Around and About Chattanooga

In this interview, celebrated Southern author Dorothy Allison looks back on her novel Bastard Out Of Carolina, which was published more than twenty years ago (and was nominated for a National Book Award).  Readers discover (or re-discover) it every year--it’s both wildly humorous and shockingly brutal.  In this interview, Allison talks about using her own family legends as source material.  Allison also talks about leaving the South, teaching young writers, and discusses her long-in-progress new novel She Who.

Kentucky native Maurice Manning is in Chattanooga for the Celebration of Southern Literature (April 17 – 20), where he was inducted into the prestigious Fellowship of Southern Authors.  In this segment, Manning reads a selection from his new yet-to-be published book, talks about working Southern characters and narratives into his poems, and explains why he never met another living poet until he was in college.

Memphis native Katori Hall is an actress, writer and playwright.  She's won numerous awards, and her play The Mountaintop ran on Broadway, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett.  Katori Hall is in Chattanooga for the Celebration of Southern Literature, which takes place April 17th, 18th and 19th.  In this interview, Hall discusses how The Mountaintop humanizes Martin Luther King, Jr., how she joined the Fellowship of Southern Writers, and what she'll be doing at the Celebration.

This biennial literary gathering used to be called the Conference On Southern Literature.  It draws major Southern authors.  But it's also open to fans--in fact, fans have always been welcome to attend.  This year, organizers have changed the event's name to the Celebration of Southern Literature to emphasize that the public is welcome.  Executive Director Susan Robinson expects the event to draw more than forty authors and a thousand fans to the Tivoli in Chattanooga.

Local comedian Ryan Darling tells a story about his roadtrip to Bloomington, Indiana.  The trip turns into an odyssey filled with boredom, excitement, dangerous weather, a wedding, his ex-girlfriend, and hors d'oeuvres.  

In 1997, Arthur Golden's smash bestseller Memoirs Of A Geisha was published.   Since then, Golden's fans have eagerly awaited a follow-up.  Golden says his new novel, set in 19th-century Amsterdam and North America, will be published next year.  He stopped by WUTC recently and gave details about the story (and why he's taken so long writing it.)

In celebration of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 14-20 we visited the Hamilton County 911 Call Center. 

The 4th annual Wine and Pearls fundraiser for PearlPoint Cancer Center will be Friday April 19 from 6 to 9 pm at the Hunter Museum of American Art. 

The 13th annual Crabtree Farms Spring Plant Sale is Saturday April 13 from 8 am to 3 pm and Sunday April 14 from 11 am to 3 pm.  

River City Company is hosting the 3rd annual Clean and Green downtown clean up on Saturday, April 6th from 8 am to noon. 

The Main Street Farmers Market is celebrating a birthday and everyone is invited to the party. 

  

  In this half-hour special produced by WUTC 88.1 FM, Richard Winham, Mike Miller, Bob Stagner, Bruce Kaplan, Ann Law, David Smotherman and Tom Landis remember Dennis Palmer, who passed away unexpectedly in February 2013.  Palmer and Stagner co-founded the Shaking Ray Levis, an influential avant-garde improvisational music duo active in Chattanooga and around the world since the 1980s.  Palmer was also a visual artist, teacher and storyteller. 

Over 500,000 children with autism will be in their adulthood within the next ten years, and studies have shown that one out of every three young adults with the disorder lack a job.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Music is honoring 46 years of dedication to music by Dr. Roland Carter with a Gala Concert event on Friday, April 19th. 

WUTC’s Michael Edward Miller interviews This American Life creator/host Ira Glass.  They discuss creativity, failure, how the element of surprise is crucial in radio stories, and much more.  Glass will be here April 7th for the George T. Hunter Lecture series.