Richard Collins’ Cartoons for the Chaos: Poems 1975-2025, was published in March 2026. His previous books include John Fante: A Literary Portrait, No Fear Zen, In Search of the Hermaphrodite: A Memoir, and Stone Nest. Since 2016 he has been abbot of the New Orleans Zen Temple and now resides in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he directs Stone Nest Zen Dojo.
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Chapter 16 talks with Ada Limón, a poet whose work is grounded in the physical world, delighting in nature and urging readers toward curiosity and wonder.
Chattanooga poet Christian Collier focuses on loss and grieving in his debut collection, Greater Ghost, while still infusing every poem with a pulsing, insistent life. He will be the featured author for Writers@Work 2026 in Chattanooga on April 7-9 and a visiting writer at the Southern Literary Festival at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga on April 11.
Nashville poet Donovan McAbee’s first full-length collection, Holy the Body, brims with depictions of the spiritual life that refuse dogma or sentimental cliché. McAbee will discuss Holy the Body at a book launch event at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville on March 24, with featured guests including Ciona Rouse, Thomm Jutz, Mark Jarman, and Mary Gauthier.
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: In Walking Gentry Home, poet Alora Young crafts a family history from the stories passed down through generations.
In her mesmerizing debut, Helen of Troy, 1993, poet Maria Zoccola merges the mythological and the modern, casting Helen of Troy as a restless housewife and mother in Sparta, Tennessee. Zoccola will be a featured author at ETSU’s Emerging Writers Series on February 9.
