The author of a new book can be expected to give public readings, choosing a chapter or section that gives potential readers some incentive to go read the entire work.
Terena Bell can’t exactly do that. Not the way most authors do.
Her new book, the short story collection “Tell Me What You See,” isn’t told entirely with written language. It’s a highly experimental work expressed with a combination of words, emojis, images and social media excerpts. Words don’t always flow left to right in complete sentences; sometimes they are stacked in shapes that represent a physical place or idea.
That’s why Bell, a Christian County native who grew up in the Sinking Fork community, projected images on a screen when she spoke Thursday for a Hopkinsville Art Guild event.
“I didn’t write all of the stories in language,” she said.
Bell, who lives in New York City, is back home in Kentucky this week to promote her book. After the presentation for the art guild’s Christmas tea at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library, she headed to Princeton for another talk. She’ll be back at the Hopkinsville library from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Saturday for a book signing, followed by another event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Janice Mason Art Museum in Cadiz. Copies of the book, for $20, will be available at the signings.
The 10 stories in “Tell Me What You See” are about the coronavirus quarantines, the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol invasion, climate change and other current topics. In this Q and A interview with The Big Thrill online magazine, Bell provides more insight into her short stories.
Bell has written fiction, poetry and nonfiction for various publications, including The Atlantic, Playboy and The Washington Post. She’s a 1995 graduate of University Heights Academy, and earned a bachelor’s in English from Centre College and a master’s in French from the University of Louisville. Present for her Hopkinsville talk were several family members and friends, and one of her high school English teachers, Joy Tilley.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
