Sumner Coy

The Open Mouth Poetry Festival brings six poets- and other unsung voices of the community- to multiple venues across Fayetteville this autumn, contributing to the city's literary legacy.  

"Our events are good for people who feel like they aren't deeply involved in the poetry community," says founder and organizer Molly Bess Rector. "We also invite members of the community to be a part of it. If you just find something that moves you, we invite you to share that as well."

Prolific violinist Rachel Barton Pine's latest release is an exploration of the original rock star of classical music: Niccolo Paganini, a man known for his incredible skill and devil-may-care attitude.

"Paganini was a larger than life figure from 200 years ago who dressed all in black, and had long hair and lots of female fans," says Pine. "People said that maybe he sold his soul for his amazing technique."

Ahead of his recital at the University of Arkansas's Faulkner Performing Arts Center on September 21st, percussionist and Fayetteville native Aaron Ragsdale stopped by KUAF to discuss the diverse history of the percussive medium and his collaborations with fellow music professor and saxophonist Nathan Jorgensen.

What does the era of social media, where the selfie has entered the lexicon as an endlessly reproducible format, mean for the figure in art? That's a central question explored in  "A New Subjectivity: Figurative Painting After 2000," a showcase of diverse and divergent ways the art world is interfacing with an image saturated culture. 

The Fort Smith Symphony embarks on a series of diverse concerts this season, each exploring frontiers of musical expression- as well as the very literal frontier of Fort Smith, which turns 200 next year.

Conductor John Jeter stopped by to discuss the concerts of 2017-2018 and the multitude of styles it explores.