Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Sean Clancy Interviews Cathy Melvin

Today in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sean Clancy writes:

"I think cypress knees are magical," says Cathy Melvin as she points out a smattering of the distinctive, knobby extensions of a cypress tree's root system poking up from the dark, shallow waters of Lorance Creek.

It's a cloudy, chilly, Thursday morning earlier this month and Melvin is strolling along the trail that winds through the Lorance Creek Natural Area near Hensley. This is the place that helped inspire "Cypress Knees and Tupelo Trees: Discovering Plants and Animals of the Swamp," Melvin's charming and fun debut children's book that will be published Saturday by Little Rock's Et Alia Press.

The book is filled with Melvin's colorful, creative collages that are reminiscent of Eric Carle, the author and illustrator of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar” . . .

CLICK HERE for the full article.

Et Alia Press in Sunday Style Section of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“A shipment of Sarah-Catherine Gutierrez's new book But First Save 10: The One Simple Money Move That Will Change Your Life was on the way to Et Alia Press one afternoon early in July and publisher Erin Wood was preparing for the onslaught.

"We've got 650 pounds of books coming today," she says. "My daughter is going to be helping put return address labels on all the packages and my husband is printing the address labels in his office."

“This is how things are run at Et Alia, the ambitious, Little Rock-based ‘small press for big voices’ that has published memoirs, children's books, anthologies, poetry, books on fashion, nature and Wood's award-winning 2019 collection of interviews and photography "Women Make Arkansas: Conversations With 50 Creatives," which also spawned the annual Women Make Arkansas Market.

“In the past five or six years, I've really wanted to make this a full-time thing," Wood, 42, says during a telephone interview. "It also became really clear to me that if you were going to publish three to five books a year, why not make them in Arkansas? This is my native state, and we've got lots of stories to tell.

“Georgia author Megan Volpert edited Closet Cases: Queers on What We Wear, which was published by Et Alia in March.

"‘I see Erin at the forefront of this new South we are all trying to build together, something that is a little more progressive, a little more diverse," Volpert says. "If you look at the types of writers she's publishing, it's a very diverse bunch and it's mostly women. She gets a lot credit for being a small, one-woman operation, but not a lot of people look at the very quiet and useful way that her selections have been political.’"

To read the rest of the article by Sean Clancy, CLICK HERE.

Bitten by the Bug(s): Lavers Featured in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Thank you to Celia Story for today's writeup about 100 Insects of Arkansas and the Midsouth: Portraits & Stories authors Norman and Cheryl Lavers in the Style section of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette! 

Read More Here. 

Creative Space: Et Alia Author Philip Martin

Enjoy this peek inside the writing and recording space of award-winning newspaper columnist, critic, songwriter, blogger at blood, dirt & angles, and author of The President Next Door: Poems, Songs and Journalism, Philip Martin. Philip's book was a feature of the 2016 Arkansas Literary Festival, and collects poems and song lyrics, many of which were inspired by his journalistic work.  

It wouldn't be a stretch to say Philip's creative thinking space also extends to the outdoor environs of Little Rock's Hillcrest and Heights neighborhoods. One can't drive around these neighborhoods for long without seeing Philip and his wife, Karen, faithfully walking furry rescue dogs, rain or shine. In the image above, their dog Paris serves as Philip's muse as he strums. 

About his space, Philip shares:

"Last year we bought a new house — a much smaller house than the mid-century Hillcrest modern we’d lived in for 19 years. And so we began to divest ourselves of books and CDs and other material things. The Swedes call it “döstädning” — death cleaning.

But as deals will, ours fell apart and we found ourselves decluttered and back in our old house. With fewer things, there was more room and so we moved my office/studio from the dim book-lined spare bedroom it had occupied to a larger space in our sunroom. Now I have windows and natural light and sometimes a dog or two at my feet. And nine guitars (you can take döstädning only so far). 

Laptops and wi-fi mean I’ve no real need of a dedicated office space anymore; I can type anywhere in the house. But I work here mostly, in what amounts to a compact but fairly well equipped recording studio. This is where I write, and when I’m not writing, make up songs and record them. (And finally, after 40 years of playing, sometimes professionally, practice the first guitar lessons I’ve ever taken.) This is also where I do our taxes and drink coffee in the morning. 

I was excited about moving last year — my father was in the military and we moved every few months during my childhood — but I’m happy things worked out as they did. In general, our house is very open — loft-like. Now I have my space and yet still feel part of the fray."

To celebrate Philip's new-ish “döstäd"-ned creative space, take 10% off his book through Friday 3/30/18 (with complimentary local delivery or free shipping) with code PRES10. 

Philip and Karen Martin's pups enjoy the St. Pat's Parade. Dublin, left, has recently had a surgery to remove her eye due to glaucoma, but the Martin's fur kids are slowing for no one. 

PHILIP MARTIN: "A dog is something like an angel . . ."

In his column yesterday, Philip Martin wrote of dogs:

"I know how dear and fine these creatures are, and how vulnerable. While anthropomorphising is incorrect, dogs do have a psychology. They have motives and emotional insight and are capable of remorse and empathy. They are not like us. For all I know a dog's brain may be a blameless swamp of light and shadow, but they possess more than the suggestion of a soul. A dog is something like an angel, a being composed largely of love, designed to help us cope with this rough life."

Read the rest of his piece, sharing some of the stories from Home Sweet Home: Arkansas Rescue Dogs & Their Stories, at Arkansas Online. 

We are proud to have Philip Martin in our family of Et Alia authors. In his collection of poems, songs, and journalism, The President Next Door, you'll discover more about his life with dogs as he shares contemplations about a beloved dog's seizures, the plight of animals during Hurricane Katrina, and the deep and abiding joys of canine companionship.