Arts & Letters Radio

12/13/2024

Final NEW show of 2024! Hope you enjoy exploring marginalia with renown author Peter Orner and "Still No Word From You." Broadcast and lived streamed tonight at 9 pm cst and Sunday at 6 pm CST on Little Rock Public Radio. Then, sent to your favorite podcast platforms on Monday!

What makes a good reader? What are the actual notes in the margin worth remembering? What perspective does life on the margins bring? Will Peter Orner have answers for us?

11/18/2024

A special thanks to producer, creative and musician extraordinaire, Silas Hite, for all of his work on our 2nd episode of AR Poetica. Live stream this fantastically produced episode anytime ...

Share time with Central Arkansas poet Sandy Longhorn as we follow her poetic tale of severe illness in America and "the industrial medical complex." Join us as we hear Longhorn's poetry and discuss complex issues surrounding women and commercial healthcare.

11/15/2024

We are absolutely honored and excited to have been awarded the 2024 BEST ARTS PODCAST from Arkast and the Arkansas Podcast Collaborative!!!!!!!

A HUGE thank you to all of our listeners who voted for the program and a HUGE shout out to Little Rock Public Radio.

For a program that started out as just an idea on a piece of paper ten years ago, we couldn't be more thankful to all the musicians, authors, historians, artists, and creatives who gave their time to the program. These folks have not just been collaborators but have become dear friends. A special shout out to HumanitiesAR for the support and partnership. Finally, an extra special thank you to our listeners. We would not be here without you.

11/14/2024

This week, we are proud to release the 2nd episode of AR Poetica, in our Arts & Letters KUAR timeslot! This new limited series is about Arkansas poets and how their writing connects to their lives. It's cohosted by our executive producer J. Bradley Minnick and our Senior Producer, Mary Ellen Kubit. We feature Central Arkansas Poet, Sandy Longhorn. Live stream anytime below, on NPR One, or your favorite podcast platform.

Share time with Central Arkansas poet Sandy Longhorn as we follow her poetic tale of severe illness in America and "the industrial medical complex." Join us as we hear Longhorn's poetry and discuss complex issues surrounding women and commercial healthcare.

10/11/2024

We've been nominated for Best Arts Podcast in Arkansas! We are so honored and thank you to whomever nominated us! Please vote for us here:

Vote for your favorite podcasters and watch them walk the stage in November to accept their awards at ARKAST 2024 in Fayetteville, AR!

10/01/2024

We are so delighted to introduce the Arts & Letters Radio family to the amazing Milly Raccoon, who's music is featured in our latest episode, Know When To Hold 'Em about the Wild West's lady gambler, Lottie Deno. We think after hearing the show, you too will fall in love with Milly and her unforgettable Americana style! Follow her Bandcamp for more of her music, and her Insta to stay connected. (Links in messages below!)

10/01/2024

What do you do when a 19th century outlaw is your namesake? Why if you're creative Frank Thurmond, you write about him and his infamous wife, Lottie Deno the notorious 'lady' gambler!

09/27/2024

If you love the Wild West, check out Little Rock author Frank Thurmond (not the 19th century outlaw of the same name) featured in our latest episode! Live stream anytime below!

What do you do when a 19th century outlaw is your namesake? Why if you're creative Frank Thurmond, you write about him and his infamous wife, Lottie Deno the notorious 'lady' gambler!

09/06/2024

Today, we are proud to present a special program, AR Poetica, in our Arts & Letters KUAR timeslot! This new limited series is about Arkansas poets and how their writing connects to their lives. It's cohosted by our executive producer J. Bradley Minnick and our Senior Producer, Mary Ellen Kubit. Tonight we feature poet Laurette, Kai Coggin. Check out the website and live stream anytime. We'll be working on four episodes of AR Poetica this year. Hope you enjoy the debut!

Meet Hot Springs poet Kai Coggin as she speaks up and speaks out about injustice, her love of nature, her beloved fu dogs, her marriage, and her journey to Arkansas...

08/07/2024

Billy Collins tells of his time with Miller Williams and the University of Arkansas Press! This has been part of the episode that has resonated with many writers. Hope you enjoy!

Coined "America’s favorite poet” by The Wall Street Journal, Billy Collins shares his collection of short poems, writing about nature, animals, poetry, and hotels—all in only a handful of lines.

07/25/2024

Many people don't know that Walmart has a local community giving initiative & we want to shout out a very special thanks to the Walmart Supercenter Little Rock - Bowman Rd & the 'Spark Good Change' program at Walmart for the community grant. This educational program about poet Billy Collins wouldn't have brought the magic to Central AR without you! Thank you!!! Here's the program for all to enjoy, and when you're at the Bowman location next, give 'em a HUGE thanks for us too!!!

Coined "America’s favorite poet” by The Wall Street Journal, Billy Collins shares his collection of short poems, writing about nature, animals, poetry, and hotels—all in only a handful of lines.

07/24/2024

So proud to share our current episode featuring the amazing Billy Collins and his poetry book Musical Tables published by Random House! We promise great poems and great conversation, and we can't wait for his next release, Water Water, out this NOVEMBER!

Coined "America’s favorite poet” by The Wall Street Journal, Billy Collins shares his collection of short poems, writing about nature, animals, poetry, and hotels—all in only a handful of lines.

07/21/2024

TONIGHT!!!!!

TOMORROW! Cleaver 46 writers take to Zoom for a live reading of work from our phenomenal summer issue.

Register NOW to receive the Zoom
link! Sunday, July 21, at 7pm Eastern.

Featuring Alex Barr, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, Kindall Fredricks, Brooke Harries, Mike Itaya, Victoria Korth, Elisabetta La Cava, Kate E. Lore, J Bradley Minnick, Autumn H. Thomas, Marlene Tholl, Ash Trebisacci, and Meg Yardley.

Sign up here:
https://tinyurl.com/3xvnbc4x

07/15/2024

Billy Collins! Billy Collins!! Billy Collins!!! -- this Friday on the newest Arts & Letters Radio!!!!! Join us 9 pm cst on KUAR 89.1 Little Rock Public Radio

Coined "America’s favorite poet” by The Wall Street Journal, Billy Collins shares his collection of short poems, writing about nature, animals, poetry, and hotels—all in only a handful of lines.

07/10/2024

Love the humanities AND The White Water Tavern? Put that humanities degree to good use, meet other humanities folk, and enjoy a bit of libations!

HumanitiesAR Trivia is BACK next week at the White Water Tavern in Little Rock!

Test your knowledge with rounds of questions involving the different disciplines of the humanities, pop culture humanists, Arkansas heritage sites, and so much more. Grab your friends and head on down!

Trivia will be free to play or ‘pay what you can’ donations with proceeds going to support upcoming programs from the Next Generation Advisory Committee.

For questions or more information, contact Jamie Middleton, [email protected].

07/10/2024

A teaser... our new July Arts & Letters Radio show is in the finishing stages and it stars... Billy Collins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arts & Letters is a program celebrating contemporary arts, humanities, and social sciences, with an emphasis on authentic Southern voices. Hosted by J. Bradley Minnick of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the full episode archive is available at artsandlettersradio.org. iTunes | Instagram |...