A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

Hollywood Bound

March 28, 2014 Coming soon to a theater near you: Ruta Sepetys’s bestselling (and acclaimed) YA novel, Between Shades of Gray and R.A. Dickey’s bestselling (and acclaimed) baseball memoir, Wherever I Wind Up.

Making Flesh and Bone of the Man in the Woods

March 13, 2014 Crossville native—and sometime Chapter 16 contributor—Michael Sims has had an enviably diverse career, following his own interests to subjects that include science, children’s authors, Victorian detective stories, and now Henry David Thoreau. Sims’ portrait of Thoreau reveals a young man fully engaged with the world, quirky and playful, and nothing like the hermit history has constructed.

The Sweetest Legacy

March 7, 2014 I am a little embarrassed now that I hesitated to let my daughter sign up to be a Daisy. I was never a Girl Scout myself; all I knew about the organization was that they sold cookies and that some of those cookies were called Thin Mints. I assumed that “Girl Scouts selling cookies” really meant “parents selling cookies,” and I would frankly prefer to clean shower drains for two months.

A Small Toot of Our Horn

December 12, 2012 Humanities Tennessee’s literary website, Chapter 16, has won the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize from the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The prize is awarded for innovative programs that have had a significant impact on citizens, organizations, or communities in their states. Chapter 16 is the leading provider of book-related content in Tennessee.

Razor Close to Being in Love

October 9, 2012 Mark Helprin’s first novel in seven years, In Sunlight and in Shadow, makes post-war New York City an essential part of the love story between a returning soldier and a young woman who’s already engaged to be married. Early critical praise for this new novel calls attention to its gorgeous use of language, a trademark of the Helprin’s work. He is the bestselling author of the modern classics Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War, among other novels. Helprin will discuss In Sunlight and in Shadow at Nashville’s Southern Festival of Books on October 13 at 12:30 p.m. in the Grand Reading Room at the Nashville Public Library. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Razor Close to Being in Love

Olivia Weems Renkl, July 23, 1931 – June 11, 2012

Dear Friends:

We are sad to report the passing of Olivia Renkl, the mother of Chapter 16 Editor Margaret Renkl. Chapter 16 will be on hiatus for a few days.

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