'Tilted World' a love story set against 1927 flood

             Tom Franklin, author of the New York Times bestseller “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter,” and award-winning poet Beth Ann Fennelly, have teamed up for a novel surrounding the 1927 flood in Mississippi in “The Tilted World.”

            Hard-working Dixie Clay Holliver meets a smooth-talking traveler in Alabama and agrees to leave her family, marry him and move back to his small town of Hobnob, Mississippi. Jesse Holliver turns about to be a bootlegger and their marriage disintegrates, especially after the loss of their first-born child. Dixie Clay throws herself into working the still in an effort to fill her days and because she excels in the process.

            The book begins with the appearance of federal revenue agent Ted Ingersoll and his partner, Ham Johnson, who arrive in the flood-prone town following the disappearance of two fellow agents who’d been on Jesse’s tail. In the middle of the torrential rains, the river growing daily to the tops of the town’s levee and an altercation with Jesse, the agents find an abandoned baby boy. Ted brings the child to Dixie Clay to rear and the two are immediately drawn to one another.

            “The Tilted World” follows the developing relationship between Ted and Dixie Clay, the baby’s appearance that offers a balm to Dixie Clay’s soul and the prospect of a sabauteur in town who may blow up the levee in exchange for money from a New Orleans interest.

            Fans of the “Great Flood” will enjoy this small town insider’s approach through a fictional story, and the relationship that develops between Dixie Clay and Ted is heartwarming amidst the terror of the Mississippi opening its mouth to devour the town. At times, however, the book drags, which is unfortunate since the plot structure of a love affair between a bootlegger and a federal agent offers wonderful conflict. For the most part the seams between the two writers are invisible but occasionally the voice appears tangibly different. But don’t let my minor disappointments deter you, book reviewers are raving about the story.

New releases

            New Orleans poet and UNO graduate Gina Ferrara has just published a new collection of poetry titled “Amber Porch Light.” Ferrara is also the author of a 2006 chapbook, “The Size of Sparrows.” Her poems have appeared in numerous journals including The Poetry Ireland Review, The Briar Cliff Review, and Callaloo. She is currently at work on a collection of poems about the leprosaurium located in Carville.

            Frank de Caro, a folklorist and professor emeritus of English at LSU, has published “a memoir that explores why all our stories matter” titled “Stories of Our Lives: Memory, History, Narrative” by Utah State University Press. Featuring personal stories from De Caro’s life and years of field research as a folklorist, the book is part memoir and part exploration of how the stories we tell shape our sense of self. De Caro is also the author of “Louisiana Sojourns: Travelers’ Tales and Literary Journeys” (1998, with Rosan A. Jordan), which received the Louisiana Humanities Book Award, and other books.

             “Dixie Redux: Essays in Honor of Seldon Hackney” is a collection of essays by one of the nation’s most distinguished Southern historians, a man who served as provost of Princeton University, president of Tulane University and the University of Pennsylvania, and chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The book contains essays from 18 historians, former colleagues and students of Hackney. The book is edited by Raymond Arsenault and Orville Vernon Burton.

            Shaquana Jackson of Abbeville has just published a novel titled “Now That the Cover is Removed,” available online through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. The book follows three girlfriends where when the truth is revealed their friendships take a beating. Read more at her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/authorshaquana.jackson.

Spring picks

            Members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance choose books each winter, known as the Okra Picks, as those they are excited about selling. Here are a few Southern titles SIBA wants you to read. Look for reviews of these books in coming months to this column. They are:



            “The In-Between Hour” by Barbara Claypole White (Mira Books);


            “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking);

            “Starting Over: Stories by Elizabeth Spencer” (Liveright Publishing);

            “The Last Days of California” by Mary Miller (Liveright Publishing);

            “The Secret of Magic” by Deborah Johnson (Amy Einhorn Books);            

            “Without Mercy: The Stunning True Story of Race, Crime and Corruption in the Deep South” by David Beasley (St. Martin’s Press);

            “This Dark Road to Mercy” by Wiley Cash (Morrow)


            “The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing” by Sheila Turnage (Kathy Dawson Books);

            “One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band” by Alan Paul (St. Martin’s);

            “A Snicker of Magic” by Natalie Lloyd (Scholastic);

            “Long Man” by Amy Greene (Knopf); and

            “Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything” by Donald Link (Clarkson Potter).

            For more information, visit sibaweb.com/okra.

Books by UL authors

            There have been several books recently published by UL-Lafayette graduates.

            Leslie Moise, who has a docorate in English from UL, published “Love is the Thread: A Knitting Friendship” with Pearlsong Press.

            Don Landry of Baton Rouge published “Boxing: Louisiana’s Forgotten Sport.”

            John Hornung has self-published four ebooks in the last two years.

            Deborah Little, who lives in Montgomery, Ala., has published “Growing Up Little: Uptown New Orleans and Rural Alabama.”

            April Fallon, a UL graduate and currently a professor of English at Kentucky State University, published “Universe of Discourse” with Finishing Line Press under the name of A.D. Fallon.

            Roy Bourgeois published his memoir, “My Journey from Silence to Solidarity,” which details his call to ministry and the founding of the School of Americas Watch.

            Daniel Haulman, chief of the Organizational Histories Branch of the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, has published “What Hollywood Got Right and Wrong about the Tuskegee Airmen in the Great New Movie, ‘Red Tails.’” He is also the author of “The Tuskegee Airmen and the ‘Never Lost a Bomber’ Myth.”  

            Tony Leuzzi published a collection of interviews with leading American poets titled “Passwords Primeval.”

Book events

            “The Story of Felicia Fuksman: Holocaust Survivor” begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at South Regional Library. Through photos and video clips, Katherine Watson, Southern Institute for Education and Research’s Goldring Teacher Fellow, will tell the story of Holocaust survivor Felicia Fuksman, her early childhood, experiences during World War II and her arrival in New Orleans.

            French Story Times will occur on select Wednesdays and Saturdays at Lafayette libraries. Bedtime Stories in French
will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Feb. 12

and special Saturday Story Times in French
begin at 11 a.m. Jan. 25 and Feb. 22 at South Regional Library.

            Children ages 5-12 can make a penguin collage at 4 p.m. Thursday at the South Regional Library. Preregistration is required.

            Nunu Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville will host authors

Philip Andrepont, Pat Morrow and Warren Perrin on Friday for their monthly potluck at 1510 Courtableau Road, Arnaudville. The three have written a pictorial history of St. Landry Parish titled “Images of America St. Landry Parish.” Copies of the book will be available. Visit www.nunucollective.org/ for more information.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana,” both from The History Press, 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 cherecoen@gmail.com.

SIBA Awards announced, Louisiana books among the honors

            I’m ashamed to admit I miss the announcements of the 2013 SIBA Awards, book honors voted on by Southern independent booksellers for great examples of Southern literature over the past year.

            Shreveport’s own William Joyce was the children’s SIBA winner for “The Fantastic FlyingBooks of Mr. Morris Lessmore” (Atheneum Books for Young Readers). LSU Press was the publisher for the poetry award, “Descent” by Kathryn Stripling Byer.

            Other winners included: 

            “TheBack in the Day Bakery Cookbook” by Cheryl and Griffith Day (Artisan Publishers), cooking;
            “ALand More Kind Than Home” by Wiley Cash (William Morrow), fiction;
            “StandUp That Mountain” by Jay Erskine Leutze (Scribner Book Company), nonfiction;
            “ThreeTimes Lucky” by Sheila Turnage” (Dial Books for Young Readers), young adult.

            A few of the nominees that I would also recommend reading are “Fred Thompson’sSouthern Sides: 250 Dishes That Really Make the Plate” by Fred Thompson (University of North Carolina Press), “The Accidental City: Improvising NewOrleans” by Lawrence N. Powell (Harvard University Press), “Mastering theArt of Southern Cooking” by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart (Gibbs Smith Publishers) and “Around the Southern Table: Coming Home to ComfortingMeals and Treasured Memories” by Rebecca Lang (Oxmoor House).           

            For more information, visit http://www.sibaweb.com/siba-book-award.

           

New releases

            The life, loves and battles of a young U.S. naval officer from the Barbary War of 1803 through the War of 1812 and the super frigate he designed and sails into combat against the world’s greatest navy is the basis of O’Neil de Noux’s latest book, “USS Relentless.” The saga is available as a trade paperback at amazon.com or smashwords.com or at the author’s web site at www.oneildenoux.net.

            Rick Koster, author of two books about Southern music, “Texas Music” and “Louisiana Music,” has published a horror e-book titled “Poppin’ a Cold One” by eKensington. The story revolves around a funeral home embalmer who discovers that a co-worker is doing more to the bodies than dressing them for burial. The ensuing adventure involves a New Orleans detective and a former rock musician turned casino mogul.

Writing workshops

            The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Miss., has chosen a new Artist in Residence program featuring writer and poet, Benjamin Morris. Morris will lead a week-long series of events to include a five-day residency, a public reading and a full-day writer’s workshop incorporating the permanent collections and new exhibitions at WAMA. There will be an Inter-Arts Panel Discussion on Aug. 9, moderated by Dr. Philip Levin, president of the Gulf Coast Writers Association; a Writing Workshop Aug. 10, and a Reception and Public Reading, Aug. 11 in the Ocean Springs Community Center. For information on the writing workshop or to reserve a spot in the class, email Amelia Halstead at development@walterandersonmuseum.org.

            The Heart of Louisiana chapter of Romance Writers of America has announced its fall reader luncheon as Nov. 16 in Baton Rouge with best-selling author Maya Banks as the keynote speaker. For information, visit http://www.heartla.com/luncheon/index.htm.

Book events

            Chuck Hustmyre will read from “The Axman of New Orleans” today at the literary reading series in the patio of the Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St. in New Orleans.

            Lolis Eric Elie signs “Treme: Stories and Recipes from the Heart of New Orleans” from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. today at Pirate’s Alley Words and Music on the second floor gallery of the Cabildo at Jackson Square, New Orleans. The event is free with RSVP by email to Faulkhouse@aol.com. Elie will also sign from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at a cocktail and author dinner at Susan Spicer’s Bayona Restaurant in New Orleans ($40 plus tax, drinks and gratuity). For information and to RSVP to the dinner, call (504) 525-4455.

            The Northshore Literary Society will host a “Sunday Salon” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today at St. John’s Coffee House in Covington. Local author Pamela Binnings Ewen will speak about the changes in publishing and how these changes affect both readers and writers. There will be light refreshments, wine and soft drinks for a $10 fee but free to Society members. For information, visit www.NorthshoreLiterarySociety.com.           

            George Bishop discusses and signs his latest book, “The Night of the Comet,” at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans.

           

Cheré Coen is the author of “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and the upcoming “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana.” She teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com. Visit her web site. 

New Orleans museum opens exhibit tied to historic publication of memoirs

            This past spring the Historic New Orleans Collection published an incredible find, the previously unpublished memoir of Marc-Antoine Caillot, an employee of the French Company of the Indies, titled, “A Company Man: The Remarkable French-Atlantic Voyage of a Clerk for the Company of the Indies.” 

             The manuscript contained Caillot’s recollection of traveling to Louisiana and his experiences in the early French colony.

            The Historic New Orleans Collection has opened an exhibition titled “Pipe Dreams: Louisiana under the French Company of the Indies, 1717–1731,” that complements the books and offers a perspective of 18th century Louisiana life. The exhibit looks at Louisiana’s role in relation to the company’s other trade outposts, especially those in the Indian Ocean, and the establishment of New Orleans as the colony’s capital. It also examines the development of tobacco culture in America, Louisiana’s population during the company years and the war between the Natchez and the French and their Indian allies between 1729 and 1731.

            More than 100 items are on display, including manuscripts and engraved maps and plans; contemporary artworks and drawings; archaeological artifacts from Port Dauphin, Old Mobile, Natchez and New Orleans; manuscript and three-dimensional items related to John Law, the Company of the West, the collapse of Law’s Système, and the Company of the Indies; and trade items circulated throughout the company’s global networks.

            The exhibit continues until Sept. 15 at the French Quarter museum. For information, visit www.hnoc.org.

New releases

            Stephanie Hepburn, an independent journalist based in New Orleans, has published “Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight” with Rita J. Simon. Hepburn first saw human trafficking in post-Katrina New Orleans, an experience that sparked global examination of trafficking in more than 23 nations. This study, with intimate accounts and interviews, points out those most vulnerable in each nation and the specific cultural, economic, environmental and geopolitical factors that contribute to each nation’s trafficking issues. Joanne Myers of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs said this about the book, “Stephanie personifies investigative journalism at its finest.” 

             Jerry DeWitt, a former pastor in DeRidder, questioned his Pentecostal faith when a member of his flock called seeking prayer for her brother who had been in a serious accident. As DeWitt searched for the right words to console her, he found that the faith which had once been the cornerstone of his life was gone. DeWitt was eventually outed as an atheist and shunned by much of DeRidder’s highly religious community, losing his job, his wife and nearly everything he’d known. His book, “Hope after Faith: An Ex-Pastor’s Journey from Belief to Atheism” with Ethan Brown tells the story of his passage from pastor with a deep Christian faith to a committed and considered atheism, one driven by humanism and what he calls “a happiness and self-confidence obtained by living free of fear.”

            New Orleanian author and artist Alex Beard is known for his highly imaginative children’s books “Monkey See, Monkey Draw” and “The Jungle Grapevine.” But I completely missed when his latest book came out, “Crocodile Tears.” The book follows Black Rhino and Tickbird wanting to know why Crocodile is crying. They search the African landscape for other animals who might know the answer. When Black Rhino finally asks Crocodile why he’s crying, he learns an interesting fact: Crocodile isn’t really crying; he’s wetting his eyes in the hot, dry sun like all crocodiles do. A share of the proceeds from sales of the book will go to the Shompole Community Trust, a land and animal reserve in Kenya.

            Acadian House Publishing of Lafayette has released “Leadership in the New Normal” by U.S Amry Lt. General Russel Honoré, a short course designed to help readers become more effective leaders. It describes modern leadership principles and techniques and illustrates them with stories from the author’s life experiences — including 37 years in the military and spearheading the post-Katrina search-and-rescue mission in New Orleans and restoring law and order to the hurricane-ravaged city. In “Leadership in the New Normal,” Honoré defines leadership as “the art and science of influencing others to willingly follow in order to accomplish a task or mission.”

New Poet Laureate

            Congrats to Ava Leavell Haymon for being chosen Louisiana’s new state poet laureate. The nationally recognized Baton Rouge poet and teacher will serve a two-year term. Haymon has organized the Artists-in-the-Schools program in Baton Rouge, the Junior Great Books program in several parishes and numerous classes at LSU.  She is the author of “The Strict Economy of Fire,” “Kitchen Heat” and “Why the House is Made of Gingerbread,” published by LSU Press. Jack Bedell of Southeastern and Laura Mullen of LSU were the other nominees. Haymon follows in the steps of previous poet laureates Brenda Marie Osbey, Darrell Bourque and Julie Kane.   

Book news

            “Butterfly in the Typewriter: The Tragic Life of John Kennedy Toole and the Remarkable Story of ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’” by Cory MacLauchlin is one of 50 books honored for its cover in the 2012 50 Books 50 Covers contest by Design Observer. The designer was Paul Sahre and the art director Jonathan Sainsbury. To view the entire list, visit http://designobserver.com/50Books50Covers/2012-covers.html,

            Ronlyn Domingue of Lafayette published her second novel this year, “The Mapmaker’s War,” with a sequel to follow. She reports that because the sequel “is a giant epic beast” her publisher decided to make the series a trilogy. The sequels to “The Mapmaker’s War” will be “The Chronicle of Secret Riven” in late spring, early summer 2014 and a third book in 2015. 

Conferences

            The Berries, Bridges and Books Writers Conference will be Saturday at Woodland Park Baptist Church, 1909 J.W. Davis Drive in Hammond. Dr. Mary Manheim will be the keynote speaker. Authors Christa Allen, Dave Berwick, Sylvia Rochester, Rosemary Smith, Kathryn Martin, Lynette Vinet and Nancy Wagner, among others, will be in attendance. Marketing representative Mary Pirosko, publisher Mary Gehman and bookseller Ken Foster are also on the slate. For more information contact creativemindwriters@hotmail.com or www.creativemindswriters.com.

            The LexiCon Writers Conference will be July 12-14 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Denton, Texas. For information, visit www.Lexi-ConWritersConference.com.

Edith Dupré Library

            A new exhibit at Edith Garland Dupré Library on the University of Louisiana-Lafayette campus in Lafayette reveals the impact of the Civil War on Louisiana 150 years ago, including Acadiana. “The Civil War in Louisiana, 1863” is the fourth in a series of seven exhibits about the war, is free and on display through July 31. The exhibit includes first-hand accounts, histories of military units, scholarly studies and artist’s sketches that were published in illustrated magazines. There are three Civil War diarists featured as well: Kate Stone, who lived near Vicksburg, Miss.; Sarah Morgan, a refugee from Baton Rouge who was staying near Port Hudson, La.; and Priscilla Bond, who became a refugee in Abbeville, after her Houma sugar plantation, Crescent Place, was burned by Union troops. One of the artifacts on display is the Sept. 26, 1863, edition of The Opelousas Courier newspaper, which was printed on wallpaper. The library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays (except today due to the Fourth of July holiday).

Book events

            Thinking about writing? My creative writing classes begin Tuesday at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education, otherwise known as Potpourri. On July 20 I will offer a seminar titled “So You Want to Get Published,” looking at the many ways of getting a book finished and on the shelf or in the Kindle. For more information, visit https://www.ce.louisiana.edu/.

            Peter M. Wolf will sign copies of “My New Orleans, Gone Away: A Memoir of Loss and Renewal” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 10, at Octavia Books in New Orleans. Wolf is the founder of the Thomas Moran Trust, Chairman of the Godchaux-Reserve Plantation Fund and a trustee in East Hampton of Guild Hall and The Village Preservation Society. His research and writing have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, the American Federation of Arts and a Fulbright Fellowship.

            The Capitol Park Museum is hosting two talks in July highlighting Louisiana's Acadian, Cajun and Creole heritage. The free programs will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, July 11 and 18. Guests are invited to arrive early to view the exhibits as the museum galleries will remain open until the program begins. Refreshments will be provided by the Louisiana State Museum Friends beginning at 6 p.m. The first talk this Thursday will be “The Creole Trail: Genealogical Ties Unite Pointe Coupee, Avoyelles, Rapides and Natchitoches Parishes” by Brian J. Costello of New Roads.

            The Vermilion Parish Library concludes its Summer Reading Program with a party at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, at the Abbeville Library and noon Wednesday at the Delcambre and Erath libraries, 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Gueydan Library and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Maurice.

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.