Becca Zeglovitch, Next Chapter Society Council Chair
On July 28th, Next Chapter Society held our annual Author Ambassador book club at the Tank Room at Love and Exile, featuring this year’s ambassador, poet Lyndsay Rush. Lyndsay spoke in conversation with Seema Vennam, a literary influencer and champion of diverse reading. They discussed Lindsay’s book of poems titled A Bit Much, which was published in 2024. The room buzzed with excitement as more than 70 attendees filled the space, snacked on complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and ordered signature drinks inspired by Lindsay’s poem titles, called Peach, Not Quiet and A Bit Mock(tail), 25% of which went straight to supporting the Nashville Public Library Foundation. Local bookseller The Bookshop was also in attendance, selling copies of A Bit Much so that Lyndsay could finish the evening with a signing line.
As the conversation between Lyndsay and Seema kicked off, I was especially struck by the James Joyce quote that Seema shared as she spoke about the universal feeling of Lyndsay’s poetry: “For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world.” Part of the appeal of Lyndsay’s book is that her poems really cut to the core of the female experience; her background as a comedy writer shining through in her punchlines which make dark and heavy topics more digestible and add a sense of hope and joy in the face of an unrelenting world.
Over the course of the evening, we learned about Lyndsay’s meteoric journey from an Instagram post to a book deal, saw her get teary eyed as she read a poem about her mom (who was sitting in the front row), dove into her process for writing black out poems, and even got a sneak peek at her new book. Seema acted as an incredible conversation partner, asking insightful questions and letting the conversation flow naturally. Once it was time for the signing, our line stretched almost to the door. We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout or event. It was a perfect night!
As the evening wound down, I also had the pleasure of announcing that this year’s Nashville Public Library Literary Award Winner is none other than Ocean Vuong! In anticipation of Ocean’s free public lecture on November 7th as part of the Literary Award Weekend, we will be reading his novel The Emperor of Gladness at our September book club on Tuesday, the 22nd. I hope to see you there!
