Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Unspeakable Gift

In Louise Erdrich’s latest novel, LaRose, grief unfolds in a multi-generational tale of justice and atonement

May 18, 2016 In Louise Erdrich’s mesmerizing new novel, LaRose, two neighboring households straddling the border of the Ojibwe reservation become permanently entangled in matters of justice and grief after the accidental shooting of a young boy. Erdrich will appear alongside novelist Jane Hamilton as part of the Nashville Public Library’s Salon@615 series on May 25, 2016, at 6:15 p.m.

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All the Things We Hide

Lee Clay Johnson’s desolate debut novel, Nitro Mountain, exerts a powerful magnetic pull

May 17, 2016 Nitro Mountain, the debut novel from Nashville native Lee Clay Johnson, reveals a strikingly evoked world of depravity, degradation, and bad romance in a remote crevice of Appalachia. Johnson will read from the book at Brown’s Diner in Nashville on May 20, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

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An Antidote to Political Venom

For Congressman Jim Cooper, the cure to this year’s political demagoguery is a good dose of Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men

May 13, 2016 In the first of a nine-essay series commemorating the centennial year of the Pulitzer Prizes, U.S. Representative Jim Cooper reflects on the political relevance of Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1947.

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Seeking Salvation in the Shadows

With his fifth novel, John Hart proves once again that “literary thriller” is not an oxymoron

May 12, 2016 Redemption Road proves once again that John Hart is a master of the literary thriller. His flawed and haunted characters must work in the shadows of modern-day North Carolina to find their way to salvation. Hart will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 19, 2016, at 6:30 pm.

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Secrets, Lies, and Cocktails

Anton DiSclafani’s The After Party follows the tangled friendship of two women among Houston’s social elite

May 11, 2016 Set among Houston’s glamorous oil-industry elites during the 1950s, Anton DiSclafani’s The After Party follows two young women—one conventional, one rebellious—who are locked in a complex lifelong friendship. DiSclafani will discuss The After Party at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 17, at 6:30 p.m.

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Magic, Poverty, and Strength in the Mountains

With Prayers the Devil Answers Sharyn McCrumb offers another compelling Appalachian novel

May 10, 2016 In Prayers the Devil Answers Sharyn McCrumb once again recreates the time, place, and people of her Appalachian homeland. McCrumb will discuss her new novel at free public events in Johnson City, Knoxville, and Nashville.

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