The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Upcoming events in books and politics
Hey, are you free on Sunday afternoon?
Author and political correspondent Jared Yates Sexton, whose work appears in The New York Times, The New Republic, Salon and numerous literary journals, will discuss his brilliant book, “The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore,” as a featured presenter during the AJC Decatur Book Festival. The work draws upon his time as one of the first correspondents to cover in detail the campaigntrail aspirations of the man who would become president, Donald Trump. An assistant professor of creative writing in the Department of Writing & Linguistics at Georgia Southern University, Sexton appears regularly on television and radio broadcasts, as well as podcasts, and has several collections of short fiction to his credit.
He’ll discuss his observations and the writings they inspired at a session held from 3:45-4:30 p.m. Sunday at Conference Center A at the Courtyard by Marriott, 130 Clairemont Ave. in Decatur. I’ll join him to offer observations on the confluence of social media and politics.
The session happens toward the end of the AJC Decatur Book Festival, an annual event that draws a huge and growing crowd each year. You’ll want to check out the entire schedule at decaturbookfestival. com.
Hillary Clinton takes the Fox Theatre stage
Speaking of books and politics, former U.S. Sen., Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will take the stage of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Nov. 13 as part of her national book tour. Tickets go on sale Sept. 18.
“In cities across the
U.S., Hillary will pull the curtain back on a story that’s personal, raw, detailed and surprisingly funny,” a release said. “She’ll take audiences with her on a first-person journey and bring you a highly personal perspective on what happened during the election and what’s next. What you’ll see will be her story – live. Her story of resilience, how to get back up after a loss, and how we can all look ahead.”
Her book, “What Happened,” gives Clinton’s behind-the-scenes take on the presidential election. In a release, her publisher calls “What Happened” her “personal memoir yet.”
“For the first time, Hillary Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history,” it reads. “Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules.
“She describes what
it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterwards. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.
“She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces were that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.”
So, did you catch that little news bulletin embedded in all that publicity prose? Clinton’s out of politics, apparently. See HillaryClintonBookTour.com for tickets and more information.