Narrative Edge

In this episode, Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore Love Sick Century, a poetry collection by Atlanta writer Elly Bookman that finds meaning in life’s everyday contrasts. Through poems that blend the personal and political, the hosts reflect on how Bookman’s work captures both the beauty and complexity of being human.

Inspired by a real-life scandal that was shocking even for the tumultuous Roaring Twenties, this captivating novel tells the story of a pioneering Black journalist, a secret interracial marriage among the New York elite, and the sensational divorce case that ignited an explosive battle over race and class. Join Peter and Orlando as they dive into this riveting tale from Savannah resident Denny Bryce. 

Inspired by painting, poetry, and jazz, poet Tony Whedon says he "can't wait to get to that computer every morning to see what's going to happen." Join Peter and Orlando as they explore Blue Ray, a collection of poems by Tony Whedon of Darien, Ga. 

Aspiring musician Ruby Tucker has had enough of her small rural town and dysfunctional family. But a falling out with her best friend and bandmate has killed her dreams of escaping and making it big in the Atlanta punk scene. Evil in Me is bestselling author Brom's novel of possession, damnation, and rock-n-roll where one woman must get the world singing in order to save her soul.

When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all their lives. Recorded live at the Savannah Book Festival, this special bonus episode of Narrative Edge features Peter Biello's full conversation with author Anna Quindlen. 

A groundbreaking account of Sherman’s march to the Sea — the critical Civil War campaign that destroyed the Confederacy — told for the first time from the perspective of the tens of thousands of enslaved people who fled to the Union lines and transformed Sherman’s march into the biggest liberation event in American history.

Peter and Orlando explore this rich, intimate biography, from critically acclaimed author Peter Ames Carlin. This book looks beyond the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll to open a window into the fascinating lives of four college friends — Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry — who stuck together at any cost, until the end.

Killer Mike, a Black man from Atlanta, Ga., and El-P, a white man from Brooklyn, N.Y., have transformed what should have been the twilight of their careers as rappers into their biggest spotlight yet. Known as the hip-hop duo Run The Jewels, they have headlined festivals worldwide, become action figures and Marvel comic book characters, spearheaded a worldwide countercultural movement, and played a significant role in the last two presidential elections.

At nine years old, on her first visit to a museum, Emily fell in love with Breakfast, a painting by Henri Matisse. Now a single mother, she lives in the world of art and can barely find time for her two daughters, much less for Mark, the man she loves. Her days are a jumble—she’s lost the thread of her life—but a contest at the museum where she’s the registrar gives her hope. The Art of Her Life shows the power of art to transform an ordinary life.

Peter and Orlando discuss this powerful memoir from Neesha Powell-Ingabire. In it, she chips away at coastal Georgia’s facade of beaches and golden marshes to recover under-told Black history alongside personal and family stories.