U of A's Arkansas International Literary Journal Hosts Benefit Concert

Photo courtesy of www.willicarlisle.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas International, the biannual literary journal and nonprofit organization run by the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation at the University of Arkansas, is hosting a benefit concert from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Stage Eighteen, located at 18 E. Center Street in Fayetteville.

The concert will feature a performance by Willi Carlisle, an Ozark old-time musician, singer-songwriter and graduate of the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation.

Admission is $10 at the door, and writer-themed drinks will be available at the bar. Proceeds will benefit the Arkansas International, which will release its fifth issue Wednesday, Sept. 19.

“As a nonprofit organization, this is an important biannual event that helps to finance both future publications and day-to-day operations, so come on out to sing your support for our journal,” said Elizabeth DeMeo, the journal’s managing editor. “For our fundraisers, we like to alternate between world music groups and traditional roots music, as we feel like this embodies our magazine’s mission — to put national voices in conversation with international writers.”

Carlisle, a performer of both Ozark traditional music and original songs in the old-timey style, is known for, “a style forged in the fire of Ozark old-time music and his ever-growing collection of antique music.”

His musical stories hoot, stomp and saunter through joys and troubles that are uniquely southern, and timelessly true. Equally comfortable on banjo, fiddle and guitar, Carlisle has earned accolades for his versatility with performances at the Ozark Folk Center, the Fayetteville Roots Festival, Thacker Mountain Radio and Fringe Festivals across the country.

About the Arkansas International: The Arkansas International is a biannual literary journal and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The Arkansas International is dedicated to publishing a diverse array of poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and translation by national and international writers, both established and on the rise.

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.