Category Archives: Literature

Tales from the South pays tribute to Randy Tardy

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talesfromsouthTonight, “Tales from the South” pays tribute to a longtime Arkansas writer.
Randy Tardy is the retired transportation and business writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. He covered railroads, airlines and river traffic from 1976 until 2001. Randy, who is now in hospice, would like to share his stories with the world, so they will be read by his close friends.Randy’s stories will be read by Walter Walker, Rex Nelson, and Harvey Joe Sanner. Live music will be provided 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, in conjunction with Temenos Publishing Company. The show is taped live on Tuesday nights at Starving Artist Cafe’in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, Arkansas.

The program offers dinner and a show, and shows are $7.50 admission and open to the public. 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.

Doors open at 5:00pm. Dinner is served from 5:00 to 6:30pm (dinner price not included in admission charge).  The program starts at 7:00pm.  Advance reservations are required.

Two Tales from the South this week

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talesfromsouthHawthorne wrote of Twice Told Tales.  This week, Tales from the South offers two shows.

On Tuesday, April 30, the program will focus on “Lost and Found” featuring stories by Mary Lester, Wetzel LaGrone and May Griebel.  Music that night will be provided by Justin McGoldrick and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

On Wednesday, May 1, Heritage Month will kick off with a Historic Preservation of Arkansas show.  It will feature stories by Deborah Carroll, James King and Sandra Hamilton. Mark Currey and blues guitarist Mark Simpson will provide the music.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host, in conjuction with Temenos Publishing Company. The show is taped live on Tuesday nights at Starving Artist Cafe’in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, Arkansas.

The program offers dinner and a show, and shows are $7.50 admission and open to the public. 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.

Doors open at 5:00pm. Dinner is served from 5:00 to 6:30pm (dinner price not included in admission charge).  The program starts at 7:00pm.  Advance reservations are required.

James and the Giant Peach at AAC

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aac_childrens_theatre_james_peach_lgA magical peach! An incredible journey! Young orphan James escapes the clutches of his horrible Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker when he finds an enormous peach growing in his yard containing talking insects. James, the wise Old-Green-Grasshopper and the pessimistic Earthworm begin a wild adventure to an unknown destination.

This magical tale comes to life at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

Broadway audiences are paying a small fortune to see a stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.  But Little Rock audiences can see Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach for $12.

The title character is played by Jeffrey Oakley.  Mark Hansen and Aleigha Morton play his horrible aunts.  Others in the cast are Garrett Flood as Old Green Grasshopper, Anna Tess Frost as Spider, Jeremy Matthey as Centipede, Jhonika Wright as Ladybird and Cassandra Nary as Earthworm.

David Wood has adapted Dahl’s story for the stage.  The production is directed and designed by Alan Keith Smith.  Erin Larkin designed the costumes, and Penelope Poppers is the lighting designer.

James and the Giant Peach opens tonight and runs through May 12.  Public performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Bradley Anderson is the artistic director of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Dr. Todd Herman is the executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

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.

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.

Clinton School, Library participate in LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL reading at noon today

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4a08bf2ea81f2e2204f4fa22b3c66604f60eb8deb9a4On the 50th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. began writing his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the Clinton School and Clinton Foundation will join participants around the world for a public reading of King’s letter in celebration.

King wrote the letter in 1963 after he was arrested for participating in the Birmingham Campaign, a non-violent protest against racial segregation in the city. Written in response to criticism of the campaign from local clergy, the letter became a classic document of the Civil Rights Movement.

Those reading the letter will include elementary school and middle school students, local celebrities, Clinton Foundation staff and Clinton School students. This event is sponsored in conjunction with the Birmingham Public Library.

The program will take place at 12 noon today in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center.

Architect Kevin McClurkan in conversation tonight

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Kevin_McClurkanTonight at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center, award-winning architect and Arkansas native Kevin McClurkan, AIA, will make a presentation entitled THREADS: Ennead Architects’ Recent Works.  This is part of the monthly Architecture and Design Network lecture series.

A founding partner and management principal of  Ennead  Architects, New York-based architect Kevin McClurkan, has Arkansas roots and  continuing connections. An alumnus  of Pine Bluff High School, McClurkan earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where, in 1983, he received the Edward Durell Stone Award for Excellence in Design.

McClurkan has  continued to earn awards – a prestigious national American Institute of Architects Honor Awards among them. His  commitment  to design excellence, supported by  technical innovation,  is the hallmark of his work.  Little Rock’s William J.  Clinton Presidential Center; the Newseum/Freedom Forum Foundation World Headquarters, Washington D.C.; New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts  and  the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law are among the firm’s recent award-winning projects.

Ennead is the name of the firm formerly known as Polshek Partnership Architects. The firm’s  2010 renaming emphasizes  its identity as a group of architects rather than that of a single design leader.  The new name,  which means a group of nine,  reflects the democratic and collaborative culture of the partnership.

Currently working with Little Rock’s  Polk Stanley Wilcox on the redesign of the city’s  Robinson Auditorium, McClurkan  is a member of the  the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture’s Professional Advisory Board.  Of interest to the whole community,  his April talk is  free and open to the public.

For additional information, contact ardenetwork@icloud.com.