Smart Bets: Leona Beasley

Posted on June 20, 2018June 12, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Atlanta native reads from her debut novel on June 27 at Malaprop’s.

SOURCE MATERIAL: Author Krystal A. Smith says she loves mythology and original stories, and both influences are palpable in ‘Two Moons.’ “The thing that kept me focused was the idea of transformation — there’s a little bit of transformation in every story to bring it all together,” she says. Author photo courtesy of Smith

N.C.-based speculative fiction author Krystal A. Smith releases short story collection

Posted on June 7, 2018June 7, 2018 by Alli Marshall

“Some days I’m like, ‘Nope, not gonna do that. People are gonna think that’s crazy,’” Smith says. “Sometimes it’s like, ‘Just get it down on the page. Let’s see what happens.’”

Smart Bets: Creative Voices for Social Justice

Posted on May 22, 2018May 14, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The showcase of works by visual artist Joseph Pearson and young writers of color takes place May 25 at the YMI Cultural Center.

ANYTHING GOES: West Virginia-based band The Change, in Asheville while leading a residency with LEAF Schools & Streets, recently played an open mic at One World Brewing.

Open mics in and around Asheville

Posted on May 17, 2018May 10, 2018 by Alli Marshall

There’s typically a time limit for each presenter, and some open mics have a theme or a host to usher the evening along, but what happens in front of the microphone is, truly, wide open to possibility.

RHYME AND REASON: A graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA program, writer Reginald Dwayne Betts has published memoirs and poetry and went on to earn a law degree from Yale. “It hit me that the ways I might have imagined my life progressing in some linear [motion], it’s not doing that,” he says. “I’m finding ways to be become [more deeply] connected to things that I value.”

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts on words, incarceration and his commencement address

Posted on May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 by Alli Marshall

Betts, who completed his MFA in 2010, will return to Warren Wilson on Saturday, May 19, to give the commencement address to the school’s undergraduate class.

Smart Bets: William Faulkner’s ‘The Hamlet’

Posted on May 7, 2018May 1, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

Jim Stokley and Michael Sartisky perform dramatic readings from the novel on May 10 at Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar.

Smart Bets: Alida Woods

Posted on May 2, 2018April 26, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Asheville-based poet reads from her new book on May 6 at Malaprop’s.

THE GOOD WORD: Asheville-based writer Holly Amann is the winner of Xpress' poetry contest. Her poem "at the corner of Elkmont and Elk Mountain Road" examines the demise of an unfortunate raccoon.

Sustainability-themed poetry contest winner announced

Posted on April 26, 2018April 19, 2018 by Alli Marshall

Asheville-based writer Holly Amann has been named the winner of this year’s Xpress Poetry Contest. Writers were invited to submit work around the themes of sustainability, environmental awareness and/or reverence for nature.

Smart Bets: Naima Coster

Posted on April 24, 2018April 17, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The acclaimed author reads from different works, April 28 at the Flatiron Writers Room and April 29 at Firestorm Books & Coffee.

Smart Bets: Constance Lombardo

Posted on April 19, 2018April 10, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

Asheville-based author and illustrator launches her third (and final) Mr. Puffball book at Malaprop’s on April 24.

NEVER FAR BEHIND US: In 'Varina,' author Charles Frazier offers a retrospective tale of a past riddled with anguish and regret.

Charles Frazier’s fiction returns to the Civil War

Posted on April 18, 2018April 13, 2018 by Thomas Calder

On Saturday, April 21, Charles Frazier will read passages from his latest book, Varina, at UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The author will be joined onstage in conversation with fellow-writer, Wiley Cash.

INTERDISCIPLINARY: “Art is a great place to start influencing change,” says Jessica Tomasin, who created Connect: Beyond The Page Festival + Conference with an eye on how creativity intersects with social justice. Drawing on artists and innovators across artistic genres, the festival includes contributions from the likes of,
clockwise from top left, playwright and professor Lydia Diamond, author Natalie Hopkinson, broadcast journalist and producer Lori Knight and electronic music duo Sylvan Esso.

New festival/conference examines the intersection of art and social justice

Posted on April 17, 2018April 12, 2018 by Alli Marshall

Panels discuss everything from the experience of women in media and entertainment fields to the process of turning a story into a song. Saturday night concludes with a superband made up of Ben Sollee, Big Chief Juan Pardo, Leeda “Lyric” Jones, Jaze Uries, Jacob Rodriguez and others.

BET PKurz-ToPasstheTime-mini watercolor-12-72

Smart Bets: The Point In Between

Posted on April 11, 2018April 3, 2018 by Edwin Arnaudin

The Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center launches its Black Mountain location with an exhibition of Phil Kurz’s artwork and writing on April 14.

LAY OF THE LAND: Joy Harjo, the author of 10 books of poetry and a memoir, appears at UNCA’s Lipinsky Auditorium on April 12, as part of the university’s Visiting Writer Series and its American Indian and Indigenous Studies Series. She’ll also read at Wordfest on April 14. “We’re starting to notice some differences in how people write closer to the ocean versus more prairie landscapes and so on,” she says.

Asheville Wordfest explores the relationships between science, art and environment

Posted on April 10, 2018April 13, 2018 by Doug Gibson

Events take place Thursday-Sunday, April 12-15, at UNC Asheville, Malaprop’s and the Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Asheville campus.

LEND A HAND: UNC Asheville’s campus community and the broader Asheville community are invited to take part in three days of arts-centered events during Arts Fest. The UNITY installation, created by Nancy Belmont, is a giant outdoor web celebrating the “different identifiers that speak to the many aspects of our humanity.”

UNCA’s Arts Fest explores creative intersections

Posted on April 3, 2018March 29, 2018 by Alli Marshall

Along with exhibitions, concerts, readings, dance performances and a ceramics sale, Arts Fest also offers installations and presentations aimed at engaging students and the broader Asheville community.

DO THE WRITE THING: Western Carolina University's Spring Literary Festival includes presentations by, clockwise from top left, Affrilachian poet Crystal Wilkinson, novelists Lorraine Lopez and Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, and playwright Tony Kushner.

WCU’s Spring Literary Festival returns

Posted on March 30, 2018March 23, 2018 by Alli Marshall

This year’s events, which take place Monday-Thursday, April 2-5, include writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and culminates in an event with Pulitzer, Emmy and Obie (among others) award-winning playwright Tony Kushner.

DANCIN' ON A PONY KEG: After a lifetime writing hit and classic songs, plays, poems and musicals, Swannanoa-based Renaissance man Billy Edd Wheeler (shown here, onstage in 1992) has written the lively memoir, 'Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout.'

Swannanoa songwriter, poet, artist and dramatist Billy Edd Wheeler celebrates a new memoir

Posted on March 29, 2018March 23, 2018 by Bill Kopp

Today, at age 85, Wheeler shows little sign of slowing down. Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout is a highly enjoyable chronicle, following a young boy in Boone County, W.V. through a fascinating lifetime, rubbing elbows with Elvis, Chet Atkins and countless other musical peers.

Power to the people: Best of WNC 2018 voting begins

Posted on March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 by Able Allen

With a far out feeling, voting has begun for the beloved annual Best of WNC awards. Only you can decide who’ll be feelin’ it in the new summer of love, when winners are announced this August. You have until 11:59 p.m. on the night of Saturday, April 28 to complete your ballot and make sure your voice is heard. […]