Category Archives: Literature

Butler Center Honors Mark Christ, Pat Carr at A PRIZED EVENING

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Tonight at 6:30, the Central Arkansas Library System Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will host the annual “A Prized Evening.”  The 2013 Booker Worthen Prize will be presented to Mark Christ and the 2013 Porter Fund prize will be given to Pat Carr.

christ_markAs one of the most fertile regions in the South, the Arkansas River Valley was highly contested territory during the Civil War. While the Siege on Vicksburg raged, equally important battles were fought here in Arkansas. This struggle is the topic of Mark Christ’s nonfiction work, Civil War Arkansas 1863, which has been selected to receive the 2013 Booker Worthen Literary Prize, awarded by the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS).

Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, has edited a number of books and articles about Civil War events in Arkansas. He is a member of the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Arkansas Humanities Council, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Arkansas Historical Association. Christ recently received the 2013 State Preservation Leadership Award from the Civil War Trust, the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States.

The Worthen Prize is awarded each year to an author living in the CALS’s service area whose work is highly regarded. It is named for Booker Worthen, who served twenty-two years on CALS’s board of trustees.

 

Pat CarrThe 2013 Porter Fund Literary Prize will be given to Pat Carr. The Porter Fund presents the award annually to an Arkansas writer who has accomplished a substantial and impressive body of work that merits enhanced recognition

 

She has a B.A.(Phi Beta Kappa) and an M.A. from Rice, a Ph.D. from Tulane, and she’s taught literature and writing in colleges all across the South. She’s published sixteen books, including the Iowa Fiction Prize winner, The Women in the Mirror, and the PEN Book Award finalist, If We Must Die, and she’s had over a hundred short stories appear in such places as The Southern Review, Yale Review, and Best American Short Stories.

 

Her latest short story collection, The Death of a Confederate Colonel, a nominee for the Faulkner Award, won the PEN Southwest Fiction Award, the John Estes Cooke Fiction Award, and was voted one of the top ten books from university presses for 2007 by Foreword Magazine.

 

Carr has won numerous other awards, including a Library of Congress Marc IV, an NEH, the Texas Institute of Letters Short Story Award, an Al Smith Literary Fellowship, and a Fondation Ledig-Rowohlt Writing Fellowship in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

A writing text, Writing Fiction with Pat Carr appeared from High Hill Press in June, 2010, and her autobiography, One Page at a Time: On a Writing Life was published by Texas Tech University Press in December, 2010. Pat Carr’s new novella, The Radiance of Fossils, came out in July 2012 with Main Street Rag Press. Her latest published work, Lincoln, Booth, and Me: A Graphic Novel of the Assassination by Horatio, the Cat as told by Par Carr was published in May 2013 by El Amarna Publishing.

Past honorees of the Booker Worthen prize are: 2012-The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937, David Welky; 2011-The Broken Vase, Phillip H. McMath and Emily Matson Lewis; 2010-Ruled by Race: Black/White Relations in Arkansas from Slavery to the Present, Grif Stockley; 2009-The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, Trenton Lee Stewart; 2008-Turn away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis that Shocked the Nation, Elizabeth Jacoway; 2007-A Brief History of the Dead, Kevin Brockmeier; 2006-Promises Kept, Sidney S. McMath (posthumous); 2005-Communities of Kinship: Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the Cotton Frontier, Carolyn Earle Billingsley; 2004-The Truth about Celia, Kevin Brockmeier; 2003-Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, Mara Leveritt; 2002-Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919, Grif Stockley; 2000-The Boys on the Tracks, Mara Leveritt; 2001-The Rumble of a Distant Drum: The Quapaws and Old World Newcomers, 1673–1804., Morris S. Arnold; 1999-Arkansas, 1800–1860: Remote and Restless, S. Charles Bolton.

Previous recipients of the Porter Fund prize are: 2012-Margaret Jones Bolsterli (Non-Fiction); 2011-Bill Harrison  (Fiction); 2010-Bob Ford  (Playwriting); 2009-Roy Reed  (Non-Fiction); 2008-Trenton Lee Stewart  (Fiction); 2007-Greg Brownderville  (Poetry); 2006-Donald “Skip” Hays  (Fiction); 2005-Shirley Abbott (Non-Fiction); 2005-Constance Merritt  (Poetry); 2004-Michael Burns  (Poetry); 2003-Kevin Brockmeier  (Fiction); 2002-Ralph Burns  (Poetry); 2001-Morris Arnold  (Non-Fiction); 2001-Fleda Brown  (Poetry); 2000-Jo McDougall  (Poetry); 1999-Grif Stockley  (Fiction); 1998-Michael Heffernan  (Poetry); 1997-Dennis Vannatta  (Fiction); 1996-David Jauss  (Fiction); 1995-Norman Lavers  (Fiction); 1994-Werner Trieschmann  (Playwriting); 1993-No Prize was awarded; 1992-Andrea Hollander Budy  (Poetry); 1991-Crescent Dragonwagon  (Fiction); 1990-James Twiggs  (Fiction); 1989-Hope Norman Coulter  (Fiction); 1988-Paul Lake  (Poetry); 1987-Donald Harington  (Fiction); 1986-Buddy Nordan  (Fiction); 1985-Leon Stokesbury  (Poetry).

 

 

Anson discusses Alexander the Great to kick of 2013-14 Evenings with History

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Ed-AnsonThe Evenings with History series, sponsored by the UALR History Institute kicks off the 2013-2014 series tonight.  This year’s series will focus on how the study and writing of history is done.

The six sessions of the 2013-2014 Evenings with History series will be on the first Tuesday of October, November, and December of 2013 and February, March, and April of 2014.

They are held at the Ottenheimer Auditorium in the Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third Street in Little Rock. Historic Arkansas’s downtown location and the museum’s adjacent parking lot at Third and Cumberland make the sessions convenient and pleasant to attend.

Refreshments are served at 7:00 p.m., and the talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

An individual subscription to the series, at $50 annually, includes admission to all six lectures.

Tonight, Edward Anson discusses “The Character of Alexander the Great.”

Professor Anson has been working for many years examining aspects of the life of Alexander the Great but wanted to write something about who he was as opposed to what he did. Ancient history presents unique problems for the historian. Sources seldom are contemporary with the topic studied. Standards of behavior often do not coincide with those of today.

This talk examines Professor Anson’s efforts to establish the character of Alexander, which resulted in his new book, Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Simply detailing what Alexander did produces serious difficulties, but getting into the mind of someone who lived more than two thousand years ago turns out to be even more difficult. Anson offers insights into how the historian uses the evidence of antiquity to overcome these barriers.

Edward M. Anson has authored or edited seven books, including Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues (2013); After Alexander: The Age of the Diadochi (323-281 BC) (2013); Eumenes of Cardia: A Greek Among Macedonians (2004), and more than thirty articles in journals, including Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, The Journal of Cuneiform Studies, The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Classical Philology, and The American Journal of Philology; twelve book chapters, and over fifty encyclopedia articles. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is currently Professor of History, a faculty senator, and a former President of the University Assembly.

Corporate sponsors for the 2013-2014 season include Friday, Eldredge, & Clark; Union Pacific Railroad; Wright, Lindsey, and Jennings; and the Teaching American History Program of the Little Rock School District.

Support and gifts in kind are provided by the UALR Ottenheimer Library; Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage; UALR Public Radio—KUAR-KLRE; UALR public television; and Grapevine Spirits.

“A Land Inferior to None” – an evening celebrating “Arkansas: A Narrative History”

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The Old State House Museum will present “A Land Inferior to None,” a talk and book signing with Jeannie Whayne, George Sabo and Tom DeBlack, authors of “Arkansas: A Narrative History,” Second Edition, on Tuesday, September 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to the talk is free. Those who wish to attend are encouraged to RSVP by calling (501) 324-8641 or visiting www.oldstatehouse.com/RSVP.

Deblack, Gatewood, Whayne, and Sabo

Deblack, Gatewood, Whayne, and Sabo

The book is a comprehensive state history that has been invaluable to students and the general public since its original publication over 10 years ago. The original edition won the Arkansiana Award when it was published in 2002, and the book is widely used in colleges throughout the state. The new edition has been updated and expanded with three additional chapters, including a new chapter on Arkansas geography. It also covers fresh material on the civil rights movement in the state and the struggle over integration, a new analysis of Arkansas’s school-funding issues and an examination of the Natural State’s transition from colonialism to its entry into the global political economy. The University of Arkansas Press published both editions of the award-winning textbook.

Jeannie Whayne is professor of history at the University of Arkansas. She is the author of “A New Plantation South: Land, Labor, and Federal Favor in Twentieth-Century Arkansas” and “Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South.”

Tom DeBlack is professor of history at Arkansas Tech University. He is the author of “With Fire and Sword: Arkansas, 1861-1874.”

George Sabo is professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas and director of the Arkansas Archeological Survey. His publications include “Rock Art in Arkansas” and “Paths of Our Children: Historic Indians of Arkansas.”

The Old State House Museum is a program of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  Bill Gatewood is the Director of the Museum.  Martha Miller is the Director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Banned Books Week Kicks Off with CLOCKWORK DOLL

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ALA Freadom Slide 2013 (2)Banned Books Week started in 1982 because a librarian remembered being a twelve-year-old caught reading with a flashlight under her covers, and her mother telling her to turn the light on while she was reading so she wouldn’t hurt her eyes.

The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will celebrate the freedom to read, the importance of First Amendment rights, and the power of literature with special events and displays during Banned Books Week, September 22-28. CALS’s celebration of Banned Books Week is sponsored by the Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation, and will include the Arkansas Literary Festival’s collaboration with The Weekend Theater of Clockwork Doll on Sunday, September 22, at 6:30 p.m. at The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. 7th Street.

This one-night only collage features scenes from two plays: Nora, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; and a stage version of the dystopian novella A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Both works of literature have been banned or challenged, and are part of The Weekend Theater’s fall season. A brief reception will follow the presentation, which is free and open to the public. Seating is open and reservations are requested, but not required, at pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. There are a limited number of seats, so patrons are urged to arrive early. For more information on Clockwork Doll visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org or call (501) 918-3098.  

Banned Books Week stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of all viewpoints, even those which may be unorthodox or unpopular, for all who wish to read and access them; and recognizes the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society. Each year, many books are challenged and/or banned in communities across the United States. In a majority of cases the books are not banned, thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group; a ban is the removal of challenged materials. Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children and youth from ideas and information that may be difficult for them to understand. Although this is a commendable motivation, the Library Bill of Rights states that, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents-and only parents-have the right and the  responsibility to restrict the access of their children-and only their children-to library resources.”

 

About the Arkansas Literary Festival

The Arkansas Literary Festival, the state’s premier gathering of readers and writers, will feature more than 80 bestselling and emerging authors April 24-27, 2014. The eleventh annual event will feature a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, workshops, activities, performances, special events, and book signings.

 

About The Weekend Theater

The Weekend Theater, a non-profit theatrical community that produces socially significant plays for the Central Arkansas community, will produce both full length plays in the fall. Performance dates for Nora are October 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19; and A Clockwork Orange runs November 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16. For information about the full productions or to purchase tickets visit www.weekendtheater.org or call (501) 374-3761.

About CALS

CALS libraries in Little Rock include: Main Library, 100 Rock Street; Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street; Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road; Fletcher Library, 823 North Buchanan Street; Oley E. Rooker Library, 11 Otter Creek Court; Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive; Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle; Williams Library, 1800 Chester Street; and McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road. CALS libraries in surrounding communities include: Millie M. Brooks Library, 13024 Hwy. 365, Wrightsville; Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Drive, Maumelle; Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Avenue, Perryville; Esther D. Nixon Library, 703 W. Main Street, Jacksonville; and Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood.

For more information, contact 918-3000.

Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music launched tonight

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butler-welkyWhat do a rockabilly musician turned cinematic swamp monster, an instrument that lent its name to a weapon, and the creator of Schoolhouse Rock! have in common? They all come from Arkansas. The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), will host a cocktail party to celebrate the release of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music, a new Butler Center Book, on Thursday, September 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. Reservations are appreciated, but not required. To RSVP, email kchagnon@cals.org or call 918-3033.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music is a special project of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture (EOA), an online encyclopedia launched in 2006 by the Butler Center. This colorful, photo-filled reference work spanning all aspects of Arkansas’s musical past and present includes more than 150 entries on musicians, ensembles, musical works, and events.
Also included is a musical map of Arkansas showing important musical sites-both defunct and still in existence-including the Rock ‘n’ Roll Highway. Covering the genres of blues/R&B, classical/opera, country, folk, gospel/contemporary Christian, jazz, rock, and rockabilly, this encyclopedia has something to interest any lover of Arkansas music and Arkansas history-as the state’s past, present, and future are tied to its music.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music is available at River Market Books & Gifts, 120 River Market Ave., and from the University of Arkansas Press, Butler Center Books’ distributor, www.uapress.com. Butler Center Books is a division of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. 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, contact Rod Lorenzen at (501) 320-5716 or rlorenzen@cals.org.

Tales from the South – Just Between You and Me

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talesfromsouthTonight’s edition of  ”Tales from the South” is Just Between You and Me. It will feature stories by Tyler Thompson and Sandra Hamilton. Music is by The Brad Williams 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.  Tonight’s episode will air on October 3.

Tues, Sep 10 at Tales from the South — Tin Roof Project: Lela Davidson

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lelatftstrp0913Though generally the first Tuesday of each month, this month Tales from the South has set aside the second Tuesday of the month to feature one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  September’s featured guest is Lela Davidson.

Music is by the Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

Lela is an award-winning humorist and freelance journalist who loves media and marketing. She entertains and inspires audiences in print, web, video, and television. Author of Blacklisted from the PTA and Who Peed on My Yoga Mat? Lela writes and speaks about motherhood, marriage, marketing, and the challenges of being over-40 in a Botox world.

“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.