Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Paths of Resistance

Multimedia artist Jessica Ingram explores the South’s racist history in Road Through Midnight

Multimedia artist Jessica Ingram, who grew up in Nashville, commemorates acts of resistance to segregation and white supremacist terror in Road Through Midnight. The book includes her photographs of sites scarred by racial violence, as well as interviews with victims’ families and journalists who covered the crimes.

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Hapless Hero

Wesley Browne spins a riveting tale in his debut novel, Hillbilly Hustle

When we first meet Knox Thompson, the protagonist in Wesley Browne’s astounding debut novel Hillbilly Hustle, he’s a 40-something, slightly overweight nobody, planning to make a quick cash haul at a backroom poker game. As he soon learns, the best-laid plans often go awry. 

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Staying with the Dream

An aspiring writer toughs it out in Lily King’s Writers & Lovers

The heroine of Lily King’s fifth novel, Writers & Lovers, is 31 years old, deeply in debt, and living in a potting shed, but she won’t let her writing dream die.

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A Sexy, Impressionistic Feast

Leesa Cross-Smith’s story collection makes a joyful statement

Leesa Cross-Smith’s new book of short fiction, So We Can Glow, feels like a radical act of joy. On the whole, the collection is a sexy, impressionistic feast of feminine energy and agency.

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The Ground Is Swollen With Your Name

Trauma runs throughout Tiana Clark’s I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood

The poems in Tiana Clark’s debut collection, I Can’t Talk About The Trees Without The Blood, propel us into encounters with traumas ancient and immediate, blurring any distinctions of time. 

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Elder Appeal

Frail and failing, retired detective Buck Schatz defends lethal punishment for a serial killer he put away

When last we checked on author Daniel Friedman’s character Buck Schatz, we were hoping the long-retired Memphis police detective would make it to his next decade — in spite of his medical issues, miserable outlook, and unwavering commitment to Lucky Strikes. Fortunately for fans of memorable mysteries, Friedman has delivered the third book in the series, which, given that Schatz is now nearly 90, is aptly titled Running Out of Road.

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