May 14, 2010 As she prepared to receive her M.F.A. degree in creative writing from Vanderbilt this month, Nashville native Stephanie Pruitt found herself unexpectedly listed—along with the likes of Rita Dove and Gwendolyn Brooks—as one of Essence magazine’s “Forty Favorite Poets.” She spoke with Chapter 16 about the national recognition, and about her dedication to poetry.
May 7, 2010 As rain invaded my basement on the second day of the deluge, I struggled to open a long-stuck garage door that would (maybe, I hoped) let some of the rising water escape. For the next three hours I pushed a big broom through the surf, trying to get the tide to flow out faster than it was flowing in, and rubbing my hands sore in the process. All of this labor was absolutely futile. The sky was still spewing water like a fire hose.
April 30, 2010 Financial historian Gene Dattel literally follows the money in his account of America’s cotton trade. In this compelling analysis, he argues that King Cotton was critical to the economic interests of both the North and the South, and that an “amoral” quest for wealth consistently trumped the nation’s qualms about slavery.
April 28, 2010 In her first collection, Temper, poet Beth Bachmann grapples with the horror and mystery of violent death. The book’s powerful, carefully crafted poems earned her critical raves and the 2008 Donald Hall Prize for Poetry. This spring, Bachmann also won the prestigious Kate Tufts Discovery Award, given each year to “a first book by a poet of genuine promise.” Bachmann answered questions from Chapter 16 in anticipation of the award ceremony in Pasadena on April 28.
April 21, 2010 Celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley, famous for her tell-all books on icons like Frank Sinatra, takes on what may be her greatest challenge: the life story of daytime talk queen—and former Nashvillian—Oprah Winfrey. The queen is not amused. Kelley will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on April 23 at 7 p.m.
Madison Smartt Bell, author of three critically acclaimed novels about Haiti, as well as a biography of Haitian resistance hero Toussaint Louverture, is a longtime supporter of a group of artists there. In response to the earthquake last January, Bell has joined with Nashville’s LeQuire Gallery to display the work of these artists, with proceeds to benefit both the artists and Haitian-run humanitarian organizations. Bell answered questions from Chapter 16 prior to his talk at the gallery on April 15.
