Chapter 16 - Part 514

Rehabilitating Honor

Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah sees honor as the key to moral progress

By Paul V. Griffith | September 20, 2011

September 20, 2011 For many twenty-first-century Americans, the notion of honor rings hollow. The very word “honor” conjures up images of the joust or a gentle slap with a soft leather glove: haughty behaviors perhaps best left to history books. According to philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, however, honor is the very thing we need more of. In The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen, Appiah maintains that, rather than being obsolete, honor can be a fundamental, powerful engine for social change. Appiah will discuss his work at Rhodes College in Memphis on September 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Not What You See, But What You Perceive

Poet Terrance Hayes adopts lightheadedness as an aesthetic stance

By Charlotte Pence | September 19, 2011

September 19, 2011 Terrance Hayes’s fourth collection of poems, Lighthead, won the National Book Award in poetry this year—a prize which is only the most recent iteration of an award-winning literary career. Hayes recently answered questions from Chapter 16 via email prior to his appearances at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on September 21 and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on September 23.

Ninth Inning

Memphis poet Matt Cook lands on the Writer’s Almanac yet again

By Margaret Renkl | September 19, 2011

September 19, 2011 Having a poem read aloud to millions of public-radio listeners by the thick, buttery voice of Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac has to be a high point in any poet’s public life. For Memphis poet Matt Cook, it’s a high with which he’s becoming increasingly familiar: today Keillor read Cook’s poem, “Nonsense”–Cook’s ninth appearance on the program since 2002. Listen to Keillor read it here.

The Lady Vanishes

Stewart O’Nan paints a detailed, recognizable portrait of old age

By Paul V. Griffith | September 16, 2011

September 16, 2011 Emily Maxwell is nearing the end of life. Her beloved husband Henry has preceded her in death; her children have moved away and begun families of their own. In her old Pittsburgh neighborhood, Emily is the last of a faded generation, her remaining friends as decrepit as herself. This may not sound like the premise for a dramatic and engaging novel, but read on. With Emily, Alone, the sequel to his bestselling Wish You Were Here, Stewart O’Nan proves to be a master of wringing the profound out of the everyday. In her taken-for-granted-ness, Emily emerges as a powerful protagonist whose inner life is remarkably—and perhaps typically—intriguing. O’Nan will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.

Sidekick to a Material Girl

In her new memoir, Whit Hill remembers the pre-icon Madonna

By Anne Delana Reeves | September 15, 2011

September 15, 2011 In her new memoir, Not About Madonna, Nashville songwriter remembers her skinny, wise-cracking, indefatigable college roommate—before she became an international icon. Hill will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.

Memphis to London to Broadway

“The Mountaintop” by Katori Hall opens October 13

By Margaret Renkl | September 15, 2011

September 15, 2011 Katori Hall, a 29-year-old playwright from Memphis, has suddenly found herself not just Broadway-bound but also part of an historic moment for the Great White Way: Hall’s play, The Mountaintop, will be performed during the same season as new work by two other African-American women, Lydia R. Diamond and Suzan-Lori Parks.

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