Poetry | Chapter 16

Small and Immense

In a new collection, poet Jeff Hardin explores greatness in artists and in nature

By Erica Wright | August 16, 2017

Jeff Hardin’s latest poetry collection, No Other Kind of World, which won the 2016 X.J. Kennedy Award, examines artists’ capacity for greatness and nature’s talent for humbling us all. Hardin will read from the book at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville on August 24; at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin on August 29; and at the 2017 Southern Festival Books, which will be held in Nashville October 13-15.

“Ugly Love”

Book Excerpt: Ugly Love (Notes from the Negro Side of the Moon)

By Earl S. Braggs | August 11, 2017

Earl S. Braggs is the Herman H. Battle Professor of African American Studies at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. He is the author of ten collections of poetry. Braggs is the recipient of the Anhinga Prize, the Jack Kerouac Prize, the Gloucester College Prize, and the Cleveland State Prize. He will appear at the 2017 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 13-15.

Twenty-Nine—and Counting

Humanities Tennessee introduces a stellar lineup for the twenty-ninth annual Southern Festival of Books

July 10, 2017

Humanities Tennessee has announced a roster of award-winning, bestselling authors to headline the twenty-ninth annual Southern Festival of Books, which will take place in Nashville October 13-15. It’s shaping up to be our best year yet!

Not On Our Watch

How the National Endowment for the Humanities helped save literature in Tennessee

By Margaret Renkl | May 4, 2017

With the White House proposing to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities, Chapter 16’s editor looks back at a time when NEH funds rescued writers in Tennessee.

“Don’t Hang Up”

Book Excerpt: Morning Window

By Bill Brown | April 28, 2017

Bill Brown is the author of nine poetry collections and a textbook. His work has appeared in Potomac Review, Southern Humanities Review, Prairie Schooner, North American Review, Southern Poetry Review, Rattle, and River Styx, among others.

Voices Nearby and Far-Flung

ETSU’s spring creative-writing festival features Jamaican poet Ishion Hutchinson

By Emily Choate | April 10, 2017

On April 11 and 12, East Tennessee State University in Johnson City will host its second annual literary festival, offering a slate of workshops, readings, and genre-focused craft presentations. The event culminates with a keynote address by celebrated poet Ishion Hutchinson. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker