AR Books

By Erin Wood Caregivers of those facing serious illnesses and entering hospice during the pandemic are especially vulnerable and threadbare, and need messages of courage and peace. Little Rock author Jennifer A. O’Brien has been spending her time in isolation doing all she can to ensure encouraging messages are available and received, providing workshops, creating resources, and connecting caregivers throughout this time of social distancing. In her advocacy work as

By Erin Wood In January’s article, I shared that textile artist, poet, and regular contributor to Wednesday Night Poetry, Crystal C. Mercer, was finishing work on an EP, Black Glow Matters, as well as a related short film. On May 17, both were released. (Also, in May, Mercer was notified that she’d received coveted grants from PEN America and the Dramatist Guild Foundation, both of which are helping her continue

By Erin Wood The Six Bridges Book Festival (formerly the Arkansas Literary Festival) is normally enjoyed by thousands in Central Arkansas at the end of April. Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, the 2020 Festival is postponed until fall. Seven Arkansas contributors are featured in Closet Cases: Queers on What We Wear, an anthology by Atlanta author Megan Volpert, which will be part of the Festival. Those contributors include Jane V.

By Erin Wood Ahead of the April 2, 2020 release of her children’s book Butterfly Dreams: Friendship Takes Flight and her original single “Butterflies and Honeybees,” Little Rock author, illustrator, and children’s music teacher Carol Dabney is helping kids enjoy time with music and puppets on her new YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/dabohana). As we are all called upon to encourage each other through challenging times, Dabney’s book and accompanying song offer

By Erin Wood Little Rock author Jennifer A. O’Brien has great hope that her book, The Hospice Doctor’s Widow: A Journal, released February 25, will help those facing death as well as normalizing and encouraging dialogue about end of life. A love story and practical guide in one, O’Brien’s digital art journal chronicles the time in her marriage when her husband—a hospice doctor who spent a 40-year career of caregiving