quotations about Arkansas
A lot of people leave Arkansas and most of them come back sooner or later. They can't quite achieve escape velocity.
CHARLES PORTIS
The Dog of the South
Arkansas is another country. I experienced none of that legendary southern charm. I saw only a state that is mired in poverty and ignorance, with an educational standard that is next to last in the country.
ART COX
Sapulpa Daily Herald, Nov. 1, 1992
Arkansas is known as "The Bear State." It gained this name owing to the great number of black bears which roamed the woods in the early days. Not only were they numerous in the mountains, but in the swamp lands as well. Great numbers of bear lived in the mountains of the Ozarks, where we lived, and they usually lived in caves. We did not fear the bear, however, as we did the painter. The bear is not likely to attack anyone, unless it is molested or angered.
CHARLES WAYMAN HOGUE
Back Yonder: An Ozark Chronicle
Arkansas is a state where politics is retail. You have to go out, meet the voters, and "ask for the business." You can't just hide in a television studio and make commercials. It's also a place where people have grown up with poverty. It gives you perspective, and the kind of grit necessary not to be overwhelmed by a challenge.
MIKE HUCKABEE
"Q&A with Mike Huckabee", Marie Claire, June 14, 2007
There's an old gag that in the old days when you crossed the Mississippi there was a sign that said, "Texas left and Kansas right." Those who couldn't read stayed in Arkansas. I heard that from someone from Arkansas.... They have a nice sense of humor if you don't provoke them.
JOHN SHELTON REED
"How tough it is to be from Arkansas", Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 20, 1996
Arkansas's unique historical and geographical location--blocked on the east by an often impenetrable maze of swamps and thickets and on the west by an equally formidable, if man-made, barrier, Indian Territory--rendered it something of a backwater. This contributed to the development of the Arkansaw image, and in varying degrees to a very real society tailormade to spawn such an image.
BROOKS BLEVINS
Arkinsas/Arkinsaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State
Arkansas: Come for the meth, stay because you traded your car for meth.
STEPHEN COLBERT
The Colbert Report, September 26, 2012
Arkansas is a fertile ground for investigating current social trends and proposing solutions to the state's, region's, and nation's housing needs. If you can solve the housing crisis here, you can solve it anywhere.
KORYDON H. SMITH, JENNIFER WEBB & BRENT T. WILLIAMS
Just Below the Line
Deep in the Arkansas consciousness is a tragic sense that across nearly three centuries of existence as colony, territory, and state its people have been misunderstood and put upon.... When explaining their special ways to strangers, Arkansans sound to the practiced ear as though they are resigned to dealing with fools, but are too polite to say so.
HARRY ASHMORE
Arkansas: A History
What's the most popular pick up line in Arkansas? Nice tooth!
ANONYMOUS