Category Archives: Lecture

CALS Legacies & Lunch today at noon explores early banking

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cals_int_sponsor_butlerStereotypes hold that rural people in early Arkansas kept their money under their mattresses. Maybe they had the right idea back then. The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will host “The High Costs of Arkansas’s Early Banks,” a free talk by Dr. Scott Lien, as part of its monthly Legacies & Lunch lecture series, Wednesday, July 3, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Lien will discuss Arkansas’s experiences with the state’s first two chartered banks, from the days before the Civil War. The banks offered help to some while foreclosing opportunities for others. Lien is a history professor at Lyon College in Batesville. His research focuses on how democracy has affected opportunities of all Americans.

The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library.

For more information, call 918-3086.

Tin Roof Project: John Hornor Jacobs

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JHJ_ABOUT_ME_PHOTOThe first week of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  July features novelist John Hornor Jacobs.

Music is by Bonnie Montgomery and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

John Hornor Jacobs has worked in advertising for the last fifteen years, played in bands, and pursued art in various forms. He is also, in his copious spare time, a novelist. His first novel, Southern Gods, was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award. He has also written   This Dark Earth and a young adult series, The Incarcerado Trilogy comprised of The Twelve Fingered Boy, The Shibboleth, and The Conformity.  His first fantasy series, The Incorruptibles will be published in Spring 2014.

John is the co-founder of Needle: A Magazine of Noir and was the active creative director until fall 2012. He has a quartet of horror stories, Fierce As The Grave, available through Amazon.com.  John has played guitar semi-professionally and worked as an animator, videographer and designer.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $7.50, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

2nd Tales from the South this week: Baseball legend Ollie Brantley

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106_Brantley_Ollie_frntThis week brings an exciting second edition of “Tales from the South!”  Negro league baseball legend Ollie Brantley will be the featured guest tonight.  Music is by Amy Garland Angel and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $7.50, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Tales from the South tonight: Bridging the Gap

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talesfromthesouthTonight’s edition of  “Tales from the South” is a special edition. IABC presents Bridging the Gap. It will feature stories by Julie Holt, H.K. Stewart, and Mike Collins. Music is by the Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $7.50, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Special Event at Mount Holly on Saturday morning

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mthollyMt. Holly Cemetery, burial site of Governors, Mayors, Senators and Pulitzer Prize winners, will host a special event tomorrow (Saturday, June 22) at 9:00 am.

This special event will give guests a sampling of all Mt Holly has to offer to the community in Little Rock’s oldest cemetery. We will start at the 13th Street gate with a brief historical tour, followed by a performance from Tales of the Crypt, and finish with Scott Lyon who will give us a garden series lecture–all in an hour!

The Mt. Holly Cemetery Association invites the public to come spend an hour at the cemetery. Refreshments will be served in the shade of the bell house. The public is invited to bring a lawn chair and wear a gardening hat!

A $5.00 suggested donation gets you a door prize ticket for a Mount Holly Cookbook and other gifts for this event. We will also have Mount Holly Cookbooks for sale.

Entrance on the 22nd will be via the 13th Street gate only.

Ark Literary Fest presents THE NEW 22 at MacArthur Museum

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1371603221-new_22_copyMilitary and literature buffs should enjoy The New 22, a free Arkansas Literary Festival program, Thursday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m., at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 East 9th Street.
The New 22 is a panel discussion featuring authors Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and David Abrams, Fobbit. These books have been compared favorably to Joseph Heller’s influential novel Catch-22. Set in Dallas and Baghdad, respectively, the novels offer satirical takes on some of the hard contradictions soldiers face. A reception and book signing will follow the program. Both books will be available for purchase.

Ben Fountain is an award-winning author whose debut novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk, received numerous awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. David Abrams, who retired in 2008 after a 20-year career in the active-duty Army as a journalist, has received several military commendations including being named the Department of Defense’s Military Journalist of the Year in 1994. His debut novel, Fobbit, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2012 and a Best Book of 2012 by Paste Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Barnes & Noble.

The Arkansas Literary Festival is a program of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). The New 22 is sponsored by the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The event is free and open to the public; reservations are requested. Please RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. For more information about the Arkansas Literary Festival, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

Great Typo Hunt focus of Darragh Lecture

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Great_Typo_HuntJeff Deck, author of The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time, will speak at the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Fred K. Darragh Jr. Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Deck is a writer, editor, and typo hunter. The Great Typo Hunt, co-authored with Benjamin D. Herson, details their trip around the country correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in public. Copies of the book will be for sale at the lecture; Deck will sign books at a reception following the talk.

The Fred K. Darragh Jr. Distinguished Lecture is held annually to celebrate Mr. Darragh’s contributions to public libraries and his service to CALS. He served on the boards of many organizations, including CALS, the Arkansas Library Association, Southern Regional Council, Peace Links, and the Arkansas Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

He served as President of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations, President of the Little Rock Urban League, and President of the National Council for Community Services to International Visitors in Washington, DC.

Reservations are appreciated, but not required. To RSVP, email pedwards@cals.org or call 918-3009. For more information, contact 501-918-3086.