Chapter 16 - Part 449

Jefferson’s Shadow

Jon Meacham talks with Chapter 16 about his new biography of Thomas Jefferson and the politics of optimism that made him beloved

By Tim Boyd | December 6, 2012

December 6, 2012 In a new biography of Thomas Jefferson, Jon Meacham considers not only Jefferson’s political career but also the ways he operated in both the political and intellectual spheres of the early American republic. In recent years, biographers have cast a more critical light on Jefferson’s career, often focusing on the disconnect between his intellectual ideals and his political behavior. While acknowledging that the third president was far from perfect, Meacham makes the case for seeing Jefferson as a pragmatist rather than a hypocrite. Meacham will discuss Thomas Jefferson at the Nashville Public Library on December 13 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

Plantation Drive-By

Once I figured out what a sordid and confused battle my attackers were waging, I was no longer afraid

By Perry E. Wallace | December 5, 2012

December 5, 2012 “People can be incredulous, at times even critical, when I tell them that I always treated these bad actors with civility. They assume I was weak, naïve, or simply just too nice. People actually used to urge me to go into the stands at basketball games in the Deep South and accost the racist cat-callers. The reality is that I always had a specific plan of action, and it was based on a tough-minded assessment of the circumstances, as well as a respect for certain important values.” In an essay for Chapter 16, law professor Perry E. Wallace recalls the lessons he learned at Vanderbilt as the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference.

A Prescription for Stillness

Silas House reminds writers of the crucial importance of focus

By Emily Choate | December 5, 2012

December 5, 2012 “Many of the aspiring writers I know talk about writing more than they actually write,” writes novelist and playwright Silas House in a new essay for The New York Times. House—who two years ago left Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, to teach at Berea College in Kentucky—argues that “too many writers today are afraid to be still.”

Throwing Home

Cy Young Award-winning pitcher R.A. Dickey talks to The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart about memoir

By Bradley Hartsell | December 5, 2012

December 5, 2012 Life changed for R.A. Dickey only a little more than two years ago. Longtime minor-leaguer finally hit the majors with a new pitch: the knuckleball. Since then, he has won the Cy Young Award, given annually to the best pitcher in the National League– another pitcher wins for the American League– as a member of the New York Mets. He scaled Mount Kilimanjaro. He was featured in the baseball documentary Knuckleball!.

Justice in Post-Peace Ireland

In a new novel, James Johnston lets the law, and the reader, decide what peace is worth

By Ralph Bowden | December 4, 2012

December 4, 2012 Originally from Belfast, Knoxville author James B. Johnston left Ireland in 1974, during “the Troubles,” but no Irish native can ever escape the effects of that period. Everyone in Ireland knows somebody—probably many people—who were killed or injured during that time. The Belfast Peace Agreement of 1998 stopped most of the violence, finally, but didn’t entirely settle issues of justice, retribution, and punishment. Johnston’s new novel, The Price of Peace, sets up a fictional case involving a bombing and retribution designed to explore those issues. Is real justice possible after the Peace accord?

Life’s Most Overwhelming Love

In The Foundling Wheel, poet Blas Falconer considers the complicated joy of parenthood

By Maria Browning | December 3, 2012

December 3, 2012 In his second poetry collection, The Foundling Wheel, Blas Falconer writes about the complex emotions of new parenthood. Through rich and arresting imagery, he conveys a vivid sense of life’s most overwhelming love, as well as its effects and resonances within the family and beyond.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher