Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

“Statues in the Park”

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.

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Overcoming the Divide

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.

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Merry Christmas! You’ve Got Cactus Man

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.

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Especially at Christmastime

A beloved aunt lives on in holiday memories

My Aunt Ruby was an excellent cook. And it became her tradition to come to our house on Christmas Eve to help my mother prepare turkey dressing for our dinner the next day.

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