Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Romance and Revolution

Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors creates a world of false facades and alter egos

In Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors, celebrated writer W. Somerset Maugham visits friends in the Malay Peninsula during a time of personal crisis and political upheaval. Tan will discuss The House of Doors at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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Praise Song and Elegy

Margaret Renkl on beauty, climate change, and her literary devotional, The Comfort of Crows

Essayist and New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl brings her keen eye and tender observations to her Nashville backyard in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year. Renkl will appear in Nashville at David Lusk Gallery on October 14, the 2023 Southern Festival of Books on October 21-22, and Harpeth Hall School on October 24; at The Book & Cover in Chattanooga on November 6; St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Knoxville on November 13; and Novel in Memphis on December 4.  

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Word & Revelation

Poet Terrance Hayes minds and mines language in a pair of new books

In a new poetry collection and a volume of prose and images, poet Terrance Hayes undertakes a multi-faceted exploration of expression. Terrance Hayes will appear at Tennessee State University’s Otis Floyd Campus Center in Nashville on October 18 at 7 p.m. as part of the 2023 Southern Festival of Books.

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Something Between a Letter and a Poem

Lisa Dordal reshapes her late mother’s letters into poetry

Twenty years after her mother’s death, Nashville poet Lisa Dordal unexpectedly found a trove of letters from her. This discovery set Dordal reeling, eventually resulting in Next Time You Come Home, a fascinating experiment in how to honor a loved one’s legacy. Lisa Dordal will discuss Next Time You Come Home at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on Oct. 21-22.

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A Revolution on the Airwaves

Night Train to Nashville tells the story of two men behind WLAC’s groundbreaking R&B broadcasts

Paula Blackman’s Night Train to Nashville fuses family history with music history to chronicle a radio revolution in the Jim Crow South. Blackman will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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Difficult Choices, Few Options

Sadeqa Johnson’s The House of Eve surveys the possibilities for two young Black women in the 1950s

Sadeqa Johnson’s fifth novel, The House of Eve, is a story of young Black women in the pre-Roe era. Johnson will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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