blame. Darkly atmospheric, this story by a twenty-three-year-old debut author is an accomplished take on the classic fairy-tale form. Victoria Schwab will read from The Near Witch as part of the “Ash To Nash Tour” of YA writers. They will be in Kingsport on August 6, Knoxville on August 7, and Brentwood on August 8. For details, visit the tour’s website here.

Keith Urban

By Jeff Apter
Citadel
464 pages
$28

“In lively prose, Apter takes us on every happy twist and frustrating turn that Urban faced on his way to the top.”

~ Elizabeth J. Rosenthal, author of Master of Drums: Gene Krupa and the Music He Gave the World