Author to Discuss and Sign 'Champion Trees of Arkansas' From UA Press

Arkansas Champion Tuliptree

Flowering Dogwood

Champion Flowering Dogwood

Northern Catalpa

Champion Northern Catalpa

Photo Submitted

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Linda Williams Palmer will discuss her new book Champion Trees of Arkansas from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Fayetteville Public Library as part of the Library’s Annual True Lit Festival. The free public event is also part of the library’s ongoing University of Arkansas Press Spotlight series.

In this richly illustrated new book, Palmer explores the state’s largest trees of their species, registered with the Arkansas Forestry Commission as “champions.” Through her beautiful colored-pencil drawings, each magnificent tree is interpreted through the lens of season, location, history and human connection.

Palmer traveled from Delta swamps to Ozark and Ouachita mountain ridges over a seven-year period to witness the champions and returned to her studio to document them through her pencil art drawings. She visited with property owners and others willing to share the stories of how these trees are beloved and protected by the community, and often entwined with the community’s history.

Examples of some of the trees are the cherrybark oak, rendered in fall colors and presented as an avatar for the passing of seasons; the sugar maple, with its bare limbs and weather-beaten trunk, standing sentry over the headstones in a Confederate cemetery; and the 350-year-old white oak, which was once dubbed the Council Oak by Native Americans.

“Linda Williams Palmer takes us with her to experience not just magnificent champion trees, but also the wonderful culture and people of Arkansas,” said Joe Fox, Arkansas State Forester. “Her pencil strokes record our natural and native beauty in an amazing book!”

Linda Williams Palmer owns Linda Palmer Studio/Gallery in Hot Springs. Her work has been exhibited across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

She will also be making an appearance at the following locations:

• 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at DRAWL Gallery, Little Rock  
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at Garvan Gardens, Hot Springs,
• 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Gallery Central, Hot Springs,

The next University of Arkansas Press Spotlight event is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 pm, when author Jerry McConnell will discuss his book, The Improbable Life of the Arkansas Democrat: An Oral History also as part of the library’s True Lit Festival, which is offering a variety of events, including author talks, writing workshops, and concerts.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, author Leonard Schwartz will discuss his book The New Babel: Toward a Poetics of the Mid-East Crises,.

The Fayetteville Public Library is located at 401 W. Mountain St.

About the University of Arkansas Press: The University of Arkansas Press was founded in 1980 as the book publishing division of the University of Arkansas. A member of the Association of American University Presses, it has as its central and continuing mission the publication of books that serve both the broader academic community and Arkansas and the region.

The Fayetteville Public Library True Lit Festival, in its fourth year, will offer a variety of events, including author talks, writing workshops, and more, October 17-27. For more information visit www.truelitfest.com.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.