When I look across Tennessee’s literary ecosystem, I see how many of our writers feel compelled to write about their relationship to the land. Some have intertwined their literary vision with an environmental mission. Others have devoted their work to excavating truths about our history that have lain buried for too long.
Rickie Lee Jones’ memoir looks back at her family, her career, and the long road to seeing the beauty in her life. Jones will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books on October 9.
Author and physicist Alan Lightman’s first children’s book, Ada and the Galaxies, written with Olga Pastuchiv and illustrated by Susanna Chapman, captures a girl’s joy over visiting her grandfather and exploring the star-filled sky over his home on an island in Maine.
Literary and academic institutions in Tennessee have long served as hubs for acclaimed writing, and none more notably than the University of the South, home to The Sewanee Review and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Both organizations are working to elevate a new generation of writers who better reflect the growing diversity of the region and the country.
This year’s Festival will feature 100 authors, offering attendees the opportunity to connect online with their favorite authors from a variety of genres, including nonfiction, poetry, mystery, and more.
On July 8 at Knoxville’s Lakeshore Park, “Suttree’s Knoxville: A Hymn to the Past in Film & Music” will combine live music, readings from Cormac McCarthy’s novel Suttree, and a film of archival footage to evoke a sense of the city as it was 70 years ago.
