No. 680: Out on the Weekend

Good afternoon, everyone.

We had a council meeting last night, so Megan recaps what happened there, Jerod reviews Tom Hunley's poetry collection The Loneliest Whale in the World, and we furnish our weekly film rundown for those looking to get out and see a flick.

Onward.

✷ THE POETRY OF CRAFTSMAN

From Jerod Hollyfield

In that time before banned books and woke taxonomies, poetry proved a most efficient portent. Late aughts graduate school in the humanities was a blur of Thursday nights in the basement of a bar on life support listening to variations of the same awkwardly inflected poems about child trauma and birth control come out a revolving door of MFA candidates’ mouths.

But, unlike other artistic mediums, poetry’s status as a culture war early adopter has diminished its stature in the popular imagination. Little air is left between the type of stuff we’ll spend the next seven months listening to at anti-Trump rallies and the Instagram stylings of terrible infant Rupi Kaur, the type of popular poetry Vice’s Shivani Dubey so eloquently described as “shitty maudlin poems that scan like Live Laugh Love for the TikTok generation.” 

The only issue is that, whether self-inflicted or not, the stature of poetry in our cultural climate leaves a gaping hole, sowing the seeds of a utilitarian anti-intellectualism that just doesn’t bode well. Jordan Peterson and Tucker Carlson don’t belong to the bard, but, for many, they are the closest figures those left behind can identify with as the arts become less accessible, more antagonistic, and, ultimately, less central to our social fabric. But fortunately, there are still those practicing writers hellbent on keeping the bridges from crumbling as they maintain an uneasy relationship with the direction of poesy. One of them is Tom C. Hunley.

❍ LAST NIGHT AT THE METRO COUNCIL

From Megan Podsiedlik

Last night’s meeting was pretty straightforward. The council breezed through the 145-item agenda in four hours, passing much of the legislation on consent.

At the top of the evening, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission gained a few more appointees. Following adamant support from Nashville’s walk/bike community, Freddie O’Connell sponsored legislation to reestablish the committee toward the end of his time on the council. As new members of the commission, Ashleigh Wilson, Matthew Hertz, and Katherine McDonell will work alongside the Vision Zero advisory committee to promote cycling and pedestrian safety. 

One of the nine pieces of legislation that makes up the NEST initiative was brought forward on first reading. The bill would create new regulations to “eliminate minimum lot areas for mobile homes, multifamily houses, and non-residential uses” in residential multifamily zoning districts. In the end, the bill was indefinitely deferred; however, Councilmember Hortin assured the council that it would be brought back onto the docket once stormwater studies are completed. 

Earlier in the meeting, the council heard a resolution which would request a number of departments to carry out a “comprehensive analysis” regarding zoning that would increase density in Nashville. It would also ask those departments to “make recommendations regarding land use policy which incorporates affordable and workforce housing strategies that can be supported by existing and planned infrastructure.”

This legislation comes in response to the deluge of changes brought forward by at-large Councilmember Quin Evans Segall at the end of January. Though the legislation was deferred for one meeting, Evans Segall hopped onto the resolution as a sponsor. A diplomatic move, considering her previous assertion that the NEST legislation made adjustments to Metro’s zoning codes based on extensive research.

Also moving through council is the Imagine East Bank plan, which passed its first reading. Councilmember Jacob Kupin postponed a related resolution, which would establish Metro’s agreement to bring the Tennessee Performing Arts Center across the river. This two-meeting deferment syncs the TPAC resolution’s reading with the final vote for the aforementioned bill which sets up the East Bank master development agreement and ground lease agreements.*

Finally, the council is still allocating APRA money. Members agreed to put $225,000 toward small business recovery, $75,000 of which is specifically earmarked for minority-owned businesses. Metro’s immigrant legal services were also extended via a whopping $1,630,679 in APRA funds. Lastly, $2,395,322 was allocated to “provide legal representation to low and moderate-income Davidson County renters to defend against landlord eviction.”

*A correction was issued for this paragraph to clarify that the Imagine East Bank plan is referring to a bill making its way through the Metro council.

HEADLINES

Zoning Reform Bills Put on Hold Until Next Year (Scene) First-term At-Large Metro Councilmember Quin Evans Segall said Wednesday she is withdrawing bills 2024-185 and 2024-186 until completion of a Metro study of the infrastructure needs of different housing types, estimated to be delivered in March of next year.

Nashville mayor leaning toward raising sales tax to help fund a new transportation plan (Channel5) The mayor's office says three out of every four Nashvillians strongly agree that investing in city-wide public transportation is an important priority for the future. If the referendum passes, the technical advisory committee says it would make the city of Nashville more competitive to receive federal dollars to help pay for the transit upgrades.

Reported rape cases on the rise in Nashville; other violent offenses decreasing (WKRN) Last year at this time, there were 10 reported rape cases in North Nashville. In a preliminary report, there are 18 this year — an 80% increase — but the most significant growth has been in the MNPD’s Central Precinct, where reports of rape have risen by 233.3%. That’s an increase from three to 10 rape cases. Yet, most reports come from the North and South Precincts.

A Ft. Campbell soldier is arrested on multiple federal conspiracy charges (WPLN) A U.S. Army intelligence analyst at Ft. Campbell has been arrested and indicted for federal conspiracy charges, including bribery and selling national defense information to China.

DEVELOPMENT

• Names And Leasing Date Announced For Residential Towers At Nashville Yards (Now Next)
• Local real estate firm pays $17.25M for Nolensville shopping center (NBJ)
• California-based restaurateur to open Japanese restaurant in SoBro (NBJ)
• Drift Nashville opens on East Bank (Post)
• Music industry exec pays $4.1M for commercial building (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🪕 Greensky Bluegrass @ Ryman Auditorium, 7:30p, $35+, Info

🎻 West Side Story and Harlem @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $25+, Info

🪕 Christina Vane String Band @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelly’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

✸ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: March 8-March 14

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. For more upcoming releases, check out our full 2024 movie guide.

Imaginary When a little girl finds a teddy bear named Chauncey in the basement of her new house, it might just be a conduit for demonic imaginary friends. A Blumhouse release and great trailer make it seem promising, but director Jeff Wadlow’s Truth or Dare and Fantasy Island have been two of the most milquetoast horror films in recent memory. Now playing in theaters

Kung Fu Panda 4 Poe (Jack Black) must train a protege and take on a shapeshifting mystic in the latest installment of an animated franchise that’s somehow remained fresh for a good decade and a half. Now playing in theaters.  

Ennio The director of Cinema Paradiso turns his attention to composer extraordinaire Ennio Morricone with assists from Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Joan Baez, and Dario Argento in this sprawling documentary. Playing Monday at The Belcourt.

Cabrini Angel Studios reteams with the director of Sound of Freedom for a biopic of the Catholic missionary and future saint who fought the New York political machine to provide the poor better lives. It may be a fine Lenten diversion but don’t expect Scorsese here. Now playing in theaters. 

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

• 🎞️ The Pamphleteer’s ten most anticipated films of 2024 (Read)
• 🏠 The Zone of Interest cuts deeper than its Nazi-alluding target audience would like to admit. (Read)
• ⛪️ Rob Reiner's documentary on Christian Nationalism completely misses the mark (Read)
• ☢️ A small Tennessee town's forgotten history as a nuclear leader (Read)
• And check out our podcast, YouTube, and article archive for more.