Two great programs at Louisiana universities this week

There are two great literary programs happening this week, the "Afternoon in the Archives" Tuesday at LSU and James Carville and Mary Matalin discussing the 2016 presidential election on Wednesday at Loyola University New Orleans.

Dr. Miki Pfeffer, author of “Southern Ladies and Suffragists: Julia Ward Howe and Women’s Rights at the 1884 New Orleans World’s Fair,” will speak at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Special Collections Room of Hill Memorial Library Lecture Hall on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. Pfeffer will present “Affectionately, Sis: Intimate letters of Grace King,” discussing how the letters show a young southern woman yearning to escape her constricted life by following her ambition to write, and her developing confidence as her first stories were published.

Following this presentation from 1:30-3:30 p.m., Special Collections will host an “Afternoon in the Archives” in the McIlhenny Room. Centered on the theme “Women of Letters,” selections on view will include papers of female Louisiana authors, including Grace King, Sidonie de la Houssaye, Leona Queyrouze Barel and early editions of early modern women authors. “Afternoon in the Archives” is an informal series of monthly showcases designed to give participants opportunities to explore various aspects of history and culture while learning more about Special Collections’ historical resources.  Library staff will be on hand to talk about the collections and how they can be part of teaching, learning and research.

The event is free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to attend one or both events. For more information, contact Curator of Manuscripts Tara Laver at tzachar@lsu.edu.

America’s best-loved political couple James Carville and Mary Matalin discuss the 2016 Presidential Election at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Nunemaker Auditorium at Loyola University of New Orleans. Gambit publisher and award-winning political commentator Clancy DuBos will moderate.

Presented by Loyola’s Institute of Politics, the talk is the seventh annual Ed Renwick Lecture Series and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and seats will go first-come, first-serve to the first 350 guests to arrive. A reception will follow the program in the auditorium lobby.

Carville is a democratic political consultant and the author or coauthor of eight New York Times best sellers. His most recent book co-authored with pollster and friend Stan Greenberg “It’s The Middle Class Stupid!” was released in 2012. Carville is a frequent political commentator and contributor on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He also serves as a professor of practice at Tulane.

            A member of Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees, Matalin erved under President Ronald Reagan; made her mark as President George H.W. Bush’s campaign director; and served as both assistant to President George W. Bush and assistant and counselor to Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney.  Today, she is an author, TV and radio host and political contributor, pundit and public speaker.

Together, with her husband, Matalin co-authored the best-selling political campaign book “All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President,” named one of the top five best books on public relations by The Wall Street Journal. The pair recently returned to the New York Times best seller list with their newest book “Love and War: 20 Years, 3 Presidents, 2 Daughters, One Louisiana Home.” Matalin also penned “Letters to My Daughters,” a series of short missives.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “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 also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.