Mary
Ann Sternberg, author of “Along the River Road: Past and Present on Louisiana’s
Historic Byway,” now available in a new and updated edition, follows up with
“River Road Rambler: A Curious Traveler along Louisiana’s Historic Byway,” both
available through LSU Press.
It’s
a sweet little hardback book full of great explorations of places, people and
events that occurred along the River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
There’s the Lourdes grotto at St. Michael’s Church in Convent created like no
other, the little known slave insurrection of 1811 that happened outside New
Orleans, now considered “the largest and bloodiest slave uprising in the
history of the United States,” the former Jewish temple now located inside a
hardware store, and much more.
I
had ancestors who settled the “German Coast” upriver from New Orleans who
helped start and feed a colony, so I know the extensive history that lines the
Mississippi River. Sternberg brings it to vivid life in “River Road Rambler”
and offers a varied, well-researched telling, giving readers more food for
thought than a simple history lesson.
“Sternberg
guides us to that rare intersection of lively writing and intellectual
curiosity in her book about Louisiana’s famous River Road,” writes Rheta
Grimsley Johnson, author of “Poor Man’s Provence and Hank Hung the Moon.”
I’d
recommend buying both books and taking a drive up or down the curvy River Road,
using Sternberg’s “Along the River Road” as a travel guide, then stopping for lunch
or coffee and enjoying “Rambler” while you soak up the region’s ambience and
history.
Sternberg
is also the author of “Winding through Time: The Forgotten History and
Present-Day Peril of Bayou Manchac.”
She
will speak about the River Road in a lecture sponsored by The Foundation for
Historical Louisiana at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the Old Governor’s
Mansion, 502 North Blvd.
New releases
John
LaFleur of Washington follows up his Creole cookbook with “Louisiana’s French
Creole Culinary & Linguistic Traditions: Facts vs. Fiction, Before and
Since ‘Cajunization’,” with additional text by Brian Costello and photographs
by Norris Fontenot. LaFleur believes that Creole is a person of European or
African descent born in the colonies, which pretty much relates to everyone,
even those who call themselves “Cajuns.”
In
his book, he attempts to correct historical teachings in Louisiana, offering
that “Cajun Country” was originally Creole Country and still is, and that
Creole in Acadiana doesn’t simply mean those of color. He takes aim at those
who have “Cajunized” the region, misrepresenting history, and also those who
stopped calling themselves Creole in order not to be associated with those of
color.
La
Fleur offers good points in his argument. Being of Creole ancestry from New
Orleans I understand the need for clarification; many times have I stressed the
differences between Creole and Cajun cooking to outsiders. The culinary
traditions of Louisiana have been blurred, and lean way too far toward Cajun,
and LaFleur provides research to set things straight.
His
insistence that Cajuns should have assimilated, that they were anti-Creole in a
sense, did not sit well with me, however. There is a distinct Cajun culture in
Louisiana, mainly because they did not
assimilate, and their isolation may be one main reason why the Louisiana French
language has survived. Because South Louisiana as a region didn’t assimilate
into mainstream American culture is why we’re still so unique to the rest of
the country, why our food and music draws the world.
We
need to teach the truths of Louisiana history, and this book strives to do so.
But Cajun culture is the reason I moved to Lafayette. I think a panel of
historians and LaFleur would make for an interesting discussion.
The
book retails for $49.94, but is also available online as an ebook. LaFleur and
Costello are also the authors of “Speaking In Tongues, Louisiana’s Colonial
French, Creole & Cajun Languages Tell Their Story: Louisiana’s Creole
Linguistic & Cultural Heritage.”
And
if you have an opinion to add, please visit the Louisiana Book News Facebook
page and post. We’d love to hear from you.
Library news
“Partners
by Nature,” a lecture series presented by the Acadiana Resource Conservation and
Development Council and the Lafayette Public Library System,
will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at Lafayette’s South Regional Branch Library.
These lectures focus on ways to conserve natural resources through cultural and
economic enhancement. Speakers include: Collin Bercier of Louisiana Solar
Solutions and Jeff Shaw of the Louisiana Solar Energy Society. The event is
free.
Book events
Elana
Bell will read her poetry at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, at the UNO Fine Arts Gallery, followed
by a booksigning and wine and cheese reception. This event is free and open to
the public. Elana’s first collection of poetry, “Eyes, Stones” (LSU Press
2012) was the winner of the 2011 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of
American Poets. Elana also received grants and fellowships from the Jerome
Foundation, the Edward Albee Foundation, the AROHO Foundation, the Brooklyn
Arts Council and the Drisha Institute. Her work has recently appeared in
Harvard Review, Massachusetts Review, CALYX Journal, and elsewhere.
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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