Category Archives: Lecture

Author! Author! party, sessions and used book sales on day 2 of 2015 Arkansas Literary Festival

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2015 ALF 2It is Festival Friday with the 12th Annual Arkansas Literary Festival!

A highlight is the Author! Author! Party at 7pm which allows ticketholders the chance to visit with other festival attendees as well as many of the authors and personalities who are here for the festival.

Earlier in the day, the used book sale continues from 9 to 5 in River Market Books & Gifts and from 10 to 4 in the basement of the main library.

The first session of the day is T. Geronimo Johnson on “Satire of the South.”  It will take place at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at noon.  Johnson is the author of Welcome to Braggsville.

At 6pm Michael Shermer will discuss The Moral Arc at the Ron Robinson Theater.

Rebecca Wells headlines first day of 12th Annual Arkansas Literary Festival

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2015 ALF 1The 12th annual Arkansas Literary Festival kicks off today.

  • From 5pm to 7pm, there will be a book sale preview party at River Market Books & Gifts in the Cox Creative Center.
  • At 5:30, the exhibit “Page Turners” featuring Bryan Collier will open at Hearne Fine Art.
  •  At 6pm, there will be a Summer Reading Club Preview on the 3rd floor of the Main Library.
  •  Rebecca Wells will discuss “Divine Secrets” at 7pm on stage at the Ron Robinson Theatre. She is the author of the “Ya Ya Sisterhood” books. She will also return to Little Rock in 2016 to perform her one-woman show at the Arkansas Rep.

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), Arkansas Humanities Council, Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, ProSmart Printing, Little Rock Family, KUAR FM 89.1, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Sync, Arkansas Life, Clinton Foundation, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, Windstream, Arkansas Federal Credit Union, Arkansas Times, Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, Hampton Inn Downtown/McKibbon Hotel Group, Capital Hotel, Historic Arkansas Museum , TransAmerica, Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, Arkansas Library Association, Pulaski Technical College, Union Pacific, Sequoyah National Research Center, Gibbs Elementary School, Rockefeller Elementary School, Hendrix College, Hendrix College Project Pericles Program, Arkansas Women’s Forum, Philander Smith College, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, East Harding, University of Arkansas at Little Rock English Department, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Rhetoric and Writing, Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing/Hearne Fine Art, Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, Literacy Action of Central Arkansas, Christ Episcopal Church, and Lamar Advertising. The Arkansas Literary Festival is supported in part by funds from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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. Katherine Whitworth is the 2015 Festival Chair. Other committee chairs include Kevin Brockmeier, Talent Committee; Susan Santa Cruz, Festival Guides; Laura Stanley, Hospitality Gifts; and Amy Bradley-Hole, Moderators.

“Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid that Avenged Pearl Harbor” tonight at the Clinton School

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UACS TokyoThe Doolittle Raid is a feat of legend: a daring, some thought suicidal, bombing mission designed to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor by taking the fight to the heart of the Japanese Empire—Tokyo. The raid’s success became a rallying point for the United States, destroyed Japan’s sense of its own invulnerability, and helped force a confrontation at Midway, a critical turning point in the Pacific War.

Shrouded in secrecy at the time, the raid quickly entered the realm of myth, almost literally: the White House and the American press began using “Shangri-La,” the name of a fictional mountaintop utopia, as a stand-in for the undisclosed launching point of the operation. In “Target Tokyo,” award-winning historian James Scott strips away the layers of the legend and provides the first truly comprehensive account of the raid, one that’s based on new interviews and scores of never-before published records drawn from archives across four continents.

The presentation will begin at 6pm this evening at the Clinton School.

New Quapaw Quarter Historic Building Marker Program focus of program tonight at Butler Center

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qqa markerLearn about the Quapaw Quarter Association’s Historic Building Marker Program and How to Participate

Historic homes are cherished parts of the community, and building markers help tell their stories. The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will host an informational session about the Quapaw Quarter Association’s (QQA) building marker program on Tuesday, April 21, at 5:30 p.m. in room 204 of the Arkansas Studies Institute building, 401 President Clinton Ave.

Attendees will learn how to research historic properties to determine National Register eligibility and how to apply for a building marker. The session will focus specifically on how to use the QQA’s records and other resources available at the research room of the Arkansas Studies Institute building. More information on the QQA’s building marker program is available at http://quapaw.presencehost.net/what_we_do/qqa-historic-building-marker-program/. To attend the session, property owners may RSVP toqqa@quapaw.com with a property address.

The Quapaw Quarter Association began the new Historic Building Marker Program earlier this year.  This program replaces the discontinued Quapaw Quarter Historic Structure Plaque and the QQA Historic House Marker Programs.   The markers will be aluminum and approximately 14 inches wide by 12 inches high.  They will display the building name and date of construction.  They may be pole-mounted, or attached directly to the building.

The goals of this program are to recognize historically and architecturally significant buildings located anywhere in the City of Little Rock that have been well-maintained or have undergone exemplary rehabilitation; to bring to the attention of the general public buildings that are unique assets to the City of Little Rock; and to promote the Quapaw Quarter Association as Little Rock’s leading historic preservation organization.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) promoting the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. For more information, visit www.butlercenter.org or call 501-918-3033.

THE BAREFOOT LAWYER tonight at the Clinton School

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uacs barefootThe son of a poor farmer in rural China and blinded by illness when he was an infant, Chen Guangcheng became a self-taught lawyer and a political activist. Repeatedly harassed, beaten, and imprisoned by Chinese authorities, Chen was ultimately placed under house arrest. Despite his disability, he was determined to escape to freedom and fight for the rights of his country’s poor. After two years, one morning he climbed over the wall of his heavily guarded home and escaped. Days later, he turned up at the American embassy in Beijing, and after high-level negotiations, was able to leave China and begin a new life in the United States. Both a riveting memoir and a revealing portrait of modern China, “The Barefoot Lawyer” tells the story of a man who has never accepted limits and always believed in the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle.

He will speak tonight at the Clinton School at 6pm.

Symposium on the Moral Imperative of Music Education tonight; sponsored by Clinton School and Spirit of Harmony Foundation

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sohf_webThis evening from 6pm to 9pm at the Clinton School and the Spirit of Harmony Foundation are presenting a symposium on the importance of music education.    The Spirit of Harmony Foundation was founded by musician, songwriter and record producer Todd Rundgren.  The symposium will explore the social, neurological, economic, academic and creative benefits of music education and will conclude with a short musical performance by Todd.  

It will take place in the Wally Allen Ballroom of the Statehouse Convention Center.

The symposium panel includes:
– “The Social Benefits of Music Education: Music education improves children’s lives by making them more successful academically and in their social interactions (working with others and self-confidence)” with Margaret Martin, founder of the Harmony Project.
– “The Neurological/Physical Benefits of Music Education: Music education changes a child’s brain in ways that last a lifetime, making the child a better student and a more mentally fit adult” with Nina Kraus, director of Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.
– “The Economic Benefits of Music Education: The proven physical and social benefits of music education ultimately result in substantial economic assets that manifest throughout a person’s lifetime” with George S. Frod, co-founder and chief economist at Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies.
– “The Academic Benefits of Music Education: Individual students experience substantial and life-change positive results from active participation in music education programs” with Carl Mouton, director of bands for Maumelle High School.
– “The Emotional/Creative Benefits of Music Education: Music changes the world and changes ourselves” with Todd Rundgren, founder and president of the spirit of Harmony Foundation.
The evening will also feature a performance from members of the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Geoffrey Robson.
For more information, visit  http://www.spiritofharmony.org/symposium.html

Tonight Amy Dubois Barnett speaks at Bless the Mic on Philander Smith campus

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amy-dubois-barnettPhilander Smith College’s free lecture series “Bless the Mic” finishes the season tonight with journalist Amy Dubois Barnett.  She will speak at 7pm in the M.L. Harris Auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

In August 2014, she was named Executive Editor of ESPN’s The Undefeated.  Prior to that, Barnett was Editor-in-Chief of Ebony, the oldest and largest African-American magazine in the country. At Ebony, Barnett executed the publication’s first top-to-bottom redesign in its 68-year history and also re-launched Ebony.com, both to critical acclaim.

Before Ebony, Barnett was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar. Barnett was also the Managing Editor of Teen People. Before Teen People, Barnett served as Editor-in-Chief of Honey magazine where she oversaw a major redesign of the magazine.  Prior to Honey, Barnett was with Essence magazine, heading up the publication’s style content and lifestyle department.

For her work as a journalist, Barnett was named the 2012 Media Executive of the Year by Target Market News.  In 2013, she was included on the Folio 100, a list that honors the most innovative and influential professionals in magazine media.

This past school year, Barnett was also an Adjunct Professor of Management & Organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, teaching a Spring semester class on Shifting Business Frameworks in Media and Entertainment.