Category Archives: Literature

Ark Rep production of prize winning CLYBOURNE PARK focus at Clinton School today

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ClybourneThe Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions. The latest in these takes place today, Thursday, January 23 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre producing artistic director, Bob Hupp, will host a panel discussion on the upcoming production of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Award for Best Play.

Clybourne Park is a bitingly funny and fiercely provocative new play about the volatile combination of race and real estate. In 1959, a white couple sells their home to a black family, causing uproar in their middle-class neighborhood. Fifty years later in 2009, the same house is changing hands again and neighbors wage battle over territory and legacy revealing how far our ideas about race and gentrification have evolved.

Panelists director Cliff Fannin Baker, Jess Porter and John Kirk from the UALR History Department, along with Bob Hupp, will discuss how Clybourne Park relates to issues of race, real estate, history, and legacy in our own community.

Clybourne Park opens tomorrow night (with previews last night and tonight). It runs through Sunday, February 9. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evening performances are at 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday evening performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday Matinees performances are at 2 p.m.

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“Miscommunications” at Tales from the South tonight

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talesfromsouthThe Tuesday, January 21 edition of  ”Tales from the South” is themed “Miscommunications.” We’ve all done it.  Tonight will be the chance to hear stories Alan Reese, Jan VanSchuyvel, and Guy Choate. Music is by Jamie Lou and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by 2013 Governor’s Arts Award recipient 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.  This episode will air on January 23.

Tales from the South on Tuesday: “Not Such a Good Idea”

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talesfromthesouthThe Tuesday, January 14 edition of  ”Tales from the South” is Not Such a Good Idea. Attending it WILL CERTAINLY be a good idea.  It will feature stories by Deb Cantrell, Kandace Parker, and Melanie Baden. Music is by The Eulogy Brothers and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by 2013 Governor’s Arts Award recipient 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.  This episode will air on January 23.

New Year equals New Reads at CALS

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The Central Arkansas Library System wants you to read your way into the new year with New Year New Reads 2014. All you have to do is read or listen to the book of your choice, then submit a 14 word review. The most creative 14 word book review submitted via e-mail or tweet between Monday, January 6 and Sunday, February 16, will be eligible to win a Kindle Fire! Entries submitted in person to your local branch may be eligible for alternate prizes (check with your favorite branch). Submit your review online in one of two ways:

  1. email to NewYearNewReads@cals.org
  2. tweet @calibrarysystem using the hashtag #NYNR14.

Example Entries

Catcher in the Rye: teenage angst and rebellion as toldy by whiny rich kid #NYNR14

Eats, Shoots, & Leaves: funny look at serious topic of punctuation. #NYNR14

Persepolis: Iranian revolution in a comic strip. #NYNR14

Tales from the South Tin Roof Project: Carole Katchen

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Carole KatchenThe first Tuesday of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  The January featuree is artist Carole Katchen.  The program will be Tuesday, January 7.

Music is by Brad Williams and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

A native of Colorado, by the time Carole Katchen was 21, she was already an established freelance magazine writer.  The first children’s book she wrote and illustrated, I Was a Lonely Teen-Ager, was published in 1965.  It sold over 700,000 copies.  By 1969 she had decided that she wanted to become an artist.  She studied art at West Valley College in Northern California and received their Outstanding Achievement in Art Award.

As her career as an artist developed, she would often take hitchhiking trips across the continent to get inspiration for her artwork.  By the end of the 1970s, she was able to support herself full time as an artist.  In the mid 1980s, she moved to Los Angeles and started to focus more on pastel and less on oil painting.  She continued to receive national recognition and continued writing.  By the end of the 1980s, she had published six art instruction books which had been translated into several languages.

In 1995, she relocated to Hot Springs where she continued to paint, teach and encourage others.  In 2000, she began to produce bronze sculptures of the chefs and society figures from some of her most famous (and whimsical) paintings.  She has returned to television production creating the program “Symphony Sam.”  Katchen has also continued to travel extensively having spent several weeks in Asia recently teaching art and being honored for her contributions.

“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.

Terry Library Reopens Today; Open House set for Thursday, January 9

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TerryLibTerry Library has a new look for 2014. The Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Adolphine Fletcher Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley, will reopen on Monday, January 6, after a makeover. New carpet and expanded lighting has been installed, the meeting room was updated, and a significant remodel created a larger audio-visual section and a new young adult area.

An Open House will be held on Thursday, January 9 from 3-6 p.m. Patrons visiting the library beginning on Monday, January 6, can register for a gift certificate to River Market Books & Gifts and a gift card to Wal-Mart, which will be given away at the Open House.

Rearrangement of existing shelves and additional furniture resulted in more comfortable reading areas and tables for working and studying, as well as a lighter and more spacious feeling to the existing building. The new children’s area features colorful new paint, carpet, and tile as well as furniture. A new Young Adult (YA) space provides for the increased number of books and DVDs geared to YA readers. An expanded audio visual area allows for more comfortable browsing of DVDs and books on CD.

Adam Clemons, Terry Library branch manager, said, “We have missed seeing our patrons, and the staff is looking forward to seeing their reactions to the wonderful new space. They loved the building as it was, but they will enjoy their library visits even more with more light and comfortable reading areas.”

In early 2013, CALS completed a satisfaction survey to determine the way library services were accessed and used by library patrons, and why non-users did not take advantage of library services. Modern libraries are community centers that provide a broad range of services beyond lending books. Input from the survey was used to design the remodel of the Terry Library. Items that are used most heavily are more prominently featured and sightlines within the main reading area have been opened up, allowing better access to the services used by patrons.

Funds from a 2012 capital improvement bond refinance were used to cover the $325,000 cost of the remodel and update.

The Terry Library was opened in 1990 to serve the west Little Rock community and was expanded to 19,030 square feet in 2001. The library was named for Adolphine Fletcher Terry, a Little Rock native, who was a library advocate and served as a trustee of the Little Rock Public Library for more than 40 years. She was a proponent of advancing Arkansas’s school system, forming the first school improvement association in the state. She was the daughter of Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher, the wife of Congressman David D. Terry and also the sister of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Gould Fletcher.

13 Cultural Highlights of 2013

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In no particular order, here are 13 cultural highlights of 2013 in Little Rock.

10.+citylittlerock-21. The 73 year old Joseph Taylor Robinson Municipal Auditorium received a new lease on life when Little Rock voters approved an extensive, two-year plan for renovation, remodeling and expanding the new facility.

2. Speaking of Robinson, the new Ron Robinson Theatre was constructed in the Arcade Building.  It will be the flagship home of the Little Rock Film Festival as well as a site for events hosted by the Clinton School of Public Service and the Central Arkansas Library System.

3. The Little Rock Film Festival came downtown with all of its films being shown in downtown Little Rock and Argenta.  Among the highlights of the festival were Short Term 12, Bridegroom and Don John which have received plaudits at other festivals and are appearing on Best of 2013 lists as well as receiving award nominations.

4. As Main Street continues to redevelop, plans were announced in 2013 for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas to each move their offices and rehearsal spaces downtown.  Joining them will be an expansion of educational space for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

5. A few blocks south on Main Street, the new South on Main restaurant and performance space opened.  Weekly performances of live music accent the food and drink under the leadership of Chef Matt Bell.

6. Further down Main Street, Little Rock’s newest museum opened.  The Esse Purse Museum honors women and their struggles, accomplishments, hopes and dreams through highlighting the purse.

7. Fashion also took center stage at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center as well with an exhibit on Oscar de La Renta.  In addition to showcasing his contributions to design, the exhibit attracted many boldfaced names from the worlds of fashion and politics to an event in Little Rock.

Washington Bible8. George Washington was the focus of two separate exhibits in Little Rock during 2013.  Historic Arkansas Museum showcased his inaugural Bible as well as his family Bible.  At the Clinton Presidential Center “A Tribute to George Washington” was on display.  It featured George Washington’s personal copy of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights from Mount Vernon, and a portrait of George Washington painted in 1797 by artist Gilbert Stuart on loan from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

9. The amphitheatre in Riverfront Park received a new name (First Security Amphitheatre) and a new roof just in time to kick off its 26th year and to play host to musical acts during Riverfest.

10. Rembrandt and Rothko were just two of the artists featured in exhibits at the Arkansas Arts Center through 2013.  The Arts Center featured the exhibit Treasures of Kenwood House which highlighted the works of Rembrandt, Van Dyck and many other world class artists.  Earlier in the year, exhibits highlighted Bauhaus architecture and relics of the Japanese internment camp at Rohwer.  The Arts Center was also the site of the world’s second largest yarn bomb installation.

Babe Sophie11. The Little Rock Zoo welcomed two new elephants: Sophie and Babe.  The Zoo also was the site of the birth of Bugsy the penguin and four new tiger cubs.  The tigers were born as the result of the Zoo’s new tiger exhibit which facilitated not only easier mating but also allows for the separation of the mother and cubs from the father.

12. The Central Arkansas Library System opened its new Children’s Library.  A few months after the building opened, a name was bestowed and it is now known as the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center.

13. As 2013 drew to a close, the holiday decorations at the Capital Hotel received international recognition as Forbes named them one of the ten best hotel Christmas trees in the world.  The nearly 30 foot tree was decorated by Tipton Hurst.