Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Portrait of the Artists

Ada Calhoun’s Also a Poet takes on entwined familial and artistic legacies

When Ada Calhoun undertakes the task of completing a literary biography of Frank O’Hara — a project that had stumped her art critic father decades earlier — she engages complex dynamics of familial angst and artistic ambition, which she details in Also a Poet: Frank O’Hara, My Father, and Me. Calhoun will appear at the 2022 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on Oct. 14-16.

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Everybody Has to Do Something

The effects of climate change endanger the lives of four teens

“Nature can take care of itself,” proclaims a climate change denier in Alan Gratz’s latest middle-grade thriller, Two Degrees. But by the end of the story, Gratz and his four teenage protagonists have made a strong case that the opposite is true. Alan Gratz will appear at the 2022 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 14-16.

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Candlelit Suspense

A gripping story set in the waning days of the Italian Renaissance

In The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell spins a tale that flows like quicksilver beneath heavy gowns and gilt pageantry. O’Farrell will appear in conversation with Ann Patchett at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 12.

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The First Novel

The Hero of This Book ponders the story of a mother and daughter

Elizabeth McCracken’s new novel, The Hero of This Book, offers a dazzling, prismatic story of an author reflecting on her mother and her writing. McCracken will discuss the book with Ann Patchett at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 10.

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Irrepressible Artist

Steve Stern paints a fictional portrait of Chaim Soutine

Steve Stern’s The Village Idiot, a fictionalized account of the life of painter Chaim Soutine, dives into the relationships, politics, and context that shaped his often overlooked masterworks. Stern will appear at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on October 13.

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Making It in Music City

Margo Price’s Maybe We’ll Make It is an artist’s unflinching self-portrait

Margo Price’s Maybe We’ll Make It recalls her gritty struggle for a music career. Price will appear in Nashville at Grimey’s New and Preloved Music on October 4, the 2022 Southern Festival of Books on October 14-16, and Parnassus Books on November 16.

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