Chapter 16 - Part 3

Intimate Strangers

A new essay collection edited by Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith explores the mother-child relationship

By Susannah Felts | April 8, 2019

Mothers and Strangers, edited by Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith, features explorations of what Serageldin calls the “most intimate of strangers, the women who raised us.” Serageldin and Smith will discuss the essay collection at Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 12. Smith will also appear with Jill McCorkle, Marshall Chapman, and Matraca Berg in a performance of Good Ol’ Girls at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville on April 11.

More Than Merely Fuel in a Box

In a new book, Erin Byers Murray tells the true story of grits

By Susannah Felts | February 5, 2019

Grits: A Cultural & Culinary Journey Through the South, a new book by Nashville writer Erin Byers Murray, tells the story of a dish that has been part of the story of the South as long as the South has been a nameable region.

A Picture of Home, Bittersweet and Ephemeral

Photographer Heidi Ross and writer Ann Patchett capture the essence of the new Nashville—and the ghost of the old city, too

By Susannah Felts | November 5, 2018

Nashville: Scenes from the New American South, the new coffee-table book from photographer Heidi Ross and writer Ann Patchett, is true to its namesake—a glorious blur of music and lights and smiles and signs and people always on the move. Patchett and Ross will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 13 at 5:30 p.m.

Paying Attention

Lee Smith talks with Chapter 16 about writers and writing, memories and remembering

By Susannah Felts | September 28, 2018

In this generous and thoughtful interview, Lee Smith reflects further on her writing life, the way her stories have been shaped by certain books, and the significance of place in her work, among other subjects. Smith will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

The Never-Ending Risk-Benefit Analysis

Kim Brooks heads to Tennessee to discuss parenthood in the age of fear

By Susannah Felts | September 27, 2018

In March of 2011, Kim Brooks made a decision that upended her life: she left her four-year-old son buckled into his car seat while she ran into Target to make one quick purchase. The result of the fallout from that decision is Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear, which Brooks will discuss at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

A New Disequilibrium

Former Nashvillian David Arnold returns to Music City to launch his third YA novel

By Susannah Felts | May 17, 2018

David Arnold’s depiction of teen life is heavily seasoned with dialogue in which teens have their say—in authentic, funny voices—about the absurdities of the now. Arnold will discuss The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 22 at 6:30 p.m. He will appear in conversation with novelists Courtney J. Stevens and Jeff Zentner.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker