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.

Lifewriting class a great chance to record history, leave behind real stories

            Years ago, UL-Lafayette started a lifewriting or memoir class for senior citizens, to encourage those among our population who have lived the stories to write them down. The UL “Lifewriting” class has been ongoing for years, with many of those stories being published in The Advertiser’s “Atchafalaya Voices” column.

            Today, Kim Graham and I teach lifewriting, an experience that’s more an honor than a job. They say teachers learn more from their students and this couldn’t be more true in our positions. Over the past few years I’ve learned colorful Cajun and Creole traditions, that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s sister lived in Crowley and was buried in Lafayette, that McComb is a vibrant neighborhood in Lafayette with a fascinating history and so much more.

            But it’s not just about local history. It’s about personal history. One of the most valuable aspects of writing down one’s story is how the events of life pertained to individuals. It’s also about healing; writing can be the most therapeutic. I’ll never forget, for instance, the healing power of a volunteer choir at M.C. Anderson who sang for a student of mine battling the worst kind of cancer.

            Funding for our classes is being squeezed and Kim and I are always worried this valuable class will be cut. If you or someone you know would love to learn how to write down their personal history, create a genealogy record for their children or pen their memoirs, please let me know. It’s also a fun, social event where writing brings likeminded people together.

            The classes are three hours long with a coffee break (food and good conversation is involved) at Grace Presbyterian Church and in New Iberia. Students receive a UL ID that offers all kinds of lagniappe, such as discounts at restaurants, free admission to concerts and access to the UL fitness center. You can learn more about the class — plus other senior courses — that are offered through UL’s University College at http://universitycollege.louisiana.edu/courses/senior-citizen.shtml.

LSU releases

            Louisiana’s poet laureate Ava Leavell Haymon has a published a new collection of poetry through LSU Press titled “Eldest Daughter.” Haymon is the author of the poetry collections “Why the House Is Made of Gingerbread,” “Kitchen Heat” and “The Strict Economy of Fire.” She teaches poetry writing in Baton Rouge and directs a writers’ retreat center in the mountains of New Mexico.

            Professor Brij Mohan, Dean Emeritus of the LSU School of Social Work, made his debut this week as a novelist with his 18th book, “Death of an Elephant.” The novel is described as “an allegory of existence.” The book is being simultaneously released by iUniverse (Penguin), Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other outlets.

Nonfiction releases

            If you’ve been to Gulf Shores lately you’ll equate the Alabama coastline with that of its touristy neighbor, Destin. Gulf Shores, and parts of the Florida Panhandle were once referred to as the “Redneck Riviera,” comprised of small fishing villages, rustic camps and houses. Jacksonville State University history scholar Harvey H. Jackson III shares this history and the growth of its tourism industry in “The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera: An Insider’s History of the Florida-Alabama Coast” (University of Georgia Press). Included in the book are historic and current photos, the impact of World War II and disasters both natural and manmade.

            Peggy Frankland became involved in environmental affairs much like many women; she saw a problem, was horrified of the possible consequences and worked to demand solutions. She spotlights, with Susan Tucker, 38 individuals who helped shaped Louisiana’s environmental movement in “Women Pioneers of the Louisiana Environmental Movement,” published by University Press of Mississippi.

            The book includes oral history narratives, biographies and photography by Lafayette’s Gabriella Mills. Acadiana women highlighted in the book include Mary Tutwiler, owner of Saint Street Inn, who led the environmental group War on Waste (WOW) to oppose a solid waste landfill in Cade. Others mentioned are a group of seven women who fought Marine Shale in Morgan City; Mary Brasseaux of Crowley, who fought proposed waste incinerators and was a founding member of Help Our Polluted Environment; and Clara Baudoin and Florence Gossen, who fought the North Dugas Landfill in Lafayette.

            My favorite line and one that sums up the courageous actions of these women so well, was said by activist Ruby Cointment: “Industry can intimidate a man with a job, but never a woman with a child.”

            “If a mother does not stand up for the health and welfare of her family, there is no hope for families,” Gossen says in the book. “It was a challenge to take on the city the size of Lafayette. It was a real challenge, but somebody had to do it.”

Book events

            James A. Cobb Jr. will read from and sign his book, “Flood of Lies,” at 6 p.m. Thursday at Octavia Books in New Orleans. Also at the store will be Alex McConduit at storytime, featuring his latest children's picture book, “Thorn in My Horn,” about a young musician in New Orleans who loves to play his horn against his mother’s objections. McConduit will read his book for kids at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25.

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