Tag Archives: Oxford American

A Conversation with Rocco Landesman this afternoon

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Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas. Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas today.

As a part of that visit, he will be participating in a Please join us for a very enlightening panel discussion at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. It is being co-hosted by The Rep and the Oxford American. Arkansas First Lady Ginger Bebee will introduce the conversation.

Visiting Arkansas for the first time, Chairman Landesman will participate in a panel discussion with Rep Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp and Oxford American Publisher Warick Sabin. Arkansas Arts Council Executive Director Joy Pennington will moderate the panel on “Creative Placemaking in Little Rock.”

The panel discussion will take place in the Rep’s Cindy Murphy Theatre at 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Following the panel, there will be a reception at 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The panel discussion and lobby reception are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Rocco Landesman was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, 2009 as the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Prior to joining the NEA, he was president of Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns five Broadway theatres. A Broadway theater producer and multiple Tony winner, he has brought Big River (1985 Tony Award for Best Musical), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993 Tony Award for Best Play), Angels in America: Perestroika (1994 Tony Award for Best Play), Into the Woods, and The Producers (2001 Tony Award for Best Musical) to Broadway.

Shakespeare’s South

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In partnership with the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater, acclaimed writers Graham Gordy, Trenton Lee Stewart, and Warwick Sabin will bring Shakespeare to the South for a very special Tales from the South on Tuesday evening, January 17, 2012, with stories centered around finding themselves, others, and even the South in the Bard. The live taping of the radio series will be at Starving Artist Café in the Argenta Arts District, Downtown North Little Rock. Live music by The Salty Dogs.

Doors open at 5pm, dinner is served 5pm-6:30pm and the show starts at 7pm. Tickets are $5 for the show, plus the cost of dinner. Seating is very limited. Tickets can be purchased online at www.talesfromthesouth.com.

“Tales from the South” is recorded on Tuesdays during “Dinner and a Show” at Starving Artist Café. The show airs locally on KUAR Thursdays at 7pm and is syndicated by World Radio Network, a satellite radio distribution service, available to more than 130 million listeners worldwide. Shows are also distributed nationwide to multiple public radio stations by PRX (Public Radio Exchange). Podcasts are available on ITunes, the NPR website, the KUAR website, the PRX website, and the “Tales from the South” website.

“Tales from the South” is presented by the Argenta Arts Foundation, with AY Magazine as the official media sponsor, publishing a story each month in the magazine. Additional support provided by William F. Laman Public Library, the North Little Rock Visitor’s Bureau and The Oxford American Magazine.

Oxford American music issue: Thank God for Mississipppi. truly

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The Oxford American’s 13th annual Southern music issue came out earlier this month.  The focus for December 2011 is the Magnolia State. It comes complete with a 27-song CD.  The website also has links to music not contained on the CD.

As the Little Rock and Conway-based magazine notes, Mississippi can lay stake to being birth of blues, rock and country.

The issue contains articles on:

* Sam Phillips’s greatest musical

* The x-rated origins of blues lyrics

* Mississippi John Hurt

PLUS: A special section of The OA featuring lists and musings by contributors including Roy Blount, Jr., Nick Hornby, and Rosanne Cash.

OXFORD AMERICAN magazine

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As the Thanksgiving weekend approaches and people travel the highways and byways Arkansas and the South, it is a good time to think about the Oxford American magazine.

The Oxford American celebrates great writing, great food, great music and the great people of the South.  With a broad definition of “great” it takes time to highlight not only the renowned but also the hidden treasures. By focusing on the South, the Oxford American shines the spotlight on things that unique to the South, but also shows that there is much that is universal.

Founded in 1992 by Marc Smirnoff in Oxford, Mississippi, the Oxford American has been located in Conway, Arkansas, on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas since 2004.  The magazine is led by Smirnoff and publisher Warwick Sabin.

The magazine has won many awards and received much recognition.  The music issue will be released in December and is the most popular issue each year.  It will be discussed in a future entry here.  The current issue focuses on education.

If you are a passenger on a road trip this weekend, the Oxford American is a great way to spend the time. Or if you are having a family and turkey overload — it makes a great getaway.