In Nashville’s Jewish Community, Lee Dorman has compiled more than 200 photographs from the Annette Levy Ratkin Jewish Community Archive, creating a visual chronicle of the city’s Jewish citizens from 1850 to 1950. Dorman will sign copies of his book at Barnes & Noble Bookseller in Brentwood on April 3 at 1 p.m.
Michael Martone has made a literary career out of re-imagining the ordinary, from the landscape of his native Indiana to the college sweatshirt. In anticipation of his reading at APSU on March 31, he answers questions from Chapter 16 about his fascination with place, his relationship with readers, and whether there’s a need for more college creative-writing programs.
Chattanooga native Coleman Barks has devoted more than three decades to translating the poems of Rumi, and in the process has turned the thirteenth-century mystic into one of the most popular poets in America. Prior to his visit to Austin Peay State University on March 4, Barks spoke with Chapter 16 about why so many contemporary American readers are entranced with an ancient Persian poet.
Photographer Michael Loyd Young has documented cultural practices around the world, but in Blues, Booze & BBQ he turns his camera on a community a little closer to home, capturing the raucous, passionate culture of the Delta blues in more than seventy photographs of musicians, audiences, music festivals, juke joints—and, yes, barbecue.
Kay Ryan has enjoyed critical respect and a slew of honors and awards, but she was reluctant to accept the post of U.S. Poet Laureate. A literary outsider known for compact verse that marries humor and insight, Ryan talks with Chapter 16 about her work and the experience of being the nation’s designated poet. She will give a reading at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on February 16 at 7 p.m. at the University Center Auditorium.
Photographer Bob Schatz and design critic Christine Kreyling combine their talents to create an intimate, surprising portrait of some of Nashville’s most beautiful spaces.
