Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Finding the Divine

Charles Strobel’s memoir reflects his legacy of communing with others

The Kingdom of the Poor, Charles Strobel’s posthumous memoir, is a story-rich portrait of his life of service to Nashville’s poor and disenfranchised. Editors Katie Seigenthaler and Amy Frogge, along with Room in the Inn executive director Rachel Hester and journalist Kay West, will discuss the book at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville on September 14.

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How to Start a Civil War

Erik Larson puts the reader in the action during the lead-up to America’s deadliest conflict

In The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, bestselling author Erik Larson offers a compelling and sobering account of the months between the 1860 presidential election and the attack on Fort Sumter. Larson will appear at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville on October 24 as part of the 2024 Southern Festival of Books. 

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Unapologetically Unafraid

Darius Stewart’s lyrical memoir voices the complexities of being Black, gay, and Southern

Be Not Afraid of My Body: A Lyrical Memoir, the second book by Knoxville native Darius Stewart, takes readers on a journey of self-discovery as it unearths the complexities of his childhood and investigates life after addiction and health challenges, including an HIV diagnosis.

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Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

Keith Wood paints a portrait of a Memphis baseball team and the Black community that loved it

Keith Wood, a leading scholar of sports in Memphis, reconstructs the history of the Memphis Red Sox, a longstanding team in the Negro Leagues and a pillar of the city’s Black community.

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Big Top Labor

Andrea Ringer rewrites the history of the circus from the workers’ perspective

From trapeze artists to roustabouts to elephants, the golden age of the American circus depended on its workers. Andrea Ringer’s Circus World tells their story.

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Existing Within Each Moment

Wei Tchou’s experimental memoir speaks several languages at once

Wei Tchou’s Little Seed weaves the author’s personal history with forays into the natural history of ferns, creating a deeply unconventional memoir.

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