Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Erica Wright

Let This Homeplace Speak

An award-winning poet reflects on nature, violence, and personal histories

In his latest collection, Blue If Only I Could Tell You, distinguished poet Richard Tillinghast explores his sharp connection to places past and present. Tillinghast will appear at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on February 23.

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The Girl Their Hymns Forgot

A debut poetry collection grapples with the vulnerability of children in a violent world

In her debut collection, Hive, Nashville poet Christina Stoddard writes in the voice of a teenage Mormon girl about violence and its lifelong effects. Stoddard will read from her work at Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville on December 16.

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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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Monsters, Murders, and Midlife

Bram Stoker Award-winning author Grady Hendrix pits housewives against an immortal villain

In his latest horror-comedy mashup, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Grady Hendrix plumbs vampire legends and suburban expectations to create an original, terrifying, and inexplicably heartwarming tale.

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To Celebrate Being Alive

An award-winning poet reflects on the importance of daily practices

In Dailiness: Essays on Poetry, Mark Jarman considers canonical and contemporary writers while reflecting on the kinship of prayers and poems.

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A Sense of the Possible

Jane Hirshfield talks with Chapter 16 about poetry’s timelessness, camouflage in nature, and why she doesn’t need to be “pop-culture hip”

Celebrated poet Jane Hirshfield talks with Chapter 16 about her new poetry collection, The Beauty, and her new essay collection, Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World

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