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.

William Joyce to be honored as Humanist of the Year by Louisiana Endownment for Humanities

Author, illustrator, and pioneer in the digital and animation industry William Joyce will be honored as the 2017 Humanist of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. 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. Joyce will be honored on Thursday at the 2017 LEH Bright Lights Awards Dinner at the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge. The event is open to the public, and tickets start at $150.

In 2009, Joyce co-founded Moonbot Studios, a multimedia storytelling company in Shreveport, exploring books, apps, films and video games. The studio's projects have won numerous awards and accolades, including an Oscar for Best Animated Short for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore,” Annie Award, multiple Webby and Emmy awards and inclusion in the iTunes App Store Hall of Fame. Since beginning his career as children's book author and illustrator, Joyce has nearly 50 books to his credit.

The LEH will also recognize the following writers:

Humanities Books Awards goes to Shane K. Bernard, author of “Teche: A History of Louisiana’s Most Famous Bayou” and “Hard Scrabble to Hallelujah, Volume 1: Legacies of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana” by Christopher Everette Cenac with Claire Domangue Joller, both published by the University Press of Mississippi.

The Light Up for Literacy Award goes to Richard Louth, a professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana University and founding director of the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project.

The Lifetime Contribution to the Humanities will be awarded to author, editor and archivist Susan Tucker, who served as Curator of Books and Records at the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women from 1988 to 2015.

Bayou State Book Talk

Historian John Troutman will discuss his new book “Kīkā Kila: How the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the downtown branch of the Lafayette Public Library, part of the Bayou State Book Talks. Troutman has taught courses in public history, American music history and indigenous studies at UL-Lafayette. He recently accepted a new position as Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. His first book, “Indian Blues: American Indians and the Politics of Music, 1879-1934,” won the Western History Association’s biennial 2011 W. Turrentine Jackson Prize for a first book on any aspect of the American West.

‘Garden Legacy’

The Historic New Orleans Collection, known for its publication of gorgeous coffee table-style history books, has added a new gem to its crown, “Garden Legacy” by preservationists Mary Louise Mossy Christovich and Roulhac Bunkley Toledano. The book offers a survey of more than three centuries of garden design in New Orleans. Both authors will be presenting their latest work at a book release party from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal St. in the French Quarter and at 6 p.m. April 18 at Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. in New Orleans.

New releases

Andrea Brew received her bachelor’s degree from Southern, followed by a master’s in education from Northwestern, and she shares her love of the annual Bayou Classic, where Southern University and Grambling meet in both football and marching band competition, with “’Twas the Night Before Bayou Classic” (Mascot Books). The children’s book, illustrated by Agus Prajogo, follows a Southern University family on the eve of the Bayou Classic, when who should arrive but a Grambling fan. Brew is a Louisiana native and has been working in education for 14 years, most currently as an elementary school librarian.

Releasing this past week was C.S. Harris’s “Where the Dead Lie,” the 12^th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery series.

Book events

The Civil War Book Review will sponsor a lecture at 11 a.m. Monday in Hill Memorial Library on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. Patrick Hayes will speak about his most recent publication, “The Civil War Diary of Rev. James Sheeran, C.S.s.R.” Irish-born Sheeran was chaplain to the 14th Louisiana Regiment of the Confederacy, one of only a few dozen Catholic chaplains commissioned for the Confederacy and one of only two who kept a journal.

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

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.

New releases by LSU Press, LEH, Andrei Codrescu

            Randy Harelson discusses the history and culture of Pointe Coupee Parish, complemented by haunting photos of Richard Sexton in the LSU Press coffee table book, “New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana’s Historic Pointe Coupee Parish.” This gorgeous book dedicated to one of the oldest parishes in the state examines its unique geography, hugging oxbow lakes of Old River and False River and bookended by the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya. Because of its water access plantations were popular here, attracting Creole families as early as 1726.

            The authors offer sections on the many historic properties of the parish, unique architectural structures such as the new Aubudon Bridge, old neighborhoods and towns, churches and cemeteries and popular spots such as the Miss Jane Pittman Oak, inspired by the work of Ernest Gaines. 

            One of the highlights of 2012 was the publication of the impressive “A Unique Slant of Light: The Bicentennial History of Art in Louisiana,” published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and honoring 200 years of Louisiana statehood.

            The giant 456-page tome commissioned by the state’s Bicentennial Commission begins with Louisiana’s establishment as a colony in 1699 moving up to present-day and Louisiana’s contemporary scene.  “A Unique Slant of Light” includes 276 entries on Louisiana artists, authored by dozens of scholars and more than 400 images from private collections and the state’s major museums and archives, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Louisiana State Museum, the LSU Museum of Art, the Meadows Museum at Centenary College of Louisiana and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

            The book comes with a hefty price tag ($120) but worth the money, not to mention profits benefit the LEH.  

Other new releases

            Poet and essayist Andrei Codrescu has two new titles out — “Bibliodeath: My Archives (With Life in Footnotes),” which surveys the evolutionary relationship between language and technology through Codrescu’s career as an American writer, and “So Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems 1968 – 2012” by Coffee House Press. Codrescu is the author of 40 books, has edited the literary magazine Exquisite Corpse, and is featured regularly on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” A former resident of New Orleans, he currently lives in the Ozarks.

            Pelican Publishing of New Orleans has released “Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz: A New Orleans Seafood Cookbook” by the late Howard Mitcham, a New Orleans chef, poet, artist and raconteur. Anthony Bourdain said of the book: “Hugely influential for me and my budding culinary peers of the time . . . both [Mitcham] and his books were fascinating depositories of recipes, recollections, history, folklore and illustrations, drawing on his abiding love for humble, working-class ethnic food of the area.”

            NewSouth Books has published “Eden Rise,” a first novel by Robert J. Norrell, historian and civil rights scholar acclaimed for his biography on Booker T. Washington and winner of the 1986 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for “Reaping the Whirlwind.” “Eden Rise” follows a white college freshman who returns home to the Alabama Black Belt in the summer of 1965 and becomes embroiled in a civil-rights conflict that divides his family and town. You can learn more and read an excerpt at http://www.newsouthbooks.com/edenrise.

Children’s books

            New Orleans children’s book author Whitney Stewart informed me she has a children’s book on meditation coming out next year and a New Orleans young adult novel in the works. Things to look forward to for 2013. But if you haven’t read any of Stewart’s books, she is the author of “Marshall, The Sea Dog,” “Mr. Lincoln’s Gift,” “Who Was Walt Disney?” and “Coffin’s Ghost.” For more information, visit www.whitneystewart.com.

            Roger Raymond of New Iberia is the author and creator of “Ralph Filmore: Paranormal Investigator,” a children’s book series he is working on becoming a TV series and video game, and “The Fun Adventures of Puff and Bean,” written by Roger and his wife, LaLonda Raymond. For more information, visit www.puffandbean.com.

            Jeff Kinney brings his unique magic in storytelling and artistry with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel.” Main character Greg Heffley has his usual middle school angst and issues but a Valentine’s Day dance provides special conflict when he has to find a date.

            A lovely new creative children’s picture book that combines paper cut collages from old catalogues, books and letters to create snow scenes is “A Perfect Day” by Carin Berger. After a snowstorm, the world turns white, offering all kinds of winter fun. After ice skating, making snow angels, sleding and more, the children return home to “warm hugs and dry clothes and steaming hot chocolate.”

State Library contest

            The State Library of Louisiana’s Center for the Book, in partnership with the Louisiana Writing Project, is now accepting entries to Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest for students. To enter, fourth through 10th grade students should write personal letters to authors, living or dead, from any genre explaining how the author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves.

            Louisiana’s first place winners’ entries will be submitted to the Library of Congress for the national competition with the chance of winning $1,000.

State winners in each level, to be announced in April, will receive $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place. State winners will be recognized at the Louisiana Book Festival on Nov. 2, 2013.

            Students may enter either on their own or through a classroom teacher, school or library. There are three competition levels: level 1 for grades 4–6, level 2 for grades 7–8 and level 3 for grades 9–10. The student’s letter and entry coupon, available online, must be sent by Jan. 13, 2013, to Letters About Literature, P.O. Box 5308, Woodbridge, VA 22194.

            Teachers and home-school instructors along with school, public children and public young adult librarians can download Letters About Literature lesson plans for their curricula and programming as well as find entry forms at www.LettersAboutLiterature.org.  



           

Cheré Coen is the author of “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 teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at chere@louisianabooknews.com.