Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

The Challenge of Antiracism

Historian Ibram X. Kendi confronts our racist culture — and looks inward

In How to Be an Antiracist, historian Ibram Kendi argues that defeating racism is a conscious choice that requires thoughtfulness and discipline. Kendi will discuss the book at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis on October 23 and at the University of Memphis on October 24.

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Older Ways of Doing Things

John Coykendall recounts a life’s work safeguarding rare heritage crops and traditional farming methods

In Preserving Our Roots, John Coykendall documents his decades-long quest to save heritage seeds and preserve a record of a rural way of life that he fears will be lost forever. Coykendall will appear at the 2019 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville on October 11-13.

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A Great Experiment

The disruptive early days of the TVA become compelling fiction in Watershed  

Mark Barr’s debut novel, Watershed, considers the early TVA era from the ground up, focusing on character and place, and the intimate stories of lives impacted by the agency. Barr will appear at the 2019 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville on October 11-13; at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on October 14; and at Novel in Memphis on October 21.

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Great Expectations

Former UN ambassador Samantha Power considers the reality of imperfect outcomes

Part captivating study in modern foreign affairs and part working mother tell-all, former U.N. ambassador Samantha Power’s The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir should be required reading for anyone who wants to make a difference in a complicated world. Power will appear at the 2019 Southern Festival of books, held in Nashville on October 11-13.

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Means of Survival

Saeed Jones’ memoir delivers a portrait of the artist as a young gay black man

In his memoir How We Fight for Our Lives, award-winning poet Saeed Jones recalls his struggle to find a way to live fully in a world that did not readily provide a place for him. Jones will appear at the 2019 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville on October 11-13.

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Righteous Among the Nations

Tennessee native Chris Edmonds shares his father’s heroic act with the world in No Surrender

In the final days of WWII, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds saved over 200 Jewish servicemen from death at the hands of the Nazis. The inspiring story is told by his son Chris Edmonds in No Surrender: A Father, a Son, and an Extraordinary Act of Heroism That Continues to Live on Today. Edmonds will discuss the book at Books-A-Million in Sevierville on October 11; at the 2019 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville on October 11-13; and at Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt in Nashville on October 30.

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