Humanities Tennessee founded Chapter 16 to provide comprehensive coverage of literary news and events in the state.
As part of the Pulitzer Centennial Campfires Initiative, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) contributed a piece celebrating 1947 Novel winner All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren.
Rep. Jim Cooper
In "An Antidote to Political Venom," the congressman writes: "The novel is dated in its use of the n-word, its dialect, its harness shops and telegrams, and the incomprehensible poverty of the Depression. But human nature has not changed at all; in fact, people proudly refuse to change."
In comparing the tale of Willie Stark to the 2016 election, Cooper continues, "Politicians — even demagogues — are not the true enemy."
So who is, in his opinion? Read the full piece here to find out.
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• So the novel is dying? Really?
On the 50th anniversary of the prizes, three-time Pulitzer-winner Robert Penn Warren spoke on trends in fiction with an eye to the future: 'The novel may even leave the printed page — if the age of Gutenberg is really over — but it could still be a novel.'