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.
MTSU English professor Jid Lee remembers a Korean childhood marked by violence and despair. Urged to cultivate a warrior spirit but also to accept without question the patriarchy of her culture, Lee was trapped: “I felt I was in a tiger’s stomach. I wanted to get out.” To Kill a Tiger: A Memoir of Korea is the story of her release.
Americans across the political spectrum like to complain about the unchecked power of the Supreme Court. In The Will of the People, former Vanderbilt law professor Barry Friedman offers a meticulously researched account of the Court’s most important decisions, from Marbury v. Madison to Bush v. Gore, and reveals that the public has always had the last word.
Scientists who write are no rarity, but Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams, is virtually unique in combining a significant career as a research scientist with an equally significant career as a writer of literary fiction. Most people experience a certain tension between their logical and affective selves, between cold rationality and a more intuitive, artistic way of interpreting the world, but the Memphis native seems to have escaped that process, giving his intellect free rein in both realms. He is credited with discoveries that have wide application in astronomy and astrophysics, and he has published a dozen books, including several collections of his essays and four bestselling, highly regarded novels.
A passionate listener and an erudite chronicler of every style from blues to punk, music critic Robert Palmer was admired by many of the artists he wrote about, and by legions of fans who followed his work in The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In Blues & Chaos, editor Anthony DeCurtis brings together a selection of articles and reviews from Palmer’s 20-plus years as the premier American music writer.
