June 20, 2013 Corey Mesler is the author of five novels, two books of poetry, and three story collections. He lives in Memphis, where he is the co-owner, with his wife Cheryl, of Burke’s Book Store. “Chloe Blooming” is an excerpt from his newest poetry collection, Our Locust Years, available from Unbound Content on July 1, 2013.
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Philipp Meyer’s The Son covers all the bases in an epic novel of Texas
June 19, 2013 Philipp Meyer’s novel The Son ranges across Texas history from the years of the Republic to the oil boom of the 1980s, from the Comanches of the West to the Mexican ranches in the South, portraying a state steeped in violence and injustice. Focused on three generations of a single family, the novel punctures myths of the independent cowboy and the virtuous Native American, but it also provides a nostalgic view of a beautiful land all-too-quickly destroyed by commercial exploitation. Meyer will discuss The Son at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Kim Trevathan paddles upstream in search of transitions between flooded and natural rivers
June 18, 2013 In Liminal Zones: Where Lakes End and Rivers Begin Kim Trevathan chronicles his kayak and canoe journeys upstream from flatwater, current-less lakes and reservoirs to places where rivers rise above the flooding and come alive. In this book that is both narrative and meditative, Trevathan samples rivers from Massachusetts to California to South Carolina, but he keeps returning to the rivers of Tennessee and Kentucky, his homeland.
Michael Streissguth explores the rise of country music’s outlaw movement
June 17, 2013 In his new book Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville, Michael Streissguth provides an in-depth look at the rise of the outlaw movement, how it changed Nashville, and the formidable talents who led the way. Streissguth will discuss Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Humanities Tennessee will sponsor a Muslim literature series in Nashville and Knoxville
June 14, 2013 Humanities Tennessee, host organization of both the Southern Festival of Books and Chapter 16, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to coordinate a five-part reading and discussion program titled Muslim Journeys: Points of View.
Read moreHowlin’ Books in Nashville makes room on the shelf for music books and more
June 13, 2013 Howlin’ Books at Grimey’s Too is the brainchild of bookseller Gwil Owen and bookkeeper Jessica Kimbrough, who saw an under-served audience among Nashville’s readers. In the three months since the store opened, Howlin’ has become ground zero for the city’s bohemian literary set—post-hippies, neo-Beats—and the next generation of Kurt Vonnegut fans couldn’t be happier.
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