West Kentucky native Harold Wayne “Doc” Arnett will return home in April for a series of appearances centered on books, storytelling, folk music, and local memory.
Arnett, a songwriter, poet, and author whose work often draws from rural life, family, faith, and the landscapes of Kentucky, has published five books now available on Amazon, several of them with strong ties to western Kentucky. Born in Russellville "near the middle of the previous century," Arnett has strong recollections of his father, Charlie F. Arnett, preaching in Logan and surrounding counties.
"As a kid, of course, my favorite memories were of those potluck dinners served on farm wagons in the church parking lot," he recalls.
Currently living in northeastern Kansas, the writer notes, "Doniphan County (KS) is surprisingly similar to Logan County; low rolling hills, creeks and low bluffs, lots of farmland. Most people think of Kansas as the 'flat' lands along I-70 out in western Kansas."
Arnett will begin with a public reading and book signing at the Todd County Library Reading Room in Elkton on Wednesday, April 15, from 6-7 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Arnett adds, “I’ll have my guitar, too.” (He has several original songs available on platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.)
Among Arnett’s books is Red Clay and Green Fields, an autobiography reflecting on growing up on the family dairy and row crop farm in Todd County that his father purchased from (Logan Journal editor) Jim Turner's dad, James, in 1956. Red Clay and Cold Water is a picture book built around the lyrics of two original Americana songs about his boyhood farm. His poetry collection An Altar of Light includes poems rooted in farm life, rural people, and local memory, including “Roy Morris, Todd County Sharecropper.”
His other books include Reflections from an Ordinary Life, a collection of spiritual essays shaped in part by the geography and experience of Kentucky, and Tears and Prayers, a volume of spiritual poetry centered on loss, grief, comfort, and hope, with some poems also connected to western Kentucky.
“West Kentucky has never really left me,” Arnett said. “A lot of what I write — whether it’s poetry, stories, songs, or reflections — grows out of the people, places, and way of life I knew there. I’m honored to come back and share some of that.”
The upcoming appearances are intended to celebrate reading, oral storytelling, music, and the everyday lives that shape family and community history.
Scheduled Appearances
Book Reading & Signing
Todd County Library Reading Room
Wednesday, April 15
6:00–7:00 p.m.
Public event. Books available for purchase and signing.
Todd County Library Thursday, April 16
6 p.m. Poetry Slam 2026
Public event with various readers/authors.