Vanderbilt held the annual Southern Festival of Books on Oct. 18 and 19 across several locations, including the Tennessee State Museum, Bicentennial Mall and Tennessee State Library. The festival aimed at promoting humanities and invited several local authors to engage with the readers and promote their books. Many small businesses had shops selling unique products and creative artwork.
The festival was free to all attendees and served as an opportunity for attendees to speak with various authors and participate in book signings.
Beth Malow, one of the authors who attended the festival, was promoting her recently published book, “Beyond the Politics of Contempt”. In an interview with The Hustler, Malow shared her experience at the festival.
“I love it here. People have been really energetic. The conversations have been priceless, really hearing where people are coming from, what they’re thinking. People really stopped and engaged us,” Malow said.
Malow shared the motivation behind writing her book as wanting to help people build relationships with someone they may disagree with ideologically.
“It’s sad when you see friends and relatives and neighbors who are no longer talking to each other. They don’t see grandchildren, all of that,” Malow said.
Malow shared advice on how people can move beyond fear and contempt, a major topic of her book, and build relationships.
“Start with your values, what is important to you. And how do you feel about other folks. People who may have voted differently than you or have different views,” Malow said. “We challenge you. Think of maybe having a conversation. Maybe it doesn’t have to be about politics right away. Maybe you can start with something else.”
Lee Clark, a mystery novelist, was another author at the festival. She shared the catalyst for her book series based on the character of her brother and her son.
“But the whole idea was, what would happen if you took a guy like that and then threw him into this situation. How would they react,” Clark said.
Clark also shared the transition process she goes through when starting a new book.
“Before I finished Dead Spot, the first book, I already had the story line going in my head for a second book. It was a really easy transition. The last two books, I was really writing them simultaneously,” Clark said.
The authors showcased at the festival varied across many genres, including politics, cooking and fantasy.
Junior Elaine Wu discussed her experience at the festival.
“It was cool seeing all the different vendors. The festival also had some public art exhibits related to banned books such as Shel Silverstein’s ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends,’ which were fun to flip through,” Wu stated in a message to The Hustler.
Wu shared her thoughts on why she believes the festival is such an important event.
“I think the festival is important for uplifting local authors and preserving the spirit of the humanities, especially since book bans are becoming more prevalent and the humanities are becoming seen as less important,” Wu said.
Many Vanderbilt students attend the Southern Festival of Books every year to gain a better understanding of the Nashville community.
Katherine Gell, a junior at Vanderbilt, shared her experience at the festival.
“It was a great look into how the Southeast has inspired so many great works. Almost all the books presented were touched by Southern culture in some way,” Gell said.
“The festival itself consisted of tables representing organizations, authors, publishers and small businesses. It was a really impactful event because all the issues, stories and histories of people in the area were on display,” Gell said. “I walked away with a greater appreciation of the richness of literature inspired by the region we live in.”
The festival allows for a specific showcase of Southern authors and provides insight into Southern culture.
Junior, Eliza Matthias shared that she had a great experience at the festival, in a message to The Hustler.
“I got to meet debut authors and listen to them talk about their books, which was a great perspective on the writing and publishing process. Their enthusiasm for their craft was infectious. I also learned about tons of new books that I had never heard of and that I would be very interested in reading,” Matthias said.
The Southern Festival of Books is an incredibly important event for the Greater Nashville Community. It promotes humanities and emphasizes the importance of knowing how to think critically. It also highlights the complexities of Southern culture, especially to new residents of Nashville from other areas of the country.
