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.
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.
The
Lafayette Public Library System is teaming up with area public schools and
other local partners to encourage Lafayette to read and discuss the same book
in a program called Lafayette Reads Together.
The
inaugural program will focus on the New York Times bestseller “A Long Walk to
Water” by Linda Sue Park, a survivor’s tale inspired by the real story of one
of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who not only saved himself, but improved the quality
of life for many. Every public school seventh grader in Lafayette Parish will
read the book and discuss it in class. School curricula will also include
lessons surrounding the themes of the book, as well as the history and culture
of South Sudan.
