Darrell Bourque named 2019 Humanist of the Year, 'A Cajun Girl’s Sharecropping Years' by Viola Fontenot named 2019 Humanities Book of the Year

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), in partnership with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, has selected former Louisiana poet laureate Darrell Bourque as the 2019 Humanist of the Year and “A Cajun Girl’s Sharecropping Years” by Viola Fontenot as the 2019 Humanities Book of the Year. The awards are part of the state humanities council’s effort to honor individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the study and understanding of the humanities. Bourque, Fontenot, and the other award winners will be honored on April 4, 2019, at the 2019 LEH Bright Lights Awards Dinner in Lafayette.

“All of us at the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism are proud to commend Darrell Bourque on being chosen as Louisiana’s 2019 Humanist of the Year,” said Nungesser. “Bourque epitomizes what it is to be a true humanist - not only does he share his gifts of poetry and creative writing with the world, but he’s also helped to nurture and mentor so many aspiring writers, poets and artists and do so with empathy and devotion.”  

Bourque served as Louisiana’s second peer-selected poet laureate from 2007–2011, first appointed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco and then reappointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. A native of Church Point in Acadia Parish, he earned a BA and MA in English at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and a PhD in English from Florida State University. He returned to USL as a professor, later serving as department head and director of creative writing, and has published twelve books of poetry, the most recent of which is “if you abandon me, comment je vais faire: An Amédé Ardoin Songbook” (2014). Bourque is also one of the founding members of Narrative 4, an international story exchange project that works to bring about social change by cultivating radical empathy in its participants.­

“In Darrell Bourque, Louisiana has a native son who is the embodiment of a humanist. His work, whether his poetry or his numerous other cultural pursuits, points to a person firmly grounded in his community and driven by a deep concern for the value and dignity of all people. We are thrilled to celebrate him as the 2019 Humanist of the Year,” said Miranda Restovic, president and executive director of the LEH. 

“A Cajun Girl’s Sharecropping Years,” authored by Viola Fontenot and published by the University Press of Mississippi, follows Fontenot’s life as the daughter of a sharecropper in Church Point. Reliving various aspects of rural Cajun life, such as house chores, boucheries, fais do-do, and the classroom mantra of “I will not speak French on the school grounds anymore,” Fontenot brings a female perspective to a previously male-dominated understanding of sharecropping culture.

LEH and Master of Ceremonies Nungesser will honor Bourque and Fontenot at the 2019 Bright Lights Awards Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Student Union. Tickets begin at $150. Table sponsorships are available to interested parties. For more information, contact Mike Bourg at (504) 620-2482 or bourg@leh.org, or visit www.leh.org.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.