Chapter 16 - Part 515

An Opry Home Companion

With A Guitar and a Pen Old Time Radio Hour, novelist Robert Hicks has created a live broadcast that just might save the printed word

By Sarah Norris | May 25, 2011

May 25, 2011 When Garrison Keillor got the idea for his long-running radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, he was sitting in the Confederate Gallery of the Ryman Auditorium, watching the Opry. Now novelist Robert Hicks has created his own home-grown radio variety show, A Guitar and a Pen Old Time Radio Hour, a combination of the Opry and A Prairie Home Companion, with a dash of Thacker Mountain Radio thrown in. Chapter 16 checked in on last week’s show, which featured readings by novelist William Gay and musical performances by Holly Williams, daughter of Hank Jr. Another edition of “A Guitar and a Pen Old Time Radio Hour” will be taped at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin on May 26 and will feature Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, Fayssoux Starling McLean, and Rodney Crowell. The show starts at 6 p.m. Cost is $15, and seating is limited. To make reservations, call 615-794-5527.

BEA Swag

Two Tennessee writers and a Tennessee bookstore win prizes at BookExpo America

By Margaret Renkl | May 25, 2011

May 25, 2011 Many literary awards ceremonies are held in connection with BookExpo America, the annual trade show of the North American publishing industry, and this year Tennessee made a strong showing at both the Audies, which honors a variety of titles in audiobook format, and at the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast, hosted by the Women’s National Book Association, where this year’s Pannell Awards—one to a general bookstore and one to a children’s specialty store—are announced.

Karma Isn't Quick Enough

In Lorraine López’s new novel, a host of hangers-on defeats all Gandhian goals of patience and forgiveness

By Susannah Felts | May 24, 2011

May 24, 2011 For Marina Lucero, as for Sartre, hell is other people. Try as she might, Marina, heroine of Lorraine López’s new novel, The Realm of Hungry Spirits, can’t seem to wrench free of the gravitational pull of her family and friends. While she feels a kinship with the teachings of the Dalai Lama and Gandhi, her loved ones constantly challenge her efforts at greater compassion—sometimes with comic results.

Connections

John Egerton reflects on the history in a name

By Margaret Renkl | May 24, 2011

May 24, 2011 As construction begins on a Nashville road that connects the Tennessee State University campus with Centennial Park, writer John Egerton considers the significance of the names of local roads: “I found myself thinking about how much history is yielded up in the words and symbols of a good map when I saw in the paper recently that construction of a connector street between 28th and 31st avenues will be given a ceremonial send-off today, just a couple of miles west of the Metro Courthouse,” he writes in an op-ed piece for the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal.

Mama? She's Crazy

Film star Ashley Judd turns a grim upbringing––and crushing depression––into a life of service

By Paul V. Griffith | May 23, 2011

May 23, 2011 It may appear that Ashley Judd has led a charmed life. The daughter/sister of famed country duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd, she seemed to appear out of nowhere during the mid-90s, her pixie-like presence lighting up films such as Smoke, Kiss The Girls, and 2004’s De-Lovely. But there’s a dark side to her fame—and to the seemingly wholesome Judd empire itself. In All That Is Bitter & Sweet, Judd documents her lifelong battle with depression and dysfunction, and the discovery of her true calling: social activism. By recognizing herself in the lost children of Africa and Asia, Judd has emerged as one of the most recognizable faces in the international fight for both HIV prevention and gender equality.

The Art of Recovery

A new book by the Creative Arts Project spotlights the healing power of art

By Joe Nolan | May 20, 2011

May 20, 2011 Challenged Lives: Artistic Vision, a colorful new art book by the Creative Arts Project, is bringing attention to a number of Middle Tennessee creators, showcasing their work as well as their personalities and their thoughts on the creative process. Years in the making, it’s the latest effort by this Nashville-based organization to raise awareness about mental illness and addiction, and to draw attention to the life-changing benefits of art therapy. Jane Baxter, director of the Creative Arts Project, recently answered questions via email about the book, the artists it showcases, and the value of creative therapy.

Driving the Tide (The After Dunkirk Series, Book 6)

By Lee Jackson
Severn River Publishing
444 pages
$19.99

“Driving the Tide is the riveting sixth installment in the After Dunkirk family saga, bringing to life the darkest pages of World War II―and the unflinching bravery of regular people who rose to the challenges of their times.”

~ the publisher