Portraits of South Louisiana

Portraits of South Louisiana
Author:
Publisher: University of Louisiana
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781946160058

From the "Introduction": I first stood on Louisiana soil in Lafayette during May of 1982. There, I found myself standing at the crossroads of another culture. Shortly after, I heard about a Clifton Chenier gig scheduled for the next day at the Grant Street Dancehall. Clifton was very ill and could not perform that night, so Rockin' Dopsie filled in. That evening someone gave me Ambrose Thibodeaux's name and address written on a paper napkin. This is how it went every trip I took"€"acquiring names of musicians scribbled on little pieces of paper or cardboard beer coasters. . . . . This is my story"€"how I discovered Cajun music and its musicians. Several times I went back; time and again I was surprised by the cultural endurance of this relatively small group of people. Both old and young keep their history alive through a simple bond"€"the culture, the language, and the songs of their ancestors. . . . This is not a historical document about these people and their music, and it is far from complete when it comes to even musicians. These images instead record my journey into a culture that continually captivates me.

French on Shifting Ground

French on Shifting Ground
Author: Nathalie Dajko
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2020-11-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1496830962

In French on Shifting Ground: Cultural and Coastal Erosion in South Louisiana, Nathalie Dajko introduces readers to the lower Lafourche Basin, Louisiana, where the land, a language, and a way of life are at risk due to climate change, environmental disaster, and coastal erosion. Louisiana French is endangered all around the state, but in the lower Lafourche Basin the shift to English is accompanied by the equally rapid disappearance of the land on which its speakers live. French on Shifting Ground allows both scholars and the general public to get an overview of how rich and diverse the French language in Louisiana is, and serves as a key reminder that Louisiana serves as a prime repository for Native and heritage languages, ranking among the strongest preservation regions in the southern and eastern US. Nathalie Dajko outlines the development of French in the region, highlighting the features that make it unique in the world and including the first published comparison of the way it is spoken by the local American Indian and Cajun populations. She then weaves together evidence from multiple lines of linguistic research, years of extensive participant observation, and personal narratives from the residents themselves to illustrate the ways in which language—in this case French—is as fundamental to the creation of place as is the physical landscape. It is a story at once scholarly and personal: the loss of the land and the concomitant loss of the language have implications for the academic community as well as for the people whose cultures—and identities—are literally at stake.

Way Down in Louisiana

Way Down in Louisiana
Author: Todd Mouton
Publisher: University of Louisiana
Total Pages:
Release: 2015-09
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781935754732

With Clifton Chenier's amazing life and career as the centerpiece, this collection of profiles gathered across two decades unites some of the world's most innovative creative forces.

Cajun and Creole Folktales

Cajun and Creole Folktales
Author: Barry Jean Ancelet
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2015-06-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1496806565

This teeming compendium of tales assembles and classifies the abundant lore and storytelling prevalent in the French culture of southern Louisiana. This is the largest, most diverse, and best annotated collection of French-language tales ever published in the United States. Side by side are dual-language retellings—the Cajun French and its English translation—along with insightful commentaries. This volume reveals the long and lively heritage of the Louisiana folktale among French Creoles and Cajuns and shows how tale-telling in Louisiana through the years has remained vigorous and constantly changing. Some of the best storytellers of the present day are highlighted in biographical sketches and are identified by some of their best tales. Their repertory includes animal stories, magic stories, jokes, tall tales, Pascal (improvised) stories, and legendary tales—all of them colorful examples of Louisiana narrative at its best. Though greatly transformed since the French arrived on southern soil, the French oral tradition is alive and flourishing today. It is even more complex and varied than has been shown in previous studies, for revealed here are African influences as well as others that have been filtered from America's multicultural mainstream.

South to Louisiana

South to Louisiana
Author: John Broven
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
Total Pages: 386
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9780882896083

Describes the history of the music of southern Louisiana and examines the influence of Cajun songs on American popular music

Ghosts of Good Times

Ghosts of Good Times
Author:
Publisher: University of Louisiana
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Dance halls
ISBN: 9781935754855

Ghosts of Good Times: South Louisiana Dance Halls Past and Present examines a world of Cajun dance halls, Zydeco clubs, Chitlin' Circuit R&B night clubs, Swamp-Pop Honkytonks and other venues that at one time were prevalent throughout the region. Photographs by Philip Gould blend architectural imagery of buildings still standing with historic photographs of the clubs that he took in their heyday. Herman Fuselier and other writers provide a rich selection of historic accounts and essays about their personal experiences in the clubs. The book also examines the dance hall scene today and how the venues have changed. The music following remains strong and people still come to dance. The surviving old dance halls and newer venues are still in full swing. Old or new, they are icons, a proud south Louisiana legacy of Good Times.

Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans

Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans
Author: John Broven
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1455619523

A chronicle of the rise and development of a unique musical form. Inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame under its original title Walking to New Orleans, this fascinating history focuses on the music of major R&B artists and the crucial contributions of the New Orleans music industry. Newly revised for this edition, much of the material comes firsthand from those who helped create the genre, including Fats Domino, Ray Charles, and Wardell Quezergue.

Louisiana Rambles

Louisiana Rambles
Author: Ian McNulty
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 1604739479

"McNulty delivers an inimitable take on Cajun and Creole Louisiana--the siren call of zydeco dancehalls pulsing in the country darkness; of crawfish "boiling points" and traditional country smokehouses; of Cajun jam sessions, where even wallflowers are compelled to dance; of equine gambits in the cradle of jockeys; and of fishing trips where anyone can land impressive catches. In south Louisiana, distilled European heritage, the African American experience, and modern southern exuberance mix with tumultuous history and fantastically fecund natural environments. The territories McNulty opens to the reader are arguably the nation's most exotic and culturally distinct destinations"--Page 4 of cover.

Today Is Monday in Louisiana

Today Is Monday in Louisiana
Author:
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
Total Pages: 40
Release:
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781455613205

Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice.