Monthly Archives: April 2013

Christi Shannon Kline one of Ark Lit Fest authors

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kline_christi_shannonThere are many wonderful authors coming to Little Rock for the 10th annual Arkansas Literary Festival.  (Including one with whom I went to college and one being brought in by my church.) But only one of them has been a friend of mine since elementary school.

Christi Shannon Kline and I had numerous classes together in school over the years.  We also participated in several school musicals, student council and other clubs while growing up.

She is now a New York resident, poet, playwright, and performer. Her debut book, No Child More Perfect & Other Poems, was endorsed by National Book Critics Circle winner Marie Ponsot, who said, “Watch out! Kline’s poems are original. She speaks her mind: frank, unfaked, and full of feeling. The poems sing!”

Christi will be appearing at 10am on Saturday, April 20, on the 3rd floor of the Cox Creative Center (at President Clinton and River Market).  She is part of a program entitled “Perfect Daydream” which also features poet Steve Kistulentz.  Marck Beggs is the moderator.

April 19 Architeaser

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IMG_4907The City Hall 105 week of the Architeaser wraps up with this unique perspective of City Hall.  Though there are offices on four levels of City Hall, there is only one spot where one can see all four levels.  The western edge of the central staircase affords the only view from the basement to the third floor.  The central staircase is symmetrical from the first floor up to the third floor. But from the first floor to the basement, there is only one flight of stairs going down (on the west side).

Today’s Architeaser goes from the basement up to the third floor of Charles Thompson’s edifice.  When the building opened, the basement was used but most of the third floor was unfinished.  The ceramic tile pattern on the third floor is different from the other floors.  The eastern stairwell went to the third floor balcony which overlooked the City Council chambers.

Over time a few offices started migrating up there.  In 1929, when the Museum of Antiquities and Natural History (now Museum of Discovery) was “given” to the City and moved into City Hall, the museum had to finish out its own space.  It was not until New Deal programs needed local offices and took up residence on the third floor that all of City Hall was occupied.  At that point the building was over 25 years old.

The balcony in the City Council chambers was removed in the 1960s when additional office space was needed.  At that point in time, the high ceiling in the chambers was lowered and more offices were installed on what had been the balcony level.

Unfortunately photos of the old Council chambers do not seem to exist.

Arkansas Literary Festival This Weekend!

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litfestlogoThe Arkansas Literary Festival, the premier gathering of readers and writers in Arkansas, has expanded to include over 90 authors in many locations on both sides of the river from April 18-21, 2013.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library campus, other venues in the River Markets and Argenta Arts districts are the sites for a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, special events, performances, workshops, presentations, opportunities to meet the authors, book sales, and book signings. Most events are free and open to the public.

Festival authors include:

Salma Abdelnour, David Abrams, Mary Stewart Atwell, Beth Ayer, Jenni B. Baker, Jan Barry, Carolyn Briggs, Kevin Brockmeier, Sam Calvin Brown, Oliver Burkeman, Mary Bucci Bush, Drew Cameron, Raquel Cepeda, Da Chen, Joseph Crespino, James Daily, Lela Davidson, Edmond Davis, Sylvia Day, James W. Erwin, Richard Ford, Ben Fountain, Tim Gallagher, Tim Gallagher, Paula J. Giddings, Kay Collett Goss, Jessica B. Harris, Ruth Hawkins, Roger D. Hodge, Ty Jaeger, Jay Jennings, Ben Katchor, Janis F. Kearney, Jeannette Keith, Brian and Terri Kinder, Steve Kistulentz, Christi Shannon Kline, Jon Krampner, Travis Langley, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Dorothy R. Leavell, Domingo Martinez, Ayana Mathis, Carla Killough McClafferty, Rosetta Miller-Perry, Lydia Millet, Pat Mora, Linda Murphy, Sara Nesson, Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, Harry Ostrer, Darcy Pattison, Lori Perkins, Leonard Pitts Jr., Garry Craig Powell, Padgett Powell, Joe Queenan, Karen Russell, Eric Rutkow, Courtney Miller Santo, Rosie Schaap, Martha Silano, Heather Sutherlin, Steve Teske, Chuck Thompson, Charles Todd, Caroline Todd, Duncan Tonatiuh, GB Tran, Dennis Vannatta, Frank X Walker, John Corey Whaley, Steve Wiegenstein, David Wesley Williams, Johnathon Williams, Rita Williams-Garcia, Christian Wiman, Jan Wolfe, Ron Wolfe, C.D. Wright, Steve Yates

This year’s Festival authors have won an impressive number and variety of distinguished awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, James Beard Foundation Award, PEN/Hemingway Award, Newbery Honor, National Book Critics Circle Award, a Coretta Scott King Honor, PEN/O.Henry Prize; Pushcart Prize; Barnes and Noble Discover Prize for Fiction, Roger Ebert’s Film Festival Thumbs Up Award, Pure Belpré Award, International Griffin Prize for Poetry, International Documentary Association Best Documentary Short, Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and several National Book Award Finalists. Many of the presenters’ works have been translated into multiple languages and made into films.

Special events for adults during the Festival include a cocktail reception with the authors, food, wine, and spirits workshops, films, a play, and Spoken Word LIVE!, a city-wide poetry competition. Panels and workshops will feature topics such as fiction, memoir, screenwriting, super hero psychology & law, Warrior Writers Project, erotica, and more.

Children’s special events include a storytime on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, a book fiesta, the artmobile, plays, outdoor activities, and Super Hero Activity Afternoon. Festival sessions for children will take place at both the new Children’s Library, 4800 10th Street, and the Youth Services Department at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street.

At Level 4, the Main Library’s teen center, teens can meet authors and illustrators, participate in ComiCALS, activities and panels such as a cosplay contest, video game tournament, a writing workshop, and zombie survival activities.

Through the Writers In The Schools (WITS) initiative, the Festival will provide presentations by several authors for Pulaski county elementary, middle, and senior high schools and area colleges.

Support for the Literary Festival is provided by sponsors including Central Arkansas Library System; Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL); Department of Arkansas Heritage; Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau; Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation; Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Mosaic Templars Cultural Center; Regions; ProSmartPrinting; MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History; Historic Arkansas Museum; Clinton Presidential Center; Hendrix-Murphy Foundation; Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, Arkansas Times; Christ Church, Little Rock’s Downtown Episcopal Church; Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center; Arkansas Library Association; Henderson State University; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service; Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; Arkansas Governor’s Mansion; Hendrix College Creative Writing and the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature & Language; Hendrix College Project Pericles Program; Hendrix College; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, English Department; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Department of Rhetoric and Writing; Pulaski Technical College; Jewish Federation of Arkansas; Arkansas Arts Center; Power 92 Jams; Central High School National Historic Site; National Park Service; Literacy Action of Central Arkansas; Capital Hotel; Little Rock Film Festival; and LuLav. The Arkansas Literary Festival is supported in part by funds from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author! Author!, a cocktail reception with the authors, will be Friday, April 19 at 8pm on the fifth floor of the CALS main library building.  Tickets are available at the door.

The Arkansas Literary Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. The Festival’s mission is to encourage the development of a more literate populace. A group of dedicated volunteers assists Festival Coordinator Brad Mooy with planning the Festival. Jay Jennings is the 2013 Festival Chair. Other committee chairs include Katherine Whitworth, Talent Committee; Lisa Donovan, Youth Programs; and Amy Bradley-Hole, Moderators.

Arkansan Daniel Davis in NYC Play

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Daniel-DavisTony nominated actor, and Arkansas native, Daniel Davis opens tonight in an Off Broadway revival of the Strindberg play Dance of Death.  Though best known for his stint on TV as Niles in “The Nanny”

Davis was born in Gurdon, but his family moved to Little Rock.  His first acting gig was appearing on the local TV show “Betty’s Little Rascals.” He graduated from Little Rock Hall High and subsequently studied at the Arkansas Arts Center (which then offered advanced studies in theatre).

He received a Tony Award nomination in 2000 for the play Wrong Mountain.  Other Broadway credits include Henry V, Othello, Amadeus, The Invention of Love, The Frogs, La Cage aux Folles.  He has also appeared frequently in regional theatre and Off Broadway.

Dance of Death runs through May 4 in New York City.

April 18 Architeaser

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IMG_4577There have been many building modifications at Little Rock City Hall over the past 105 years.  One thing has not changed: the Tiffany stained glass window in the rotunda.

Though City Hall once had a dome, the stained glass window has always looked down on the rotunda from the third floor ceiling.  Here are some views of the stained glass in the rotunda.

There was a second, smaller stained glass skylight in the stairwell adjacent to the City Board chamber.  In the 1960s, it was removed.  Records do not indicate what happened to it.

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Ellis Marsalis in Concert at Wildwood tomorrow

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EllisphotoEllis Marsalis, the Father of America’s First Family of Jazz, & his Quartet will be in concert at Wildwood Park for the Arts on Friday, April 19 at 8:00pm.

Tickets range from $15 for students to $100 VIP tickets.

Ellis Marsalis is an internationally known jazz pianist, and a figurehead of the rich and storied New Orleans jazz scene. Marsalis, who has received honorary doctorates from The Julliard School, Tulane University, Dillard University (his alma mater), Ball State University and Virginia Commonwealth University for his contributions to jazz and musical education, served as the Director and Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans.

Wildwood-Park-for-the-Arts-e1352227810968Marsalis has also led the jazz department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, influencing the careers of countless musicians, including film composer Terence Blanchard, Grammy Award-winners Harry Connick Jr. and Nicholas Payton; as well as four of Marsalis’ and wife Dolores’ six sons. Wynton Marsalis (trumpet) and Branford Marsalis (soprano saxophone) have become major players with international reputations. Wynton is the leader of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in New York. Sons Delfeayo (trombone) and Jason (drums) are also outstanding jazz performers. Delfeayo has produced recordings for his father and his brothers.

UALR Dance presents “Body Works” April 19-21

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20130418-21-UALR-body-works-800x1236UALR’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present “Body Works,” the Spring Dance Concert, at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in University Theatre in the UALR Center for Performing Arts.

Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. “Body Works” is an eclectic dance concert that will present works based in the human experience and the human body. An array of different choreographic ideas and styles will be showcased.

On Saturday, April 20, UALR will present its Spring Dance Workshop for dance students.  Registration is required.  This year’s festival gives dancers from across the region the opportunity to network and dance side-by-side with other dancers as they participate in MASTER CLASSES taught by UALR dance faculty.

After a full afternoon of classes in ballet, modern, and jazz, participants will enjoy an evening performance of UALR Body Works, featuring original works choreographed by senior UALR dance majors.

The cost for participation is just $10 at the door (as space allows). This includes three (3) master classes and one ticket to the Saturday evening performance of the UALR Dance concert.

UALR dance faculty include Stephanie Thibeault (head of dance for the department), Rhythm McCarthy and Stephen Stone.