Legendary

September Recommendations courtesy Sara Putman, Bookish

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Even if you’re not the kind of person who plays video games regularly, you’ll love this story of friendship, intimacy, and collaboration. Sam and Sadie are childhood friends who reconnect in college only to spend a summer making their own video game. The summer they spent together changes their lives and as they continue to make space for their shared hobby, they find an intimacy in the digital world that the real world could never offer them.

Ithaca by Claire North

Ithaca, a novel full of political intrigue and cunning characters, is the first in a series and begins in Ithaca eighteen years into Odysseus’ disappearance. While no man is strong enough to take Odysseus’ throne, Penelope’s wit and trusted circle of handmaids work to maintain peace. Ancient Greece is typically a man’s world, but on the shores of Ithaca, it’s the choices of abandoned women – and their goddesses – that will change the course of the world. Enjoy these four must-read books from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently owned bookstore.

Mid/South Anthology by Belle Point Press

Our area of the country is both a space of its own and part of a larger, complicated Southern world: the “Mid/South.” In this collection, poetry, short stories, and essays offer glimpses into this in-between place as they explore the complexities of our relationships to each other as well as to the natural world. Whether through vivid landscapes, family dramas, or bittersweet love stories, each piece brings more insight into what it means to be from around here. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford

Dorothy Moy seeks radical help to overcome her depression. She connects with past generations of women in her family – all the way back to Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. While her recollections are sometimes painful, she is also haunted by a stranger who is searching for her in each time period. As Dorothy works to break the cycle of pain, she must also find the strength to accept long-awaited love.

Fort Smith Symphony Blends Culture with Community

WORDs Dwain Hebda images courtesy Fort Smith Symphony

John Jeter JJohn Jeter, music director and conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony, has seen a lot in his career as he heads into his twenty-sixth season with the organization. But one thing has remained consistent over all that time and all those performances – he is as convinced as ever about the importance of the arts and as committed to integrating the power of music into the community.

“The presentation of live music by an orchestra is an artistic element that is really important,” he says. “There are a lot of people who simply like orchestral music, but there are also a lot of correlations between that and other things going on in a community that contribute to the overall quality of life.

When people look at quality of life issues, reasons to move somewhere, having vibrant arts is very important. So, we play a role as the community continues to try and attract new professionals to Fort Smith.

“A symphony also brings a lot of educational components to a community; it gets young people interested in being involved in something creative which pays dividends for the rest of their lives, whether they do music or not. There’s every indication to show that an involvement in the arts does everything to help kids not only academically, but also later in life.”

The upcoming season for the symphony, its ninety-ninth, fulfills all of these roles and more. In addition to a slate of engaging concert performances, beginning September 10 and running through April 22, the organization continues its close connection with youth through various music education

programs and with the community at large with a free outdoor concert on April 1.

“Performances remain the main focus of what we do, but our purpose, ultimately, is about how we can help the community," John says. “If you just do music just for music and that’s the end of the discussion, that’s cool, but there are a lot bigger issues there.”

John’s bone-deep belief in the importance of the arts, specifically orchestral music, in the overall health of the community was never more resolute than during the pandemic. Where most entertainment options such as concerts, cinema and festivals were canceled, the symphony soldiered on, working out the logistics that enabled it to deliver its live performances as scheduled.

Those challenges largely behind them, the orchestra is diving head-first into the new season. Themed Legends, it offers diverse music to suit a variety of tastes allowing traditionalist and contemporary audiences to both find something to love.

“Nowadays, a lot of young people will talk about someone as, ‘That guy is legendary,’” John says. “It’s like anything that’s sort of cool, anything that’s got a history, and it just seemed like the way we were approaching our season this year. It’s a little unconventional, but I think the cool factor and the relevancy factor are pretty high for what we’re doing.” The season starts with what John described as “a very traditional season opener” with Antonín Dvorák’s "From the New World."

“Dvorák was a Czech composer who lived in America for a little while,” John says. “He’s one of the famous, great European composers and he was very influential on all American composers who came after him. He once said, ‘American composers, you need to focus on your American heritage. Don’t just copy the Europeans.’”

The second concert, Symphonic Superheroes, features film music from contemporary superhero movies including Black Panther and Iron Man.

“I love doing film music,” John says. “If you think about the symphony orchestra and if you think about the general public, where do the two intersect in 2022? In movies. Besides that, it's a lot of fun and people can really relate to it.”

The third concert is the orchestra's much-anticipated annual Christmas performance, followed by the first concert in 2023, entitled What a Rush, which will focus on American works.

“We’re an American orchestra and if you think about classical music, it’s mostly the European guys, right?” John says. “So, we like to perform, as much as we can, American works. The nice thing about the March concert is they’re all twentieth or twenty-first century American pieces. It’s really terrific.”