Nonfiction

May 10, 2011 Library shelves are heavy with testimonials to the value of literature: more recently, Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon and How to Read and Why, or, for the previous generation, the works of Northrop Frye or Charles Van Doren, to name only a few. Arnold Weinstein’s Morning, Noon, and Night deviates from the formula chiefly by steering away from pedagogical sermons and, instead, inviting its readers to examine themselves through life’s stages—growing up and growing old; innocence and experience; love and death—with a verve and generosity atypical of literary criticism. In fact, it’s almost unfair to call Morning, Noon, and Night a work of criticism; it stands more as an act of interpretive advocacy.

May 9, 2011 In the introduction to his new book, Dirty South, Ben Westhoff outlines the New York origins of rap, its transformation into a unique West Coast style, and the deadly rivalries that created real body counts between the warring factions. But the real focus of Dirty South is the rise of a third front that finds artists and groups from below the Mason-Dixon Line dominating the charts and soaking up the spotlights. It’s a style that emphasizes danceable bass and favors grunts and chants over metaphor-heavy lyrics. More than just a music book, Dirty South is an exploration of the racism, poverty, joie de vivre, and pride that are all a part of the art and lives of some of the biggest rap artists in the South and the world. Along the way, Westhoff plays equal parts flatfoot reporter and gonzo journalist, immersing himself—and his readers—in a culture that is as vibrant and provocative as the music it’s become known for. Westhoff will discuss Dirty South at DK Booksellers in Memphis on May 9 at 6 p.m.