A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

The Provenance is Part of the Story

In 2011, Karen Hayes and Ann Patchett opened Parnassus Books, which celebrates its fifth anniversary today. During that time, the Nashville store has doubled its space, bought a bookmobile, and brought authors, hundreds of them, to town. And they’re just getting started. Drop by the store today for special anniversary discounts, giveaways, prizes—and birthday cake.

One Long Headwind

todaywillbedifferentSpending a day in the mind of Eleanor Flood in Maria Semple’s third novel, Today Will Be Different, is a little like spinning around and around until you fall down—only funnier. Semple will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Poetry at Gunpoint

edgeofthewindcover2In Edge of the Wind, a compelling and disturbing new novel, poet James E. Cherry explores the connection between jazz and poetry—and between racism and mental illness.

The Thing’s the Plays

first-folio“First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare,” a new exhibit at the Nashville Parthenon, brings a four-centuries-old copy of the Bard’s first collection to Tennessee, and it is not to be missed. The rare book—on loan from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death—will be on display from November 10, 2016, to January 8, 2017

Maternal Longing

In Brit Bennett’s debut novel, The Mothers, a teenage girl’s casual fling in the wake of her mother’s suicide profoundly recalibrates her life and the lives of those closest to her. Bennett will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Where the Characters Quicken to Life

remember“Family life seems given to a kind of emotional suspense, which in no way feels less tense or compelling than other kinds of suspense.” Prior to his November 7 reading at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Bret Anthony Johnston talks about creativity, collusion with imaginary characters, and his acclaimed novel, Remember Me Like This.

Where the Characters Quicken to Life

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