Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

The Self Without Boundary

An intimate consideration of Walt Whitman

In What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life, celebrated poet and memoirist Mark Doty explores the life and prophetic influence of Walt Whitman. 

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Honoring the Struggle

Fred Arroyo’s Sown in Earth offers a tender understanding of the immigrant experience

In a powerful collection of essays, MTSU professor Fred Arroyo remembers his immigrant father and considers his own evolution as a writer.

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Chaotic, Mysterious, Unfathomable

Blue Marlin is a rollicking road trip through author Lee Smith’s own fictional history

The latest offering from iconic Southern writer Lee Smith is Blue Marlin, a sweet and funny novella loosely based on her family. Smith says in an afterword, “Of all the stories I’ve ever written, this one is dearest to me, capturing the essence of my own childhood.”

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An Eloquent Migration Story

Yuyi Morales’ Dreamers is the 2020 Nashville Reads selection

Yuyi Morales’ bestselling, award-winning picture book is a true tale of immigration and the transformative power of finding one’s creative voice.

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“2010”

Book Excerpt: Year by Year

Lynne Sachs, a Memphis native, has made 35 films, and her work has screened at the New York Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Year by Year is her first published poetry collection. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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“The Bridge”

Book Excerpt: Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves

Michael Ray Taylor’s Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves, a mixture of memoir and subterranean natural history, will be published in August 2020. He chairs the communication and theatre arts department at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

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