The year was 1966, and two icons came to honor Fisk University’s centennial
We had seen Poitier’s most recent movie, A Patch of Blue, and we understood — how could we not? — the cultural relevance of his career. In films like Lilies of the Field, A Raisin in the Sun, and now his latest, Poitier embodied a reality he thought America must see: a Black man of dignity and strength.
Read more
Book Excerpt: Intimacies in Borrowed Light
Intimacies in Borrowed Light is the first full-length poetry collection by Knoxville native Darius Stewart, who is also the author of three chapbooks. He received the 2021 Emerging Writer Award from the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame and is currently a Lulu “Merle” Johnson Doctoral Fellow in English Literary Studies at the University of Iowa. He lives in Iowa City with his dog, Fry.
Read more
David Dark is still questioning everything
Nashville writer David Dark has revisited his 2016 book, Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious, creating a “reframed and expanded” new edition. He’ll appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on January 7.
Read more
Award for writers from marginalized communities names first recipient
Humanities Tennessee launches a new initiative for aspiring critics and culture writers, awarding its first fellowship in criticism to Kashif Andrew Graham.
Read more
A new illustrated history covers 70 years of Sun Records
The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll combines the talents of writers Peter Guralnick and Colin Escott, along with a trove of striking photos, to survey the 70-year history and musical legacy of Sun Records.
Read more
Sometimes a community needs a Christmas tradition all its own
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: He appeared at my threshold late one night, uninvited: Cactus Man, a ceramic figure in biker regalia, planted with a suggestive succulent. What began as a gag gift from my Ultimate Frisbee teammates grew into an outrageous ritual that, for our little tribe, came to embody the Christmas spirit.
Read more
