The folks who bring us the incomparable Southern Festival of Books, whose annual event this weekend is previewed extensively in the fresh Scene, today launched a new website called Chapter 16. The online journal — "a community of Tennessee writers, readers & passersby" — offers rich Tennessee-centric content, including book reviews, author Q&As, news about upcoming events and a selection of handy literary links. The site also will offer reviews of non-Tennessee writers who are making reading and/or signing appearances anywhere in the state.
Humanities Tennessee has been so engrossed in planning and preparing for the book fest, which begins tomorrow and will feature more than 200 authors, that the website launch is only a soft one. New features will be added during the fall, and they'll include sections for podcasts, book clubs, original poetry by Tennessee authors, bios and photos. Enough from the messenger. What follows is an excerpt from Chapter 16 editor Margaret Renkl (former Scene book page editor):
Welcome to Chapter 16, an online journal about the literary side of life in Tennessee. There's a certain irony in the whole concept of a website devoted to celebrating books. (Wags might claim there's also an irony in the concept of a literary life in Tennessee.) The Internet can be a dispiriting place, where total cranks and nincompoops effortlessly assume the mantle of authority, and anonymous comments savage the most enlightened points of view. Internet publications tend to be instantaneous and often incompletely considered — the very opposite of a book. Plus, it's a sensory wasteland, lacking the satisfying heft of a book, the rustle of pages, the lovely scent of glue and ink.
