Literary Calendar of Events

for Central Arkansas

2015-2016
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Prague Summer Signing: Jeffery Condran

Sat., Nov. 14, 3:00 p.m., WordsWorth Books & Co., 5920 R St., Little Rock
Jeffrey Condran is the author of the novel, Prague Summer, winner of the 2015
Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal. He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and co-founder/publisher of the independent
literary press, Braddock Avenue Books. Condran will read from and sign Prague Summer.
For more information contact Jeffery Condran at jacondran@ualr.edu.

UCA Creative Writing Faculty Reading

Tues., Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m., South on Main Annex, 1304 Main St., Little Rock
The Oxford American presents a reading by UCA creative writing professors Garry Craig
Powell, Sandy Longhorn, Jennie Case, and Mark Spitzer. Books will be available for purchase.
For more information contact Eliza Born at eborne@oxfordamerican.org.

Reading and Book Signing by Christina Garca

Thurs., Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m., College of Business Auditorium 107, UCA, 201
Donaghey Ave., Conway
Cristina Garca is the author of six novels: King of Cuba; The Lady Matadors Hotel; A
Handbook to Luck; Monkey Hunting; The Agero Sisters, winner of the Janel Heidiger Kafka
Prize; and Dreaming in Cuban, finalist for the National Book Award. Garca has edited two
anthologies, Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a
Literature (2006) and Cubansimo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature (2003).
She is also the author of three works for young readers, Dreams of Significant Girls (2011), a
young adult novel set in a Swiss boarding school in the 1970s; The Dog Who Loved the Moon,
illustrated by Sebastia Serra, (Atheneum, 2008); and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox (Simon and
Schuster, 2008). Her collection of poetry, The Lesser Tragedy of Death (Akashic Books), was
published in 2010.
For more information contact Garry Craig Powell at gpowell@uca.edu or 501-505-8726.

Fiction Writer Cristina Garca, Interview with Toad Suck Review Editorial
Staff
Thurs., Nov. 19, 10:00 a.m., Thompson Hall 331, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave.,
Conway
Craft Talk/Q&A with Fiction Writer Cristina Garca
Fri., Nov. 20, 11:00 a.m., Thompson Hall 331, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave.,
Conway

A Night with Playwright Terrence McNally

Wed., Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., Bridges Larson Theatre, Snow Fine Arts Center,
UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway
Four-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally is the author of such
socially provocative plays as Next, Bad Habits, The Ritz, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de
Lune, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, A Perfect Ganesh, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Corpus
Christi, Some Men, Deuce and Mothers and Sons. In addition, he has written the books for the
musicals The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman (which is scheduled to enjoy a Broadway revival
next season starring Audra McDonald and Alan Cumming), Ragtime, A Man of No
Importance, The Full Monty, Catch Me If You Can, and The Visit.
Terrence McNally will attend one-act plays written by him and directed by and starring
UCA students. McNally will participate in a talkback after the performances.

Craft Talk/Q&A with Playwright Terrence McNally

Thurs., Dec. 3, 3:00 p.m., Studio Theatre, Snow Fine Arts Center, UCA, 201
Donaghey Ave., Conway
Private Reception with Terrence McNally
Thurs., Dec. 3, 5:30-7:00 p.m., Presidents House, UCA Campus
Join us for an intimate evening with one of America's most celebrated playwrights.
Wine and appetizers will be served.
Tickets are $100 per person and benefit the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre. For
information about tickets, contact Mary Ruth Marotte at mrmarotte@arkshakes.com or (501)
269-9428.

A Writers Life in the Theatre: A Lecture with Playwright Terrence

McNally
Thurs., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., College of Business Auditorium 107, UCA, 201
Donaghey Ave., Conway

Contemporary Opera and Social Justice: An Interview with Playwright

Terrence McNally
Fri., Dec. 4, 5:30 p.m., Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
and Visitor Center, 2120 W. Daisy L. Gaston Bates Dr., Little Rock

Guillermo's Coffeehouse Poetry Night

Wed., Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m., 10700 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock
On the first Wednesday of the month anyone is welcome to join for a night to recite
and discuss both personal pieces of literature as well as your works from your favorite
published poets, as well as anyone who would simply like to listen!
For more information contact Brooke Stewart at 501-246-1860 or
brstewart7012@students.pulaskitech.edu.

Sanders Distinguished Lecture: Sander-Darrow Debate Revisited

Thurs., Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m., CALS Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market
Ave., Little Rock
Eighty-five years ago at Little Rock High School, the nationally known religious skeptic
Clarence Darrow debated immortality with Rabbi Ira Sanders. This event will be explored anew
as a debate reenactment featuring local actors as the Central Arkansas Library Systems (CALS)
2015 Sanders Distinguished Lecture in conjunction with Temple Bnai Israels 150th anniversary.
The event will be followed by a reception. Reservations are requested, but not required.
RSVP online via Eventjoy or call 501-918-3009.
For more information contact Susan Gele at sgele@cals.org or 501-918-3086, or Lee Ann
Blackwell Hoskyn at lblackwell@cals.org or 501- 918-3029.

Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop Reading & Book Signing

Tues., Dec. 8, 7:00 p.m., Faulkner County Library, 1900 W. Tyler St.,
Conway
The MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Central Arkansas will debut its
newest group of graduate student writers, including Drew Cook, Eric Binnie, Alex Coleman,
Mikayla Davis, Shane Curry, JJ McNiece, Callie Tahat, and Rachel Hoge.
For more information contact Professor Mark Spitzer at mspitzer@uca.edu or call 501505-8328.

Guillermo's Coffeehouse Poetry Night

Wed., Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m., 10700 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock
On the first Wednesday of the month anyone is welcome to join for a night to recite
and discuss both personal pieces of literature as well as your works from your favorite
published poets, as well as anyone who would simply like to listen!
For more information contact Brooke Stewart at 501-246-1860 or
brstewart7012@students.pulaskitech.edu.

Directors Discussion with Melora Kordos

Fri., Feb. 19, 4:15 p.m., Murphy Seminar Room, Hendrix College, 1600
Washington Ave., Conway
Melora Kordos, Murphy Visiting Theatre Director, will discuss the play she is directing,
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare. [See February 24 27, 2016, for play
performance schedule.]

Q&A with Writer John DAgata for Creative Nonfiction Students

Tues., Feb. 23, 2:40 p.m., Thompson Hall 331, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave.,
Conway

Public Reading and Book Signing with Writer John DAgata

Tues., Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m., College of Business Auditorium 107, UCA, 201
Donaghey Ave., Conway

Craft Talk/Q&A with Writer John DAgata

Wed., Feb. 24, 10:00 a.m., Thompson Hall 331, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave.,
Conway

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Wed.-Fri., Feb. 2426, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 27, 2:00 p.m., Cabe Theatre,
Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway
Melora Kordos, this years Murphy Visiting Theatre Director, will direct a student
theatrical production of Shakespeares dark comedy Measure for Measure. Lust, law, and
morals fuel the story in Shakespeares most searching exploration of sexual politics and social
justice.
Melora Kordos is a professional actor and director in regional theatre and during the
past 20 years has worked at such venues as the Shakespeare Theatre in D.C., Folger Theatre,
Signature Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Court Theatre, and Star Plaza Theatre. She has
performed in over 50 plays and has appeared in numerous television shows, films, and
commercials, and is an audio book narrator. She is certified by the Society of American Fight
Directors and has been studying and teaching stage combat since 1992. She was Artistic
Director of Studio Roanoke and later the Renaissance Theatre. Originally from Chicago, she
moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, to teach in the theatre department at Randolph College. She
continues to teach Shakespeare workshops and acting classes.
For more information contact Henryetta Vanaman at vanaman@hendrix.edu or 501-4504597.

An Evening with Creative Writing Faculty Hope Coulter, Jessica Jacobs, and
Ty Jaeger
Tues., Mar. 1, 7:30 p.m., Reves Recital Hall, Hendrix College, 1600
Washington Ave., Conway
English department creative writing faculty will read from their new books: Hope
Coulter, director of the Hendrix-Murphy programs and instructor of creative writing, will read
from her collection The Wheel of Light (New Poets Series, BrickHouse Books, 2015); Jessica
Jacobs, spring 2016 Writer in Residence, will read from her Pelvis with Distance: A Biographyin-Poems of Georgia OKeeffe (White Pine Press, 2015); and Tyrone Jaeger, director of the
Creative Writing Program and Associate Professor of English, will read from his short story
collection So Many True Believers (Queens Ferry Press, 2016).
For more information contact Henryetta Vanaman at vanaman@hendrix.edu or 501-4504597.

Guillermo's Coffeehouse Poetry Night

Wed., Mar. 2, 6:30 p.m., 10070 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock
On the first Wednesday of the month anyone is welcome to join for a night to recite
and discuss both personal pieces of literature as well as your works from your favorite
published poets, as well as anyone who would simply like to listen!
For more information contact Brooke Stewart at 501-246-1860 or
brstewart7012@students.pulaskitech.edu.

Empire Without End: Total World Conquest in Roman Literature: A

Lecture by Randall Pogorzelski
Tues., Mar. 15, 7:30 p.m., Mills C, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave.,
Conway
Randall Pogorzelski, Assistant Professor of Classics (and acting Graduate Chair of
Classics) at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada), will explore in depth the nature of
ancient imperialism and offer new perspectives on content and authors so familiar in classical
myths. His research interests focus on Roman literature, particularly Augustan and early
imperial literature, as well as literary theory and classical reception. He has published articles
on Lucan, Virgil, and imperial epic and is a past winner of the prestigious Gildersleeve Prize
granted to the best paper of the year by the American Journal of Philology.
For more information contact Henryetta Vanaman at vanaman@hendrix.edu or call 501450-4597.

Guillermo's Coffeehouse Poetry Night

Wed., Apr. 6, 6:30 p.m., 10700 N. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock
On the first Wednesday of the month anyone is welcome to join for a night to recite
and discuss both personal pieces of literature as well as your works from your favorite
published poets, as well as anyone who would simply like to listen!
For more information contact Info Brooke Stewart at 501-246-1860 or
brstewart7012@students.pulaskitech.edu.

Readers Map of Arkansas Launch Party

Tues., Apr. 12, 7:00 p.m., Oxford American Annex at South on Main, 1300
S. Main St., Little Rock
The Readers Map of Arkansas is the new, updated version of an Arkansas literary map
created by the poet C. D. Wright in 1994 and published by the University of Arkansas Press as
part of her Lost Roads project.
This updated Readers Map of Arkansas, created with Wrights and the UA Presss
permission, honors more than 450 authors, living and dead, who have significant ties to
Arkansas and have contributed to its rich literature. It will be a fun and useful reference for
Arkansas educators, students, and readers who want to know more about our literary heritage
besides adding a snazzy visual note to any wall.
Join us for a festive evening with the unveiling of the new map; remarks by steering
committee members; and featured authors and insider tips to enjoying the map. Posters of the
map will be for sale.
This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and
the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Additional support comes from the Arkansas Library
Association, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, the Central Arkansas Library System
Foundation, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language, the Porter
Fund, Pulaski Technical College, and the University of Central Arkansas.
This event is co-sponsored by the Arkansas Literary Festival and the Readers Map of
Arkansas Committee. For more information contact readersmap@hendrix.edu or Hope Coulter
at 501-450-1388.

An Evening with Murphy Visiting Poet Kevin Young

Thurs., Apr. 14, 7:30 p.m., Reves Recital Hall, Hendrix College, 1600
Washington Ave., Conway
Kevin Young, the Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory
University, is often described as the best and brightest of contemporary American poets.
Author of eight books of award-winning poetry, he has also edited eight collections of poetry,
including The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton, and was a finalist for the 2013 National Book
Critics Circle Award for criticism. Among awards received by Young are the 2013 PEN/Open
Book Award, the 2007 Quill Award in Poetry for his volume For the Confederate Dead, the
Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Excellence with Dear Darkness (2008), Ardency: A
Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels (2011), which won the Before Columbus Foundation American
Book Award, and The Grey Album: On Blackness of Blackness (2012), his first non-fiction
collection of essays, cultural criticism, and lyrical chorus, which won the Graywolf Press
Nonfiction Prize and was shortlisted for the PEN/Open Award in 2012.
For more information contact Henryetta Vanaman at vanaman@hendrix.edu or 501-4504597.

Arkansas Literary Festival

Thurs., Apr. 14, to Sun., Apr. 17, various times/locations, Little Rock
The premier event for readers and writers in Arkansas features bestselling and
emerging authors in readings, panels, signings, and workshops. The festival features
performances and additional activities as well.
For more information contact Brad Mooy at bmooy@cals.org or 501-918-3098.

The Aonian/Hendrix-Murphy Literary Contest Winners Reception and

Reading
Thurs., Apr. 28, 4:30 p.m., Murphy Seminar Room, Hendrix College, 1600
Washington Ave., Conway
Winners of the Hendrix-Murphy Literary Contest will read their entries during a
reception that also celebrates the debut of this years campus literary and visual art magazine,
the Aonian.

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This calendar is a service provided by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation in Literature and Language at
Hendrix College. By distributing a common calendar of public literary events in central Arkansas, we
hope to raise awareness of cultural happenings at nearby campuses and libraries, to encourage
communication among various institutions, and to foster higher participation in their public programs.