Preview: Books, Bars, and Guitars: Difficult Women
At the heart of Nashville’s literary community is The Porch, a nonprofit literary center that offers everything from community writing workshops and retreats to open-studio hours for Nashville-based authors who want a place to dive deep into their work. Next Thursday night, 11/14, the Porch will host an evening of poetry and song at Analog at the Hutton Hotel, “Books, Bars, and Guitars: Difficult Women,” featuring six luminary, Nashville-based women—three writer and three songwriters.
The writers include pastry chef Lisa Donovan, who won a James Beard food writing award for her piece on #MeToo in the food industry; poet and songwriter Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay, a former Nashville Youth Poet Laureate; and Via Perez, a native Tennesseean whose poetry has been published in AllPoetry. Then there are the songwriters: Jillette Johnson, whose latest record was produced at the storied RCA Studio A; self-described “jingle-janglin gypsy tornado of sound” and Rounder Records artist Sierra Ferrell; and the legendary Mary Gauthier, a pioneer for LGBT artists in the country music world whose latest album was co-written with combat veterans and nominated for a Grammy.
If last May’s edition of “Books, Bars, and Guitars” (with Jericho Brown!) was any barometer, this promises to be a wonderful night. After all, why should Nashville’s world-famous songwriting community and its rich writing world stay in their own corners, when they could combine forces and share space, resonance, and verse?
Written by John Shakespear
Posted November 8, 2019