Festival of Words hosts Nickname Open Mic tonight

            Do you have a fun or unusual nickname? The Festival of Words will host a “Nickname Open Mic” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Chicory Coffee and Café in Grand Coteau. The time limit is five minutes in which participants can explain whether they love or hate their nickname, describe where it came from and tell of their experiences carrying this name.
            Mine is Pixie. What's yours?
            For more information, contact festivalwords@gmail.com or call (337) 254-9695.

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.

Festival of Words presents evening of oral history, poetry

            The Festival of Words presents an evening of oral history and poetry with Julia Key and Julia B. Levine at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, in the Grand Coteau Ballroom, 162 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Grand Coteau.

            Key is a Grand Coteau native and co-author of  the article, “History of St. Peter Claver School.” She attended the School for Colored Children at Sacred Heart and St. Peter Claver Elementary, serving as valedictorian in the first graduating class of St. Peter Claver High School. Key will discuss her life as a student and teacher in these historic institutions from which many town leaders graduated. Her presentation will be videotaped and archived at the Center for Louisiana Studies in the Grand Coteau Voices collection.

            Levine has won numerous awards for her work, including the 2003 Tampa Review Prize for her collection, “Ask,” the 1998 Anhinga Poetry Prize and bronze medal from Foreword magazine for her first collection, “Practicing for Heaven,” as well as a Discovery/The Nation award. Her latest poetry collection, “Small Disasters Seen in Sunlight,” inaugurated the Barataria Poetry Series for LSU Press in  2014.  She received a PhD in clinical psychology from UC Berkeley, and lives and works in Davis, California.

            Participants may bring their own poems, songs or stories for the open mic and snacks or drinks to share. This free, community event is suitable for all ages and is sponsored by The Festival of Words Cultural Arts Collective. For more information, call Patrice Melnick at (337) 254-9695 or festivalwords@gmail.com. 

Cheré 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.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.