Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Migrants Through Time

Mohsin Hamid talks with Chapter 16 about his acclaimed literary bestseller, Exit West

Mohsin Hamid’s work conveys a deep moral questioning and a valiant effort to make sense of a world turned upside down. In this 2018 interview, Hamid answers questions from Chapter 16 about his literary influences and his fourth novel, Exit West.

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Bringing Justice to Young Readers

Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor talks with Chapter 16 about her two new books for children

In an interview conducted prior to her visit to the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, The Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, discussed her books for young readers, Turning Pages: My Life Story and The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor

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Democracy’s Double-Edged Sword

Kellie Carter Jackson explains how black abolitionists employed the political language of violence

In Force and Freedom, historian Kellie Carter Jackson places black abolitionists at the center of the coming of the Civil War. 

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The Glorious Pastime: Paul Vasterling

Nashville Ballet artistic director Paul Vasterling on Lincoln in the Bardo and tsundoku

Paul Vasterling, artistic director of Nashville Ballet since 1998, has created more than 40 works, including the beloved Nashville’s Nutcracker. For the latest installment of “The Glorious Pastime,” he shares some thoughts with Chapter 16 about his first literary love and the genius of George Saunders.

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For Something Other Than Himself

Renowned illustrator and book artist Barry Moser reflects on his work

Barry Moser, a Chattanooga native, is a renowned illustrator, printmaker, and book artist, and he’s well known for his portraits of literary greats. In a wide-ranging conversation with Franklin artist Carolyn Beehler, Moser talks about his work, the art world, and what makes the perfect bookstore.

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Intertwining Personal and National Histories

Michael Knight’s third novel seeks to make the comic campus story into something deeper

Knoxville novelist Michael Knight discusses the intersection of the personal and political in his third novel, At Briarwood School for Girls, set at a prep school in 1990s Virginia.

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