New releases - University Press of Mississippi

Viola Fontenot grew up the daughter of a sharecropper in southwestern Louisiana where life was difficult for the family but joyous in many ways. She writes about both experiences in "A Cajun Girl's Sharecropping Years." explaining working as a child in the fields, living without electricity, and driving a mule into town but also the Cajun children's games she played, the house dances with family and friends and her undying love of Cajun music. It's a small book with a powerful story offering great insight to growing up on the Cajun Prairie.

Fontenot is also the contributor to "Growing Up in South Louisiana" and is currently working on a children's book titled "Le Petit Chaoui Du Grand Bois," about her childhood pet raccoon.

George T. Malvaney loved to disappear as a child, driving his parents crazy. The writing was on the wall. The Mississippi native joined the navy and started a Klan group that resulted in a mutual discharge, then he planned an armed coup attempt on Dominica in the Caribbean. The FBI caught up with him and landed him in jail, and that’s where he turned his life around to become a leader of the Mississippi cleanup effort of the Gulf Coast after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It’s all part of Malvaney’s wild memoir, “Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters, and Started a Business.” Today, the author is a partner at Enhanced Environmental and Emergency Series and Malvaney and Associates.

  

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said of the book, “The hardships of George’s youth did not define him. Rather, his determination to overcome those unfortunate circumstances makes his story one of redemption. I am glad he is sharing it.”

Ann Brewster Dobie, professor emerita of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, examines 11 well-known Louisiana authors and several on the rise in “Voices from Louisiana: Profiles of Contemporary Writers.” The authors highlighted in her book include former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque, James Lee Burke, Ernest Gaines, Tim Gautreaux, Shirley Ann Grau, Greg Guirard, William Joyce, Julie Kane, Tom Piazza, Martha Serpas and James Wilcox. Newcomers profiled include Wiley Cash, Ashley Mace Havird, Anne L. Sion, Katy Simpson Smith, Ashley Weaver, Steve Weddle and Ken Wheaton.

Dobie is also the author of “Something in Common: Contemporary Louisiana Stories,” “Uncommonplace: An Anthology of Contemporary Louisiana Poets” and “Wide Awake in the Pelican State: Stories by Contemporary Louisiana Writers.”

A gorgeous, massive book that looks beyond the debutantes and New Orleans’ elite society is “Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans” by Howard Philips Smith. Gay krewes began in the late 1950s in New Orleans, Smith asserts, many times celebrated in secret, but by the 1980s were almost eliminated by the AIDS crisis and persecution. The book contains krewe interviews, photographs, ephemera, ball costumes, posters, programs and more.

"In Unveiling the Muse, Howard Philips Smith presents a lively and comprehensive history of New Orleans's gay Carnival organizations formed in the post-World War II era,” writes Priscilla Lawrence, executive director of The Historic New Orleans Collection. “In addition, he takes a wider look at the places, people, and non-Carnival annual calendar of events that are allied with it. His use of archival sources, both public and private, enhances the narrative and adds a stunning visual element to the history of the krewes, clubs, and society that has defined and transformed gay Carnival in New Orleans for over half a century."

Smith grew up on a farm in rural Mississippi and attended the University of Southern Mississippi and the Université de Bourgogne, Dijon. He began writing about pre-AIDS New Orleans and the gay ball scene during the early 1980s, the so-called Golden Age of Gay Carnival. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband and three cats.

Published in the spring was “Discovering Cat island: Photographs and History” by John Cuevas with photographs by Jason Taylor and a foreword by Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi Secretary of State.

“Cat Island is truly one of Mississippi’s greatest natural resources,” Hosemann writes in the foreword. “This barrier island is rich in history, dating back to its discovery by the French in 1699. Our island has survived centuries of changes in ownership and tropical storms. It is a part of the culture of Mississippi and remains a jewel of the Gulf Coast.”

Cuevas served as creative director of his own advertising firm in Atlanta for more than 25 years, where he won gold awards in radio, television and print advertising. Taylor is an artist, photographer and environmentalist whose work is inspired by his passion for the outdoors and Mississippi Gulf Coast.

For information about these and other University Press of Mississippi titles, click here.

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.

Cokie Roberts named 2015 Humanist of the Year

             The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will honor Louisiana native Cokie Roberts as its 2015 Humanist of the Year at an April 23 awards dinner in Baton Rouge.

            The award is given annually by the state’s humanities council as part of its efforts to recognize the individuals and organizations making invaluable contributions to the culture of Louisiana.

            A native of New Orleans, Roberts is a political commentator for ABC News. She has served as senior news analyst for National Public Radio and from 1996-2002 she and Sam Donaldson co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program “This Week.” In her more than 40 years in broadcasting, she has won countless awards, including three Emmys, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting.

            Roberts’ books have included the bestsellers “We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters,” “Founding Mothers” and “Ladies of Liberty.” Her book with husband, Steven, “From this Day Forward,” an account of their more than 40-year marriage and other marriages in American history, was a New York Times bestseller.

            In addition to Humanist of the Year and other 2015 LEH awards, the Humanities Book Awards goes to Rick Bragg, author of “Jerry Lee Lewis,” about Ferriday’s famous musician, and Clayton Delery-Edwards for “Upstairs Lounge Arson,” a horrific fire that occurred in a French Quarter gay bar in the 1970s.            

            The inaugural Light Up for Literacy Award, given in partnership with the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana and the Library of Congress, goes to Ann Dobie, a retired English professor who taught almost 40 years at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, directed the Acadiana Writing Project, and continues to serve as the literature section editor for KnowLA.org. Dobie has published more than 50 scholarly works and serves as the head judge for Louisiana Letters About Literature, a statewide student writing competition.
          For more information about the 2015 LEH Awards, visit www.leh.org.

Louisiana Book News is written by Cheré Coen, the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “ExploringCajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Ann Dobie's new book 'Remembering Lafayette,' plus more historical new releases

            Ann B. Dobie, professor emerita of English at UL-Lafayette, has published a slice of Lafayette history in “Remembering Lafayette: 1930-1955.” The book covers the pre-war and war years, development of education and the university, local businesses such as Heymann’s department store, entertainment and making a living, to name only a few of her topics. She chose this period because of the town’s growth and “transformation,” caused by post-war prosperity and oil development.

            “‘Remembering Lafayette’ tells the stories of those changes, stories of how people lived and worked and had fun as the small Cajun town grew into one of the largest and most affluent cities in the state,” Dobie writes in the book’s introduction.

            The book contains memories of long-time residents, numerous photographs and a foreword by Mayor Joey Durel and is available at Champagne’s Grocery in the Oil Center, Vermilionville and Little Veron’s grocery store.

New releases

            The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival announced the publication of “Luxury, Inequity & Yellow Fever: Living Legacies and the Story of Old New Orleans” by photographer and New Orleans native Kerri McCaffety, released by their sponsor, the Hermann-Grima and Gallier historic houses. The book pairs 152 pages of photographs of both homes’ parlors and bedrooms with historical accounts, giving insight into antebellum New Orleans — a time of wealth, romance, slavery, hurricanes and disease. The book is available at the Exchange Shop at the Hermann-Grima House, independent area bookstores and Barnes & Noble. For more information, visit http://www.hgghh.org.

            Two books on New Orleans by Pelican Publishing include “New Orleans Hurricanes From the Start” by David F. Bastian and Nicholas J. Meis, a look at the Crescent City’s long history of storms and lessons learned, and “Hell and High Water: The Battle to Save the Daily New Orleans Times-Picayune” by Rebecca Theim, a former staff writer.

            Carol Mills-Nichols discovered in 1999 that she was Jewish and has been studying Jewish families of the Gulf South for the past 15 years. She follows up “The Forgotten Jews of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana” with “Louisiana’s Jewish Immigrants from the Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France.” The book includes biographies of 638 immigrants to Louisiana who left from places in the Bas-Rhin, Alsace region of France. The book is available online and through the publisher, Janaway Publishing, Inc.

            In conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, The Historic New Orleans Collection is releasing a book chronicling the history of an independent troop of cavalrymen from New Orleans titled “A Fine Body of Men: The Orleans Light Horse, Louisiana Cavalry, 1861–1865” by Donald Peter Moriarty. The author follows the Orleans Light Horse from its organization in February 1861 through its March 1862 muster into active service with the Confederate States Army to the war’s end in 1865. As the escort company to Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk and later Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart, the Orleans Light Horse was an integral part of the Army of Mississippi and the Army of Tennessee. 

             O’Neil de Noux of New Orleans has published “The French Detective,” a novel that takes place in 1900 New Orleans in which a young Sicilian-American boy is kidnapped and the crime offers no leads. NOPD Detective Jacques Dugas is pitted against a crime boss and a terrifying henchman and hindered by lingering animosity between police and Sicilians along with violent confrontations between police and black citizens as the dreaded Jim Crow Laws go into effect. The book is available from Amazon.com.

Bridge to Publication

            The Bayou Writers Group will host its annual conference Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Safe Harbor center of the University United Methodist Church, 3501 Patrick St. in Lake Charles. Titled “A Bridge to Publication,” the conference will address topics ranging from what social media can do for writers to the author-publisher relationship. Attendees will also have the chance to pitch their works to editors and agents and attend a special Q&A panel on what writers need to know after they have been published. Poetry and fiction written by the Bayou Writers Group will be available in “Gator Bites” on site and participants will have the opportunity to compete or vote in the “Best First Page Contest.” For more information and to register, visit http://bayouwritersgroup.com.

Cajun music history

            The Jeanerette Bicentennial Museum presents “A Journey through the History of Cajun Music” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, incorporating archival recordings from UL’s Center for Louisiana Studies’ Archive of Cajun and Creole Folklore and including a live performance. Chris Segura and Michael Martin will discuss the history of Cajun music from the earliest examples to the most recent innovations. 

            Segura is an archivist at UL and founding member of the Grammy-nominated Feu Follet as well as a member of the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. He has recorded 10 albums with his two bands, plus produced five albums composed of archive material for Festivals Acadiens et Créoles.

            Martin is director of the Center for Louisiana Studies and holds the Cheryl Courrégé Burguières/Board of Regents Professorship in History at UL. His publications include “Russell Long: A Life in Politics,” “Louisiana Legacies: Readings in the History of the Pelican State” (as co-editor), “Louisiana Beyond Black and White: Recent Interpretations of Twentieth-Century Race and Race Relations” (as editor) and “Historic Lafayette.” Martin is managing editor of the journal “Louisiana History,” published quarterly by the Louisiana Historical Association.

            The event is free at the Jeanerette Museum, 500 E. Main St. in Jeanerette. For more information, visit JeaneretteMuseum.com.

Book events

            Michael Rubin will be signing copies of his novel, “The Cottoncrest Curse,” from noon to 2 p.m. at the LSU Barnes & Noble in Baton Rouge. The signing time may change according to the kickoff of the LSU v. Ole Miss game.

            Poetry Slam and open mic by UL’s Powerful Poets begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Black’s Café, 518 S Pierce St. Cost is $5. For information, contact PoeticSoul337@gmail.com.

            Ben Wynne will be speaking and signing “In Tune: Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers,and the Roots of American Music” from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Lorelei Books, 1103 S. Washington St. in Vicksburg and at 5 p.m. Friday at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Miss.

            There will be a book discussion of “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at South Regional Library. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the movie by the same name, Dr. Matthew Teutsch, interim director of the Ernest J. Gaines Center, will lead a discussion about Gaines’ most popular novel and its cultural significance.

            James Wade will be speaking on his new book, “The Pitot House:A Landmark on Bayou St. John," at the Louisiana Landmarks Society event from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave. in Metairie.
             James Nolan signs “You Don’t Know Me: New and Selected Stories” at 6 p.m. Thursday at Octavia Books in New Orleans.

            Andi Eaton signs copies of “New Orleans Style” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Costco in New Orleans.

            Addie K. Martin and Jeremy Martin sign copies of “Southeast Louisiana Food: A Seasoned Tradition” at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Maple Street Books in New Orleans and at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the French Food Festival.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “ExploringCajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.