Chapter 16 - Part 466

A Drifter’s Story

Chapter 16 talks with biographer Diane Diekman about the great Marty Robbins

By Paul McCoy | March 26, 2012

March 26, 2012 When he was a young singer, they called him “the boy with the teardrop in his voice.” Two decades later, as the Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman to its new home at Opryland, Marty Robbins was the last artist on the old stage and the first to perform on the new. In her latest biography, Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins, Diane Diekman provides a remarkably detailed narrative account of one of country music’s most beloved figures. Diekman will discuss and sign her book at 12:30 p.m. on March 31 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. She answered questions from Chapter 16 via email in advance of her appearance.

Good for Women

In a new essay for The Wall Street Journal, novelist Ann Patchett wades into politics

By Margaret Renkl | March 26, 2012

March 26, 2012 Political commentators keep expressing astonishment that the question of the right role of women in society has emerged as a source of debate during an election season in the twenty-first century. But Nashville novelist Ann Patchett was clearly ready with a defense of the sexual revolution that took place more than fifty years ago and gave the women the single most powerful tool in achieving political and professional equality with men. In a new essay for The Wall Street Journal Patchett explains why politicians “can have my birth-control pills when you pry them out of my cold, dead hands”:

The Passionate Storyteller

With a second-person point of view and an eye for the absurd, Mark Richard has crafted an affecting memoir of redemption and grace

By Sarah Norris | March 23, 2012

March 23, 2012 Mark Richard was born with a disability, and both his physical challenges and the assumptions they inspired in others informed his sensibilities, set the stage for his brilliant memoir, House of Prayer No. 2, and ultimately explains why he is now one of the South’s finest writers. Mark Richard will appear at Lipscomb University in Nashville on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ezell Center. The lecture is free and open to the public. Click here for event details.

Getting a Good Look at the Summit

Novelist Tony Earley talks with Chapter 16 about fatherhood, Southern identity, the need for literary gatekeepers, and why he thinks J.K. Rowling could take Kim Kardashian in a fight

By Margaret Renkl | March 22, 2012

March 22, 2012 If critics have anything to say about it, Tony Earley’s work will last. In 1996, on the strength of one story collection—Here We Are in Paradise (Little, Brown, 1994)—and zero novels, Earley found himself on Granta’s list of “20 Best Young American Novelists.” In 1999, The New Yorker named him to its inaugural list of the best young writers in the country. Whenever he publishes a book, it invariably lands on the best-of-the-year lists, and nearly two decades after he published his first book, all four of his titles remain in print. Tony Earley will give a reading at Christian Brothers University in Memphis on March 22 at 7 p.m. in Spain Auditorium. He answered questions from Chapter 16 by email prior to the event.

To Grant a Pardon?

Jonathan D. Sarna’s excellent new study of General Grant’s notorious Civil War order expelling “Jews as a class” suggests that it had unexpectedly positive consequences for America’s Jewish community

By Tim Boyd | March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012 Jonathan D. Sarna’s When General Grant Expelled the Jews is a masterfully written study of the “General Orders No. 11” issued by Ulysses S. Grant in late 1862, a decision that removed all Jewish residents from the military theatre under Grant’s control. Sarna examines the long-term consequences of the order, both for American Jews as a whole and for Grant as an individual. By considering Grant’s motives, the reaction of Jewish leaders in the U.S., and the impact the orders had on Grant’s relationship with the Jewish community for the rest of his career, When General Grant Expelled the Jews persuasively argues that Grant’s actions ultimately strengthened the position of Jews in America and pushed him to seek his own personal redemption. Sarna will discuss the book at the Jewish Community Center in Memphis on March 25 at 2 p.m. Click here for details.

Beautifully Bound

The Beautiful Books exhibit at Vanderbilt University celebrates books as objects of art

By Joe Nolan | March 20, 2012

March 20, 2012 Before the invention of the printing press, books were handwritten on handmade materials, and every volume was unique. Book as Art: Beautiful Books, an exhibition which includes works on display at a number of venues around the Vanderbilt University campus, offers examples of bookmaking arts through the ages—the oldest book in the collection dates from 1480—and will run through August 12, 2012.

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones

By Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren, curated by Rebecca Seaver
Ten Speed Press
336 pages
$50

“Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton’s life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now.”

~ the publisher