North Little Rock poet Karen Hayes will be this week's feature for Wednesday Night Poetry at Kollective Coffee+Tea, 110 Central Ave.
The weekly open mic session for all poets begins at 6:30 p.m. and Hayes will perform at 7 p.m., followed by a second open mic session. Admission is free and open to all ages.
Hayes is a frequent performer at Vino's Live From The Back Room and Gillermo's Poetry Night in Little Rock. She has also participated in the Arkansas Literary Festival's Pub or Perish series and Tales from the South, and was chosen to be part of Dairy Hollow's Poetluck program in Eureka Springs.
"I'm a new writer," Hayes said in a news release. "Actually, I've been writing all my life. But it wasn't until my husband passed away that I felt free to truly pursue my passion for words." Her husband of 29 years, Little Rock music legend Bobby J. Hayes, succumbed to Alzheimer's in September 2014. "He always encouraged me to write. But taking care of him was my priority," she said.
The first time she read at Vino's was the night before her husband's funeral. "I did a lot of writing while he was sick," Hayes said. "I had to let some of it out. I knew he'd approve."
Although much of her poetry is about her experience with Alzheimer's, she said, "Don't expect my stuff to be all about that. I don't want to be known as the Alzheimer's poet. I have kind of a quirky outlook on life that most folks find amusing."
Hayes is an accounting clerk for a major corporation in Little Rock and celebrated her 62nd birthday by running 62 miles on Thanksgiving weekend last year. Although currently living in North Little Rock, she is a Hot Springs native.
"My Mamo and Papo had Burch's Grocery on Central about a block from Grand. I grew up on Liberty Hill south of there," she said. Hayes graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1971. "Hot Springs has always felt like home to me. I'm excited about bringing my poetry home."
Email [email protected] for more information about Wednesday Night Poetry.
Entertainment on 10/26/2016