Category: What Are You Reading? Patron Picks

I’m David Freeman, a native of Little Rock with deep Arkansas roots on both sides of my family.

I’ve been the Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Little Rock since 2015 but it’s also the church I grew up attending. In fact, as a child, I started visiting the downtown branch of CALS when it was located directly behind our church building.

I am a lawyer and the president of the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers, a group that promotes science literacy, humanism, and the separation of church and state. I organize the Freethinkers’ monthly lecture and discussion series on topics of social justice, philosophy, humanism, science, and current events.

History is one of my passions,

After more than a month under social distancing guidelines, many of us are feeling the pang of loss for our canceled travel plans. But there’s an age-old way to experience travel’s joys, no matter what our circumstances—storytelling. Of all the freedoms our imagination brings us, this is one of the most precious: the power of the imagination to set sail around the world on the winds of a good story.

My name is Abbi Siler and I own Abbi’s Teas & Things in Hillcrest on the corner of Ash & Kavanaugh Blvd. While I was born in Little Rock, most of my childhood was spent on the coast of North Carolina, but my mom grew up here and my Grami still lives in the house she grew up in over in the Kingwood neighborhood.

I am currently President of Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas.  I retired from the State of Arkansas after 38 years.  The first 11 years, I worked at Arkansas Rehabilitation Services assisting the handicapped to obtain training.  The last 27 years, I worked at the Department of Environmental Quality, beginning in the Director’s office and later in the Air Division. 

My name is Victoria Ramirez and I am the Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Center.  I moved to Little Rock from Texas where I worked in several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  Houston boasts a lively arts scene and visiting The Menil Collection was always one of my favorite pastimes.  I was so intrigued by their collection and other spaces on the Menil campus,

Gretchen Hall is the CEO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.

She has lived in Little Rock for almost 20 years. 

In her spare time, she coaches her nephew’s 5th grade basketball team, and she enjoys attending theatre productions.

I am Crystal C. Mercer, just a little girl from Little Rock, Arkansas. All-around Afro-Creative, Textile/Fiber Artist, Actor, Activist, Poet, Author (A Love Story Waiting To Happen), Founder and Creative Director of Columbus Creative Arts + Activism, and Lead Designer and Merchant of Mercer Textile Mercantile. I fuse arts and activism by using theatre,