Bourque wins Louisiana Writer Award

I'm thrilled to report that the State Library of Louisiana through its Louisiana Center for the Book is awarding former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque as the 2014 Louisiana Writer Award winner. The award is given annually to recognize outstanding contributions to Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life and will be given to Bourque Nov. 1 in a ceremony at the beginning of the 2014 Louisiana Book Festival. Bourque will also discuss his work and writing career at the festival in Baton Rouge.      Bourque’s poetry collections include Plainsongs, The Doors between Us, Burnt Water Suite, The Blue Boat, In Ordinary Light: New and Selected Poems and Call and Response: Conversations in Verse, a collaboration with poet Jack Bedell. His latest book is Megan’s Guitar and Other Poems from Acadie.  If you abandon me—comment je vas faire: An Amédé Ardoin Songbook is forthcoming from Yellow Flag Press.      Bourque, the first Friends of the Humanities Honor Professor and professor emeritus in English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is a strong supporter of the literary arts, continually giving his time and talents to showcase poetry while teaching and encouraging younger poets. He served as Louisiana Poet Laureate from 2007 through 2008 and 2009 through 2011 and lives in rural St. Landry Parish with his wife, Karen, who is a glass artist.      For more information about the festival, visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.