Here at the Arkansas Times, we’re big fans of the written word. We’re
also big fans of bars. Once again this year, those two loves collide
like tanked-up Jell-O wrestlers as we present our annual free-admission
reading series, Pub or Perish 2010.

After debuting in 2004 — the first year of the festival — with a
borrowed sound system and a homemade lectern, Pub or Perish opens the
book on 2010 at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at Prost, 120 Ottenheimer —
just around the corner from Willy D’s and across the street from the
River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall. The event runs to 10 p.m. On tap are
readings by
festival authors and local writers, including the always amazing Little
Rock fictionist-fabulist Kevin Brockmeier, Comanche poet Sy Hoahwah,
Cherokee author Holland Colclasure, poets Bryan Borland and Lennon
Simpson, and a special appearance by Lorri Davis, reading from the work
of her husband, Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three. As is our
custom, there will also be a very limited number of 2-minute open mic
slots available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis,
starting at 7:40 p.m.

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Once again this year, Yours Truly will serve as the genial host of Pub
or Perish. Given that, I graciously agreed to give myself an interview
about the event. Asked what’s so great about Pub or Perish in general,
founder David Koon said it has always been an opportunity for authors
and fans of literature to get together in a relaxed setting and just
have a good time enjoying language. “As you know better than anyone,
David, that has always been the heart of Pub or Perish: getting writers
and readers together in a setting where it’s OK to cheer if you like
what’s coming from the stage,” Koon said. “After all, celebration and
literature come from the same place — the joy of being alive — so a
reading in a bar has always made perfect sense to me. Meaning, of
course, us.”

Koon is particularly excited about having Prost as this year’s venue. He
said it might be the best space Pub or Perish has ever had. “You pretty
much couldn’t ask for a better location for a literary reading,” he
said. “Lots of art, brick walls, great acoustics. Maybe best of all,
they’ve got an integrated sound system throughout the bar so we
hopefully won’t have the problems with audio that Pub or Perish has
suffered in recent years.” Immediately after saying that, he knocked on
the faux wood of his desk, then resumed fashioning a large megaphone out
of poster board and duct tape.

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Koon said that the always-entertaining Brockmeier and great poet Hoahwah
(whose book “Velroy and the Madische Mafia” was just published by West
End Press) are bound to be a treat, and added that he’s particularly
excited about hearing the work of West Memphis Three author Echols.
Arrested in 1993 for the murders of three young boys in West Memphis –
crimes which hundreds of thousands of supporters all over the world are
now convinced he didn’t commit – Echols has distinguished himself as an
essayist and poet during his years in prison. His wife, Davis, has
graciously agreed to read from his work. “Having Damien’s work at Pub or
Perish is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, but could never
quite make it come together,” Koon said. “As I told Lorri, I’m confident
that one of these days we’ll have him there to read in person.”

While the top of the bill is impressive, Koon said he’s also excited to
introduce the audience to some of the lesser-knowns on the bill. “The
local writers we have lined up this year are really terrific,” he said.
“Bryan Borland, who recently published a book called ‘My Life as Adam,’
is a really stunning poet, as are Lennon Simpson and Holland Colclasure.
They’re incredibly varied in their delivery and style.”

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Pub or Perish
8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Prost. Free.

For more information about Pub or Perish, call David Koon at 375-2985,
ext. 345, or e-mail david@arktimes.com.

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