Tag Archives: Central Arkansas Library System

Legacies and Lunch tomorrow

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The Butler Center’s monthly “Legacies and Lunch” series continues tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012, noon to 1 p.m.
Darragh Center, Main Library
100 Rock St.
The Civil War in Arkansas

In conjunction with the Butler Center exhibition Invasion or Liberation? The Civil War in Arkansas, Dr. Carl Moneyhon will discuss opposition to the Civil War in Arkansas. Moneyhon, a faculty member in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock history department, is a specialist in the history of the American Civil War and the South and is widely published in the field.

Invasion or Liberation? will be on view on Concordia Hall (401 President Clinton Ave.) through October 27, 2012. Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided.

Dr. Moneyhon joined the faculty in 1973 and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He is faculty liaison with the University History Institute, an organization that develops closer ties between the department and the community. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. He was won the UALR Faculty Excellent Award for Research and the UALR Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching.

Dr. Moneyhon is a specialist in the history of the American Civil War and the South and is widely published in the field. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and he recently received one of the first College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Summer Fellowships for Research. He is a Fellow of the Texas Historical Association. He is working on a book on the connection of war-time experience and developed identity among Confederate soldiers.

Ben Piazza’s THE EXACT AND VERY STRANGE TRUTH

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Seventy-nine years ago today, actor and author Ben Piazza was born in Little Rock.  This is a good opportunity to discuss his 1964 novel The Exact and Very Strange Truth.  Published in 1964, it is a fictional memoir of a young man growing up in Little Rock during the 1940s.

Readers of the book will see references to once-familiar names of stores along Main Street and other Little Rock landmarks of the time.  Though the book is a work of fiction, Piazza based many of the young hero’s sites on his own.  Sadly many of the buildings which play important roles in the novel are no longer extant including the hero’s rock house on 14th Street, Centennial Elementary, Immanuel Baptist Church on Bishop Street, and the family’s shoe repair store at 8th and Main Street .  Little Rock Central High School (then Little Rock High School) is one of the few structures mentioned in the book which is still standing.

Following the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, publishers were looking for the next novel of fictional memoirs set in the American South.  Piazza finished the novel in early 1963 and it was published the next year.  It was met with nice reviews and was later published in paperback.  He dedicated the novel to his good friend Edward Albee; at the time the novel was released he was starring on Broadway in Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Though it was Piazza’s only novel, he did later write the plays The Sunday Agreement and Lime Green/Khaki Blue.

The Central Arkansas Library System has a copy of The Exact and Very Strange Truth available for checking out.  Copies are also usually available on eBay and other web-based purchase sites.

Harry Potter Party

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Muggles are invited to a Harry Potter Party at the Central Arkansas Library System today.

The party takes place at 10:30 am and at 6:30pm at the main campus of the library.  It is being held in conjunction with the Harry Potter’s World exhibit.

Partygoers can be sorted into Hogwarts houses, earn house points, watch a game of Quidditch, make wands play trivi games, play wizard’s chess and cast spells.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Main Library is hosting Harry Potter’s World, a traveling exhibit using materials from the National Library of Medicine, at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street, through August 11.

The potions, plants, and animals in Harry’s world were inspired by Renaissance traditions. Information discovered through alchemy, astrology, natural philosophy, and medicine formed the basis of the development and current practice of Western science. The exhibit will also examine the links between historical and fictional characters in the Harry Potter series.

The Main Library has planned programs, movie showings, and activities for readers of all ages in addition to the exhibit, and Harry Potter literature will be displayed at each branch. For additional online activities, resources for educators, and more information about the exhibition, visit the National Library of Medicine’s website.

Bookends Café, the library’s literary café in the Cox Creative Center, 120 River Market Avenue, will offer special Harry Potter items while the exhibit is at the library, including Quidditch Player’s Pie, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Smoothie, Butterscotch “Butterbeer” Latte, and Cauldren Cakes.

July 2nd Friday Art Night

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Once again, Friday the 13th will be lucky for patrons who venture out to explore 2nd Friday Art Night in downtown Little Rock.   It takes place from 5pm to 8pm and is free.  Several downtown galleries are open with special events and exhibits.  A free trolley runs between the various sites.

Here is a sampling of what can be found.

Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street) hosts the opening reception for BARBIE: The 11 1/2-inch American Icon, the newest exhibit in the Eclectic Collector series. There will be live music by Steve Bates and an ice cream tasting with Loblolly Creamery. Loblolly makes small batch ice cream, fizzy sodas and other treats from local organic ingredients.

Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Avenue) will feature The Civil War in Arkansas as a part of the 150th commemoration of this pivotal event in American History.  Also still on display are Arkansas Arts Educators State Youth Art Show 2012 and Small Town: Portraits of a Disappearing America

Christ Episcopal Church (509 Scott Street) showcases artists from the Arkansas Pastel Society.  In addition artwork from students who are participating in a Christ Church summer youth arts program will also be on display.

studioMAIN (1423 South Main) opens its latest exhibition, Quality + Quantity: a Conversation on Modern Furniture. It exhibits furniture designed by local UALR Applied Design students and pairs it with several timeless furniture pieces that are being provided by Workplace Resource and Herman Miller.

Quapaw Quarter Association at Curran Hall (515 East Capitol Avenue) is showcasing LVB Designs…cuff bracelets by Linda Bradley, local designer and artist.  Each piece is custom made.  See and try on these unique cuffs in their many styles and designs.

Harry Potter’s World at CALS

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harry potter's world

Readers of all ages have been fascinated with Harry Potter’s education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since J.K. Rowling’s first novel was released in 1997. The Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Main Library will host Harry Potter’s World, a traveling exhibit using materials from the National Library of Medicine, at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street through August 11.

The potions, plants, and animals in Harry’s world were inspired by Renaissance traditions. Information discovered through alchemy, astrology, natural philosophy, and medicine formed the basis of the development and current practice of Western science. The exhibit will also examine the links between historical and fictional characters in the Harry Potter series.

The Main Library has planned programs, movie showings, and activities for readers of all ages in addition to the exhibit, and Harry Potter literature will be displayed at each branch. For additional online activities, resources for educators, and more information about the exhibition, visit the National Library of Medicine’s website.

Bookends Café, the library’s literary café in the Cox Creative Center, 120 River Market Avenue, will offer special Harry Potter items while the exhibit is at the library, including Quidditch Player’s Pie, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Smoothie, Butterscotch “Butterbeer” Latte, and Cauldren Cakes.

Several special events have been planned in conjunction.  Below is a list of some of them.

  • Thursday, July 12, 10:30 a.m.: Little Rock Zoo “Animals of Harry Potter”
  • Monday, July 16, 2:00 p.m.: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (PG)
  • Thursday, July 19, 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.: Harry Potter Party
  • Saturday, July 21, 10:30 a.m.: Little Rock Zoo “Animals of Harry Potter”

Harry Potter’s World is presented by the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, and is curated by Elizabeth J. Bland.

Legacies and Lunch tomorrow (7/11)

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The Butler Center’s monthly Legacies and Lunch program (normally the first Wednesday of the month) is the second Wednesday this month.  The July program features Ruth Hawkins discussing her latest book, Unbelievable Happiness and Final Sorrow: The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Marriage.

The program will take place at 12 noon on Wednesday, July 11 in the Darragh Center on the main campus of the Central Arkansas Library System.

It was the glittering intellectual world of 1920s Paris expatriates in which Pauline Pfeiffer, a writer for Vogue, met Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley among a circle of friends that included Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, and Dorothy Parker. Pauline grew close to Hadley but eventually forged a stronger bond with Hemingway himself; with her stylish looks and dedication to Hemingway’s writing, Pauline became the source of “unbelievable happiness” for Hemingway and, by 1927, his second wife.

Pauline was her husband’s best editor and critic, and her wealthy family provided moral and financial support, including the conversion of an old barn to a dedicated writing studio at the family home in Piggott, Arkansas. The marriage lasted thirteen years, some of Hemingway’s most productive, and the couple had two children. But the “unbelievable happiness” met with “final sorrow,” as Hemingway wrote, and Pauline would be the second of Hemingway’s four wives.

Hawkins’ book was published in June by the University of Arkansas Press.   She has been an administrator at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro for more than 30 years and established its Arkansas Heritage Sites program, which includes the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott. She has been recognized at the state, regional and national level for her work in historic preservation and heritage tourism.

Sid McMath Centenary

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Community organizations and the McMath family are working together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Governor Sidney Sanders McMath with activities on June 14-15 at Central Arkansas Library System venues.  Gov. McMath was born on June 14, 1912.

These organizations were important to Governor McMath at different times in his life, and the activities reflect those connections. The celebration will begin with a Historical Perspectives conference on McMath’s history and accomplishments on Thursday, June 14, from 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Arkansas Studies Institute building, 401 President Clinton Ave. Individuals who knew or worked with McMath in various projects and offices will offer presentations with subjects including The Making of a Governor, Confronting Jim Crow, and Man of Faith.

A Centennial Salute and Reception will be held on Friday, June 15, at 10 a.m. at McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Rd. Presentation of the colors will begin the program, which will include a speaker from the McMath family. Governor Mike Beebe will speak about the significance of McMath’s time as governor. A reception in the McMath Library meeting room will be followed by family activities of health and vision screenings, mobility demonstrations, Marine Corps and college information, and a children’s book giveaway. Parking is limited, but additional parking is available at Parkview Arts/Sciences High School, 2501 John Barrow Road.

All activities are free and open to the public. The celebration is presented by the McMath family, the Central Arkansas Library System, Henderson State University, Lion’s World Services for the Blind, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, U.S. Marine Corps, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, University of Arkansas, and Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church.