Tag Archives: Central Arkansas Library System

Lineup for April’s 11th Annual Arkansas Literary Festival Announced

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1359064160-litfest_logoAs winter drones on, a person’s fancy may turn to thoughts of spring. Or to a good book to read by candlelight to pass the time in winter.

In any way, a certain harbinger of warmer weather will be the presence in April of the 11th annual Arkansas Literary Festival.

Prestigious award-winners, big names, writers for television shows, journalists, and artists are among the diverse roster of presenters who will be providing sessions at the eleventh annual Arkansas Literary Festival, April 24-27, 2014. The Central Arkansas Library System‘s Main Library campus and many other Little Rock venues are the sites for a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, special events, performances, workshops, presentations, opportunities to meet authors, book sales, and book signings. Most events are free and open to the public.

The Arkansas Literary Festival, the premier gathering of readers and writers in Arkansas, will include more than 80 presenters including featured authors Catherine Coulter, who has more than seventy million books in print; Congressman John Lewis, one of the key figures in the civil rights movement; best-selling authors Mary Roach, ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Curtis Sittenfeld, and artist/illustrator Kadir Nelson; musician Rhett Miller; and education expert David L. Kirp.

This year’s Festival authors have won an impressive number and variety of distinguished awards, including ten Emmy awards, multiple National Endowment for the Arts fellowships and grants, two Pulitzer Prizes, the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (the Genius Grant), the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Caldecott Honor, an NAACP Image Award, an Eisner Award, a Ford Foundation Fellowship, the American Book Award, the O. Henry Prize, recognition as one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35, and much more.

Their works have been included in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Bon Appétit, Glamour, Playboy, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Slate, Mother Jones, and the Washington Post, among others.

Special events for adults during the Festival include a cocktail reception with the authors, a writing workshop with Catherine Coulter, a concert by Rhett Miller, and a presentation by an art historian which includes an Artists Buffet. Panels and sessions include genres and topics such as chocolate, lucid dreaming, graphic novels, the war in Iraq, short stories, Arkansas food, murder mysteries, football, dinosaurs, and gangsters.

Children’s special events include a storytime on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, a treasure hunt, a play based on The Little Engine That Could, and a Lego exhibit. Festival sessions for children will take place at both the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 10th Street, and the Youth Services Department at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street.

At Level 4, the Main Library’s teen center, special events for teens include a robotics demonstration and a panel on comic book conventions.

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; Department of Arkansas Heritage; Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation; Mosaic Templars Cultural Center; ProSmart Printing; KUAR FM 89.1; Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau; Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Sync; Arkansas Life; William J. Clinton Presidential Center; Oxford American; Landers FIAT of Benton; MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History; Arkansas Times; Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service; Historic Arkansas Museum ; Christ Church, Little Rock’s Downtown Episcopal Church; Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center; Arkansas Library Association; Goss Management Company, LLC; Henderson State University; Hendrix College Project Pericles Program; Pulaski Technical College; Arkansas Arts Center; River’s Edge Media; Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; Rockefeller Elementary School; Gibbs Elementary School; Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center; Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow; Arkansas Governor’s Mansion; Hendrix College Creative Writing; 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; National Park Service Central High School National Historic Site; Tales from the South; and Power 92 Jams. 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 25, at 8 p.m.; tickets are $25 in advance, and $40 at the door, and go on sale at ArkansasLiteraryFestival.org beginning Tuesday, April 1. Author! Author! tickets will also be available for purchase at the Main Library and River Market Books & Gifts, 120 River Market Avenue.

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 2014 Festival Chair. Other committee chairs include Katherine Whitworth, Talent Committee; Lisa Donovan, Youth Programs; and Amy Bradley-Hole, Moderators.

For more information about the 2014 Arkansas Literary Festival, visit ArkansasLiteraryFestival.org, or contact Brad Mooy at bmooy@cals.org or 501-918-3098. For information on volunteering at the Festival, contact Angela Delaney atadelaney@cals.org or 501-918-3095.

Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman at Ron Robinson Theater this weekend

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One of the advantages of the new CALS Ron Robinson Theater is the fact it can be programmed fairly quickly.

In tribute to the late stage and screen actor/director Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Little Rock Film Festival and Central Arkansas Library System have programmed a special weekend of films celebrating his career.

It kicks off tonight at 7pm with Magnolia and continues tomorrow at 7 with Charlie Wilson’s War.  On Sunday, his Academy Award winning performance as the title character in Capote will be screened at 4pm.

All films take place in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater inside the Arcade Building on the CALS campus.  The screenings are free.

MAGNOLIA – Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2000 film is an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. Arkansan Melinda Dillon and Hoffman were just two of the actors in this ensemble film.

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR – Mike Nichols and Aaron Sorkin’s comic drama was based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.  Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Hoffman teamed up to lead the cast of this movie.

CAPOTE –  During his research for his book In Cold Blood, an account of the murder of a Kansas family, Truman Capote writer develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers. Hoffman won an Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of this brilliant and troubled writer. Catherine Keener received an Oscar nomination for her performance as lifelong Capote friend, reclusive author Harper Lee.

Legacies & Lunch: Lessons from an Old School

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legaciesThis month, the Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch series not only looks at a chapter in Arkansas history, but it explores the challenges of researching and writing history.
Grace Blagdon and David Ware will discuss the Brinkley Academy, a major part of African American educational history in Arkansas. Blagdon, whose father was the school’s principal, will share what she has learned from surviving students. Ware, historian of the Arkansas State Capitol, will touch on the challenges he and Blagdon faced in creating an exhibit, Old School: Remembering the Brinkley Academy, from the school’s few remaining historical materials.
Legacies & Lunch is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council.
This month, Legacies & Lunch moves to a new location.  With the opening of the new CALS Ron Robinson Theater in the Arcade Building, the program will take place there.  It is easily accessible from the Main Library’s parking lot. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

The program is held from noon-1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

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.

Weather prompting changes; Good day to stay in and try CALS new Hoopla download service

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Due to inclement weather, many area museums and performances may be postponed or cancelled. Please call ahead before venturing out.

The Central Arkansas Library System now offers Hoopla, a movie, tv, audiobook, and music downloading system. Today would be a great day to try out this new service.

To learn more, visit the CALS website at www.cals.org.

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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

First 2nd Friday Art Night of 2014

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2nd Friday Art NightThe first 2nd Friday Art Night of 2014 takes place tonight.  Among the participating locations are Historic Arkansas Museum, the Central Arkansas Library System and Old State House Museum.

Historic Arkansas Museum will feature live music by Phil G. and Lori Marie from 5pm to 8pm.  It will also host the opening reception for Chasing the Light: Photography by Brian Chilson, in the Second Floor Gallery through March 10.  Arkansas Times photographer Brian Chilson has had a front row seat to some of the most exciting, entertaining, eventful and sometimes poignant events in Arkansas, as well as those smaller moments of everyday life. This collection of photographs taken over the past decade, from 2003 to 2013, serves as a sort of retrospective of life in Arkansas in the arenas of fashion, sports, politics and human interest.

At the Central Arkansas Library’s Butler Center a new exhibit will open.  Unusual Portraits: New Works by Michael Warrick and David O’Brien features explorations in portraiture by two accomplished Little Rock artists. Featured musician for the evening is Das Loop, a Little Rock duo that creates instrumental compositions using live loops and “layers of poly-rhythmic bliss.” The featured artist is Jacquelyn Kaucher, a painter who works with watercolor and acrylics, and she is a long-time teacher of watercolor and experimental watercolor painting in Little Rock.

The Old State House will host Second Friday Cinema: “Broncho Billy Anderson: Arkansas’s First Movie Star” at 6:00 pm. Born Max Aronson in Little Rock, Ark., Gilbert M. Anderson was a motion picture pioneer, who appeared in the groundbreaking film The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Anderson partnered with George Spoor to form the Essanay (S and A) Studios, where he wrote, directed, and starred in hundreds of one-reel westerns and comedies, the most popular featuring a character Anderson created for himself, Broncho Billy. “Broncho Billy” Anderson became Hollywood’s first western star, and Essanay one of the most successful studios of the early motion picture era.

The screening will include three short movies featuring Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson:   The Great Train Robbery (1903) Broncho Billy’s Fatal Joke (1914) The Son-of-a-Gun (1919).  Ben Fry, General Manager of KLRE/KUAR and coordinator of the film minor at UALR, will introduce the films and lead a discussion.

Legacies & Lunch Looks at Slavery in Arkansas

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legaciesSlave resistance in Arkansas is the topic of Legacies & Lunch in January. Kelly Houston Jones, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas, will present “A Rough, Saucy Set of Hands to Manage,” a discussion of her research on slavery in Arkansas.

This work was the lead essay in the Spring 2012 issue of Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Making extensive use of legal documents and carefully reading oral histories, Jones sought “to recover the slave point of view in examining explicit resistance.” She concludes that “slaves’ resistance in Arkansas seems to have had more to do with making their lives a little easier than with a continuing, self conscious effort to undermine the slave regime.”

Legacies & Lunch is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. The program is held from noon-1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the Main Library’s Darragh Center. 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.