Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Slow Violence, Then and Now

Rob Nixon discusses writers, activists, and the challenges of the Global South

In his award-winning book, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, Princeton professor Rob Nixon looks at writer-activists and environmental justice across the Global South. Nixon will give the Naseeb Shaheen Memorial Lecture, hosted online by the University of Memphis on November 18.

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Harm Reduction

Sam Quinones’ The Least of Us makes a compelling case for our survival

In The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, journalist Sam Quinones reveals the new street drugs that are decimating the lives of Americans — and the people who are fighting them in their communities. Quinones will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 5.

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Vilified and Celebrated

Charles Hughes situates hip-hop star Bushwick Bill in the history of race, sex, disability, and national politics

In Why Bushwick Bill Matters, Charles Hughes explains the impact of an iconic hip-hop artist. He roots the story in both his academic training as a historian and his personal experience as person of short stature.

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The Collateral Consequences of Hubris

Ed Tarkington talks about the class conflicts at the heart of his second novel, The Fortunate Ones

Ed Tarkington’s The Fortunate Ones is a story of love and social status in the New South, where “good people can end up going to dark places when the stakes get high and they come to believe that the ends justify the means.” Tarkington will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books on October 10.

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Opening a Window on the Universe

Jess Walter on the audacity and terror of writing novels

Novelist Jess Walter talks with Chapter 16 about The Cold Millions, the sources of his fiction, and why he’s a “structuralist by nature.” Walter will appear at an in-person session of the 2021 Southern Festival of Books, held at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 4.

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As the Story Goes

Kathi Appelt delivers an epic tale of camels, kestrels, and the power of stories

Kathi Appelt will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books to discuss her new novel for young readers, Once Upon a Camel, the tale of a storytelling camel and the two baby kestrels she protects.

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