Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Putting the Music First

Memphis Mayhem is an insider’s history of the city’s sound

…into the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra and would rival Cab Calloway and Count Basie in popularity. Less lingers over Booker Little Jr., a Manassas High product who was on his way…

Open Secrets and Broken Promises

In David James Poissant’s Lake Life, a family’s farewell to their summer home leads to traumatic reckoning

…that Richard had an affair but can’t bring herself to confront him. Michael feels betrayed by Diane for allowing herself to get pregnant, despite their pledge never to have children…

Love Letter to the Dollyverse

Sarah Smarsh’s She Come by It Natural pays unique tribute to Dolly Parton

…star, but also to flee hardship and the confining strictures around her personal choices — also involved a powerful return home. Parton shows unshakeable commitment to her Smoky Mountain homeland…

Suffering in Coal Country

Chris Hamby recounts miners’ fight for health benefits in Soul Full of Coal Dust

…were unconventional – X-ray readings, CT scans, unreported diagnoses. And while company defense attorneys had limitless financial resources and time to appeal, the fragile plaintiffs might be investing the final

Home, Happiness, and Hurt

Writers of color consider what it means to belong in the South

…their homemaking. In “Duos,” Devi Laskar describes her North Carolina childhood home as West Bengal in the South, filled with the aroma of buffalo carp and ground spices. Regina Bradley…

What We’ll Miss and What We’ll Share

The meaning of the Southern Festival of Books in a season of loss

…Often when we say, “I can’t wait to read this,” what we mean is that we can’t wait to be alone — for the world to fall away and be…

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