The
State Library of Louisiana’s Center for the book has named John Biguenet as the
recipient the 2012 Louisiana Writer Award. The novelist, short story writer,
playwright, columnist, translator and essayist is being honored for his
extraordinary contribution to the state’s literary heritage exemplified by his
body of work.
The
Louisiana Writer Award is given annually to recognize outstanding contributions
to the literary and intellectual legacy of Louisiana. Biguenet will be
recognized at the 2012 Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, Oct. 27. Lieutenant
Governor Jay Dardenne and State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton will present the
award and Biguenet will discuss his writing career at a special program during
the festival.
Biguenet’s
books include the novel “Oyster” and “The Torturer’s Apprentice: Stories.”
Biguenet has received an O. Henry Award for short fiction and a Harper’s
Magazine Writing Award. He has served twice as president of the American
Literary Translators Association and as writer-in-residence at various
universities. He is the Robert Hunter Distinguished University Professor at
Loyola University in New Orleans.
For
more information on Biguenet’s work, visit www.state.lib.la.us.
For more information about the 2012 Louisiana Book Festival, visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.
U.S. Poet Laureate
The
Library of Congress chose Natasha Trethewey last week as the next U.S. poet laureate.
Trethewey is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of three collections and a
professor of creative writing at Emory University in Atlanta. A native of
Gulfport, she is the first Southerner to hold the post since Robert Penn
Warren, the original poet laureate, and the first African-American since Rita
Dove in 1993.
Trethewey
is the author of “Bellocq’s Ophelia,” a novella of an imagined mixed-race
prostitute photographed in the early 20th century by E. J. Bellocq in New
Orleans; “Native Guard,” which focuses on the Louisiana Native Guards, a black
regiment in the Union Army, and which won the Pulitzer in 2007; and the 2010
nonfiction book, “Beyond
Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
Book awards
Southeastern
Louisiana University staff librarian Paul Kelsey will be awarded the American
Library Association’s 2012 Scholastic Library Award for his efforts to synergize
the writing and illustrating talents of young people. He will be recognized at
the organization’s annual meeting in June for his creation of the online
magazine “Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off.” The
website matches the skills of young authors, poets and illustrators between the
ages of 6 and 14 and publishes the best submissions on the Internet. To check
it out, visit www.launchpadmag.com.
The
award includes a citation and $1,000 prize donated by Scholastic Library
Publishing.
A
resident of Baton Rouge, Kelsey developed Launch Pad following Hurricane
Katrina when his daughter was seeking to publish an essay she had written. “How
I Met Elizabeth” told the story of how his daughter, Clare, made a new friend
who transferred to her Baton Rouge school from the New Orleans area. The essay
was later published in Northwestern State University’s Louisiana English
Journal.
Write on!
The
Acadiana Writing Project in collaboration with LSU-Eunice Continuing Education
is sponsoring Word Up Youth Writing Camp for students in grades 4-12 from 9
a.m. to noon July 23-27. Students receive a T-shirt and anthology for
participating. The cost is $89. Information: www.lsue.edu/site272.php, (337)
550-1390.
Lafayette Library events for June 19-22
Northside
High Drill SQUAD will perform at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Clifton Chenier
Auditorium. Come see why this local team is not only number one in the state,
but also the Walt Disney World National High School Step Team Champion.
South
Regional Sleuths Mystery Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each
month at South Regional Library. The book this month is “Death Comes to
Pemberly” by P. D. James.
Starry,
Starry Night Painting for ages 5–12 years will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Scott
and 2 p.m. at Duson branch libraries. Children will design a sparkly star
painting using watercolors and glitter.
Printmaking
Workshop for Teens will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at North Regional.
Relax
Away the Stress with Diane Queen, an earth-based traditional herbalist, in
hour-long sessions offered at 7 p.m. Wednesday and July 11 at South Regional. Tonight’s
class focuses on stressors and their effects on the physical body, as well as tips
on how to get a good night’s sleep. The session also includes the use of herbs
and aromatherapy. A free tea sample will be provided.
“Louisiana
in 1812”
lecture with Dr. Michael Martin, director of the Center for Louisiana
History and managing editor of Louisiana History at UL-Lafayette, begins
at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at South Regional and 6:30 p.m. Thursday at North Regional
Library.
The
Great Pizza Contest with Page Turner Adventures for ages 3-10 begins at 10 a.m.
Thursday at the
Carencro Community Center next to North Regional Library and at
3 p.m. Thursday at South Regional Library.
Master
Puppet Theater by the Teen Performance Troupe begins at 11 a.m. Friday at
South
Regional Library.
Book News
The
Acadiana Repertory Theatre will host its inaugural New Works Festival Thursday
through July 1 at Theatre 810 in downtown Lafayette. ART will present readings
of 10 unproduced shows by playwrights from across the
country, and audience member will have the chance to rate each
show after the reading. Winners will be asked to return for full-scale
productions during ACT’s 2013 season.
Theresa
N. Singleton will read from her new picture book, “Zydeco Zoom,” illustrated
by L. Foote, and her previous book, “Grandfather Lee and the Bees,” illustrated
by Rob Guillory, at the Thensted Outreach Center as part of the Thensted Summer
Renaissance Program from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday in Grand Coteau.
Cheré Coen is the author
of “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of
“Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She
teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at
chere@louisianabooknews.com.
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