Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Troubled Bones

In a Southern Gothic memoir, Brent Hendricks writes of his pilgrimage to the Tri-State Crematory

September 25, 2013 In his debut memoir, A Long Day at the End of the World: A Story of Desecration and Revelation in the Deep South, Brent Hendricks writes about the “largest mass desecration in modern American history” and of learning that his own father’s corpse lay among hundreds of bodies discarded outside at Georgia’s Tri-State Crematory. Hendricks will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Read more

Against the Appalachian Minstrel Show

Scott McClanahan’s Crapalachia is not like any other mountain memoir you’ve read

September 24, 2013 Crapalachia: A Biography of a Place by Scott McClanahan is a surprisingly poignant work that manages to borrow from the Appalachian storytelling tradition as it confronts, even dismisses, its tropes and trappings. On the one hand, it’s an homage to the people McClanahan has known and loved; on the other, it’s a commentary on the fictive quality of all such biographical projects. McClanahan will discuss Crapalachia at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Read more

Bohemian Rhapsody

Slash Coleman’s new memoir is a funny, funky remembrance of family, art, and love

September 19, 2013 Slash Coleman, an award-winning performer and storyteller, is best known for his one-man Off-Broadway show and PBS special, The Neon Man and Me. In his new memoir, The Bohemian Love Diaries, Coleman shares his story of growing up in the South in the 1970s and 80s, surrounded by a family of off-beat artists whom the young writer finds alternately inspiring and confounding. Slash Coleman will be appearing at the 25th anniversary of the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Read more

Walking to Justice

In a moving work of graphic nonfiction, Congressman John Lewis recalls his path from Nashville lunch counters to the National Mall during the American civil-rights movement

September 9, 2013 Like the acclaimed graphic novels Maus and Persepolis, the new graphic memoir March is a coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of violent, historical confrontation. A collaboration between Representative John Lewis, Democratic congressman from Georgia, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, the book tells the story of Lewis’s involvement in the American civil-rights movement. Congressman Lewis and his collaborators will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Read more

The Seeker King: A Spiritual Biography of Elvis Presley

The Seeker King: A Spiritual Biography of Elvis Presley

The Seeker King: A Spiritual Biography of Elvis Presley

By Gary Tillery
Quest Books
216 pages
$16.95

“Over fifty years ago, a talented young singer named Elvis Presley made one of his first appearances on my TV show in New York. Even then, I could see he had a very special presence. Here in this great new book, I feel like I got to know this complex and remarkable man even more than I did before. The Seeker King is a real gift for Elvis fans everywhere!”

Joe Franklin, legendary broadcaster

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table

By Justin Fox Burns and Amy Lawrence
Thomas Nelson
272 pages
$24.99

“Burks and Lawrence are adding healthy substance to the definition of our Southern food. The Southern Vegetarian is a great addition to any culinary library.”

Hugh Acheson, author of A New Turn in the South

TAKE THE SHORT READER SURVEY! CHAPTER 16 SURVEYOR SURVEYING