Literacy is key to living, as well as enjoying, life. So, all advocates of the written word should consider attending “Read Between The Wines,” a night benefitting the Literacy Council of the Ouachitas. This annual event has gained a reputation as a fun convergence of book lovers in the greater Hot Springs area. And this year’s event promises music, art, and history as well as words.
This year’s visiting author is Stephen Koch, a musician and host of Arkansongs, a public radio segment syndicated throughout the Midsouth (Arkansongs is heard locally Fridays at 6:50 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KUAR in Little Rock, Mondays at 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on KUHS in Hot Springs, and weekends on FM101 in Mena.)
He’s author of a biography of R&B pioneer Louis Jordan, who lived in Hot Springs and had fifty top ten hits in the 1940s, as well as the new art book, From Almeda To Zilphia: Arkansas Women Who Transformed American Popular Song, on my Et Alia Press imprint, with portraits by artist Katherine Strause. Koch will talk about some of the musicians featured in the book and his writing process and will perform a few of their notable songs, as well as some Louis Jordan hits.
Read Between The Wines will be held at the Chittum Venue at Forest Lakes (off Higdon Ferry Road) at 6 p.m. February 20; primary sponsor is local treasure Black Ribbon Books. Tickets: https://givebutter.com/RBTW25.
Books will be available at the event – and are always available at Black Ribbon or etaliapress.com.
Hot Springs native Erin Wood is a writer, editor, and publisher in Little Rock. She owns and runs etaliapress.com. Wood is the author of “Women Make Arkansas: Conversations With 50 Creatives” (2019) and editor of and a contributor to “Scars: An Anthology” (2015).
