Chapter 16 - Part 566

Writing the World

Kate Daniels talks with Chapter 16 about her new poetry collection, A Walk in Victoria’s Secret

By Charlotte Pence | November 16, 2010

November 16, 2010 Poet Kate Daniels recently published her much anticipated fourth collection, A Walk in Victoria’s Secret. A professor in Vanderbilt’s creative-writing program, Daniels has received numerous honors, including the 2011 Hanes Award for Poetry, which has been given by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. She recently answered questions about her work via email prior to her reading on November 17 in Nashville at Vanderbilt’s Buttrick Hall, room 102, at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Even Beauty Queens Get the Blues

Birmingham sets the stage for Fannie Flagg’s latest comic novel

By Faye Jones | November 15, 2010

November 15, 2010 if you’re a former Miss Alabama, and you’re determined to do away with yourself with as little attention and mess as possible, you have quite a bit of planning to do. And though a suicide attempt might not seem like the best foundation for a comic novel, in Fannie Flagg’s newest, the ever-present humor is neither mocking nor unsympathetic. Flagg will discuss and sign I Still Dream about You at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on November 16 at 7 p.m.

The Brits Love Rebecca

Rebecca Skloot wins prestigious prize in the U.K.

By Margaret Renkl | November 15, 2010

November 15, 2010 Rebecca Skloot’s debut work of nonfiction has won the Wellcome Trust book prize for the best work of fiction or nonfiction with a medical theme. The award carries a prize of £25,000 (about $40,000).

Screwball Bestiary

David Sedaris talks with Chapter 16 about undecided voters, Loretta Lynn, life on book tour, and his new collection of unconventional animal fables

By Margaret Renkl | November 12, 2010

November 12, 2010 Sedaris’s trademark brand of humor is marked by equal doses of caustic wit and the sweet wistfulness of the true romantic. Sedaris never misses a chance to point out the absolute idiocy of human beings—including, invariably hilariously, his own mistakes and misadventures—but it’s impossible to read his essays and stories without concluding that he secretly enjoys the parade of human foolishness he’s treated to every day. He recently spoke with Chapter 16 prior to his signing of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on November 13 at 3 p.m.

In Memoriam

Diann Blakely appears in Best American Poetry

By Margaret Renkl | November 11, 2010

November 12, 2010 In today’s edition of The Best American Poetry Diann Blakely writes of “close friends / Who mute a howling loneliness with cards.” Read the full poem, a valediction for poet William Matthews, here. To read her prose remembrance of Matthews, click here.

End Times at the Circus

Kristin O’Donnell Tubb’s new middle-grade novel captures another age in turmoil

By Lacey Galbraith | November 9, 2010

November 9, 2010 Hope McDaniels, the star of Kristin O’Donnell Tubb’s latest middle-grade novel, is a thirteen-year-old magician’s assistant. Hope has crawled inside a box to be sawed in half, stood still while knives were thrown her way, and levitated in front of an awed audience. Selling Hope takes place in 1910, during “the world’s first case of mass hysteria,” when the Earth was due to pass through the tail of Halley’s Comet. Tubb will launch the book at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on November 13 at 2 p.m.

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