Rodney Crowell’s memoir has the critics singing his praises
June 23, 2011 People know him from songs like “Sex and Gasoline,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,” and “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” but singer-songwriter and Nashvillian Rodney Crowell also tested the literary waters this year with his memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, and the reviews have been spectacular.
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A new history celebrates the World War II achievements of the Tuskegee Airmen
June 15, 2011 In their book, The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, historians Joseph Caver, Jerome Ennels, and Daniel Haulman detail the history of one of the most celebrated air-combat units of World War II, men who struggled against racism at home and the Nazis abroad, and who earned their wings as genuine American heroes.
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Poet Tony Tost looks at the Man in Black through the lens of American Recordings
June 3, 2011 Tony Tost has no interest in debunking the myth of the Man in Black. In fact, his new book depends on it. Instead of relying on a hackneyed fact-versus-fiction structure, Johnny Cash’s American Recordings (33 1/3) gives itself over completely to Johnny Cash’s outlaw/prophet mystique. The book’s specific goal is to get to the truths that lie past the treeline of the merely factual. Beyond the cavernous voice, poetic songwriting, and towering stage presence, Tost argues, Johnny Cash’s single greatest artistic accomplishment was the creation of “the mythic version of himself.” In fact, for Tost, the “mythic self” is the single greatest creation America has given the world, for him, Cash, the country, and American Recordings are forever entwined.
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Writer John T. Edge has made a career of chronicling the place where food and culture come together
June 2, 2011 Once upon a time, the humble strip of bacon had yet to become a culinary fetish object, and mac and cheese was simply a side item on the meat-and-three menu, not a concept for modish urban restaurants. Then a young man named John T. Edge began to roam the back roads of the American South in search of good, authentic meals. His journeys mark a stirring new chapter in the evolution of Southern food culture, as Edge has helped to inspire a renaissance in Southern food—its celebration and documentation, its public perception, its dreams for the future. Edge spoke by phone with Chapter 16 before heading to Tennessee to moderate the shrimp-and-grits cookoff at Savor Nashville on June 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hutton Hotel.
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Social entrepreneur Sam Davidson makes the case for following your bliss
June 1, 2011 It’s no secret that stuff doesn’t bring happiness, but that doesn’t stop people from trying. Many of us, according to Sam Davidson, are trapped in meaningless jobs, meaningless relationships, and meaningless lives, all the while accumulating more possessions to cram into our garages and closets. And for Davidson, a motivational speaker and author, even less tangible distractions—long commutes, bucket lists, and complaining—can also keep us from following our bliss. In his new book, 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need, Davidson recommends pursuing a life of passion and purpose––one that not only leads to fulfillment but may also result in a better world. Davidson will appear at BookMan/BookWoman in Nashville on June 2 at 5 p.m.
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Nashville songwriter Rodney Crowell pens a remarkable memoir of his harsh childhood
May 26, 2011 In Chinaberry Sidewalks, a memoir of his impoverished, violent childhood, acclaimed Nashville songwriter Rodney Crowell shows how love can flourish in the most unlikely circumstances. Crowell will discuss the book at a taping of “A Guitar and a Pen Old Time Radio hour with Robert Hicks” on May 26 at 6 p.m. The taping takes place at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin.
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