Chapter 16 - Part 433

Off the Grid

Isabel Allende discusses her new novel, Maya’s Notebook, and explains her affection for vagabonds and the terrors of modern parenting

By Sean Kinch | April 29, 2013

April 29, 2013 Isabel Allende’s new novel, Maya’s Notebook, charts a young woman’s downward spiral into addiction and crime, as well as her path toward healing and redemption. Maya tells the story in her own words, providing an intimate vantage on the trauma that leads to the desire for self-destruction and the love required to overcome it. Allende spoke with Chapter 16 prior to her reading at the Nashville Public Library on May 3 at 6:15 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.

Saying What You Want to Say in Your Own Way

Charles Wright talks about literary style, Southern writing, and how to get into graduate school without really trying

By Amaryllis Lyle | April 26, 2013

April 26, 2013 Acclaimed poet Charles Wright, who hails from Kingsport, Tennessee, recently talked with Georgetown’s Vox Populi about his past work as a young writer. He explained how he started out as a history major at Davidson and how he also flew under the radar when aiming for one of the country’s top graduate writing programs:

Found in Translation

Jennifer Uman discovered the story for her first children’s book through a language she doesn’t speak

By Susannah Felts | April 26, 2013

April 25, 2013 While many illustrated children’s books are collaborative efforts, few involve an international partnership quite like the one that resulted in Jemmy Button, a beautiful new work by Nashville illustrator Jennifer Uman and Italian illustrator Valerio Vidali. Their creation, based on a fascinating true story from the annals of Victorian-era exploration and colonialism, looks at the ways in which linguistic and cultural boundaries and identities can—and can’t—be breached or dismantled. But it also tells a story of estrangement, homesickness, and a journey across the sea that should engage young children and adult readers alike.

“Wedding”

By Lisa Dordal | April 25, 2013

April 25, 2013 Lisa Dordal holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, both from Vanderbilt University, where she currently teaches part-time in the English department. Her poetry has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies, including Cave Wall, Sugar House, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Sinister Wisdom, The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Milk and Honey: A Celebration of Jewish Lesbian Poetry (A Midsummer Night’s Press, 2011), and The Southern Poetry Anthology (Texas Review Press, 2013), among others. Dordal lives in Nashville with her partner, Laurie, and their two retired greyhounds. She will read from Commemoration on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Poet’s Corner series at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville.

Finding Solace

R.A. Dickey makes the rounds to speak with 60 Minutes and the National Post about abuse and redemption

By Bradley Hartsell | April 24, 2013

April 24, 2013 In the Internet era with its unceasing news cycle, athletes tend to speak in platitudes and PR statements, but memoirist R.A. Dickey, the Toronto Blue Jays’ new knuckleball pitcher, has never resorted to trite or banal responses in interviews. Since the publication of his memoir, Wherever I Wind Up (newly released in both paperback and a young-readers’ edition called Throwing Strikes),

Semple Gifts

Maria Semple talks about writing sitcoms, saving frogs, and turning her bestselling novel into a film

By Sarah Norris | April 23, 2013

April 23, 2013 In Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple’s protagonist offers a scathing and hilarious criticism of Seattle and almost everyone she encounters there. Widely cited as one of the best books of 2012, the epistolary novel became a national bestseller. Semple will discuss Where’d You Go, Bernadette, released in paperback this month, during a Wine with the Author evening hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 30 at 6:30 p.m.

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