Southern Lit Alliance announces the lineup of South Bound: Distinguished Lectures. This premiere program from the newly energized organization features renowned and emerging writers of recently The series will kick off with headliner Rick Bragg on January 21st at 6:00 PM at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. My Southern Journey, a collection of Bragg’s best essays about the South, was released this fall. In February, to celebrate Black History Month, Pulitzer Prize finalist Adrian Matejka will read from his acclaimed poetry collection The Big Smoke. The poems trace the life and times of Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight boxing champion during Jim Crow. In March, Tom Franklin, bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, and his wife Beth Ann Fennelly will deliver an engaging presentation of their coauthored mystery novel The Tilted World—a tale about love and moonshine in Mississippi. Also featured in the South Bound lineup is Claire Vaye Watkins, whose first novel Gold Fame Citrus is an Indie Next pick and has already garnered much attention from publications such as the New York Times and Vogue. Harrison Scott Key, comedian and author of the hilarious memoir The World’s Largest Man, will close the lecture series on May 20, 2016. All South Bound presentations, with the exception of Rick Bragg, will be hosted in the new Arts Building located on the corner of 11th and King Streets. The address is 301 E. 11th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403.
In addition to providing first-rate presentations in an unforgettable setting, South Bound lectures are tied to So Lit outreach programs. Writers that participate in the series will also visit a local high school classroom to conduct an engaging Q & A session or workshop as part of So Lit’s popular Writers in Classrooms program. Alternatively, writers are special guests of private fundraising dinners, the proceeds from which benefit all So Lit outreach programs. Individual tickets and season subscriptions are available now! To purchase tickets and view the lineup and schedule, please visit So Lit’s newly designed website: http://www.SouthernLitAlliance.org, or call (423) 2671218.By Cassidy Gibson and First Annual International