Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

A Tale of Two Mothers

A woman searches for the heart to raise the child of her husband’s mistress in Bren McClain’s debut novel

Bren McClain’s debut novel features a difficult responsibility that initiates a personal transformation. McClain will discuss One Good Mama Bone at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 28 at 6:30 p.m., at Star Line Books in Chattanooga on March 2 at 5 p.m., and at the Brentwood Public Library on April 4 at 6:30 p.m.

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A New Mode of Being

George Saunders’s long awaited first novel examines a president in crisis

With Lincoln in the Bardo, his long-awaited first novel, George Saunders delivers a strikingly original work of fiction as strange as it is stirring. On February 24 at 6:30 p.m., Saunders will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville as part of the Salon@615 series.

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Something for Everyone

The annual Rose Glen Literary Festival in Sevierville just keeps growing in size and stature

Over in Sevierville, the folks at the Chamber of Commerce got the brilliant idea to create a welcoming environment for book lovers in the curl-up-by-the-fire-with-a-good-book depths of an Appalachian February. The Rose Glen Literary Festival will take place in Sevierville on February 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

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The Heart of Hoodoo

Tony Kail examines traditional beliefs and practices still alive in Memphis

A Secret History of Memphis Hoodoo: Rootworkers, Conjurors & Spirituals, is Tony Kail’s comprehensive examination of the traditional folk practices of hoodoo, specifically in Memphis and more generally in West Tennessee and the South. On February 25, Kail will launch the book at A. Schwab on Beale Street. Several additional Memphis events will follow.

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Taking Notes on the Spiritual Landscape

Poet Mark Jarman stalks elusive truths in The Heronry

Mark Jarman’s eleventh poetry collection, The Heronry, contains his central themes of spirituality and nature, his characteristic fondness for abiding in the mystery of ordinary experience, and his quietly fierce moral sense, all conveyed in language that is at once simple and cerebral. Jarman will discuss The Heronry in Buttrick Hall Room 102 on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville on February 23 at 7 p.m.

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Breathing New Life into an Old Story

Shakespearean James Shapiro talks with Chapter 16 about The Year of Lear

Along with Jerry Brotton, Shakespearean scholar James Shapiro will discuss “Jews and Muslims in Shakespeare’s World” in Hardie Auditorium on the Rhodes College campus in Memphis on February 22 at 6 p.m. The event, part of the Communities in Conversation series, is free and open to the public.

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