Last
week’s Louisiana Book Festival was a great success in Baton Rouge, with throngs
of people coming out to enjoy more than 120 authors speak on the grounds of the
State Capitol, State Library and State Museum.
As
always the weather was gorgeous.
If
you missed the state’s literary festival, beginning Thursday and culminating
Saturday, Nov. 8-10, is the fifth annual Festival of Words literary festival. The event
features author readings, public readings, community and school creative
writing workshops, drive-by poetry in the streets and more in Grand Coteau,
Sunset, Arnaudville and surrounding communities.
The
event celebrates the written and spoken word and includes well-known authors
such as Jarvis DeBerry, Kelly Harris, Randall Kenan, Patrice Melnick, Bonny
McDonald, Chancellier “Xero” Skidmore and Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane.
Authors will lead community poetry and fiction writing workshops and there will
be readings by featured authors and spoken word artists in the community
centers of Grand Coteau and Sunset. Readings are free, but donations welcome.
On
Saturday, there will be Drive-by Poetry, live poetry performances from both
youth and adults, in area cafes and gift shops of Grand Coteau. There will also
be original performances on the outdoor Community Stage.
Two
events spotlight Creole history of the area. At 11 a.m. Saturday, Gwen Miller
will offer a tour of St. Peter Claver School which educated blacks in the area
from 1944 until 1977. The roots of the school go back to 1875 when the
Religious of the Sacred Heart founded a school for blacks. The tour will
also include a look at St. Charles Chapel, which served the community as Christ
the King Church from 1942 until 1971. The tour offers an opportunity to learn
about two institutions which served as the center of education and faith for
the majority of the Grand Coteau community during segregation.
At 1:30 p.m., there will be an oral history session inside St. Charles Chapel
in which Grand Coteau residents share stories that revolved around Christ the
King Church. All are invited to participate.
In addition to the events, there will be several authors signing books along
the streets of Grand Coteau, courtesy of the Writers’ Guild of Acadiana. They
are: John Morella, Paul Records, Dani Kaz, Nancy Colby, Claire L. Martin, Rosemary
Smith, John Mayeux, Scott Chopplin, John Lafleur, Jessica Bertrand and Margaret
Simon.
For
a complete schedule, visit festivalofwords.org.
Acadiana Wordlab
Acadiana
Wordlab is a new literary drafting workshop at 2 p.m. Saturdays at Cité des
Arts in Lafayette. It’s free and open to the public, although a donation to
that week’s presenter is always welcome. Because
Acadiana Wordlab is a drafting workshop, rather than a critique workshop, each
week a guest presenter offers a work of art (literary or otherwise), a
discussion of art or a lecture on craft. Attendees then write for 20 minutes or
so, then share with the group. If there’s time left over, the presenter will
present a second prompt, followed by another round of writing, then reading. This
week’s presenter is Kelly Clayton, Nov. 10. Upcoming presenters include Alex Johnson,
Nov. 17; Emily Thibodeaux, Dec. 1, Patrice Melnick, Dec. 8 and Lester E.
Tisdale IV, Dec. 15.
Dupré sale
The
Friends of Dupré Library Annual Book Sale will be Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 8-10, on
the first floor of the Edith Garland Dupré Library, 400 E. St. Mary Blvd. on
the UL campus. Hardcover books will be sold for $1 and paperbacks 50 cents. The
sale also includes LPs and other recordings, priced at $1 for singles and $2
for sets. The
book sale will be 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday. Friends of the Library and UL faculty and staff are invited to a
preview from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7. For
more information, call (337) 482-6677.
Book events
The
1718 Society, a student-run literary organization made up of Tulane, Loyola and
UNO students, presents reading by Carolyn Hembree at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the
Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Open to the public.
Margaret
Media launches their latest title, “Louisiana
Film History: A Comprehensive Overview Beginning 1896” by Ed and
Susan Poole at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Garden District Book Shop in New
Orleans. The Pooles of Gretna have collected and researched film accessories
for 30 years and operate a massive movie poster database online. The Pooles
will be signing the book and offering classic New Orleans movie posters for
sale.
The
book launch of Dave Brinks’ “The Secret Brain” will be 8 p.m. Thursday at the Gold
Mine Saloon in New Orleans. The evening includes music, Native American
rhythms, poetry and dance. New Orleans poet Brinks will be joined by special
guests Rockin’ Dopsie, Gaynielle Neville, Rev. Goat Carson, Katarina Boudreaux
and Matthew Shilling. For more information, visit Black Widow Press, www.blackwidowpress.com.
The
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities celebrates the publication of “A
Unique Slant of Light: The Bicentennial History of Art in Louisiana” with
a 6 p.m. reception Thursday at the Meadows Museum
at Centenary College in Shreveport. The event is free and open
to the public.
Michael
Allen Zell, Carolyn Hembree, Ben Kopel, Brad Richard, Anne Marie Rooney and
Geoff Wyss will read at 7 p.m. Friday at McKeown’s Books in New Orleans.
Heather
Graham is the keynote speaker with emcee F. Paul Wilson at the annual Fall in
Love with Romance Luncheon at 11 a.m. Saturday at Juban’s Creole Restaurant in
Baton Rouge. For more information, visit http://heartla.com/.
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 or
visit the Louisiana Book News Facebook page.
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