Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

What Would Willie Do?

In It’s a Long Story, Willie Nelson expounds on the downhome zen of songwriting

June 29, 2015 Picking up just a short time after the end of his first memoir, 1988’s Willie: An Autobiography, It’s A Long Story is Willie Nelson’s examination of his own lifelong persistence and tenacity, as well as a rumination on the value of family, friends, and self-fulfillment through music.

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A Cookbook, of Sorts

Murfreesboro poet Gaylord Brewer whisks together recipe, memoir, and verse

June 26, 2015 With a subtitle—a “A Cookbook-Memoir, of Sorts”—Gaylord Brewer acknowledges that The Poet’s Guide to Food, Drink, & Desire resists easy categorization. And the “of sorts” quality is exactly what makes this collection of essays and recipes a must-read for home cooks who sometimes fancy themselves chefs who happen to have been spared the nuisance of a restaurant.

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The Art of Self Defense

Robert Blagojevich’s new memoir testifies to the injustice of the federal justice system

June 23, 2015 Robert Blagojevich was indicted and tried, along with his brother Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. In Fundraiser A: My Fight for Freedom and Justice, Blagojevich describes a journey through the looking-glass world of investigators, prosecutors, judges, juries, and media that left him bitter but emboldened. He will discuss his memoir at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 27, 2015, at 2 p.m.

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Capital Offense

Veteran activist Joseph B. Ingle reveals the systemic racism behind America’s death penalty

June 22, 2015 A Nashville teacher, writer, and anti-death-penalty activist, Joseph B. Ingle has sat at the side of too many condemned men to count. His new book, Slouching Toward Tyranny, indicts not only the death penalty but also the systemic racism behind it.

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Tell About the South

Harrison Scott Key’s new memoir attempts to reconcile the man he is with the man he sought to escape—his father

June 11, 2015 In a new memoir, Harrison Scott Key recalls his father’s rage against his boss, and books, and the Boy Scouts, and any sign of civilization that he stumbled across. Key will discuss The World’s Largest Man at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on June 15, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

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Utopia, Nostalgia, and the Bomb

Oak Ridge tells triumphant stories about its past; Lindsey A. Freeman asks if they’re the right stories

June 9, 2015 In Longing for the Bomb, sociologist Lindsey A. Freeman tackles the myths of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and their meaning in a nuclear America. Freeman will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on June 14, 2015, at 2 p.m.

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