58. Interview with Mark LaFlaur, Author of the novel Elysian Fields. Part 1.

58.  Part one of our interview with Mark LaFlaur, author of the novel Elysian Fields.   Mark's web page describes his novel this way: "Simpson Weems is a 36-year-old aspiring poet whose life has been on hold — to the breaking point. All he needs to fulfill his potential is to move to San Francisco, but he’s torn between his long-held dream of being a great artist and obligations to his aged, ailing mother and his emotionally volatile brother, the all-demanding Bartholomew. Will someone in his family have to die before he can get to California? And how might that be arranged?"  In addition to discussing his novel, we discuss his other writing, especially his writing on his blog Levees Not War.  Mark has generously allowed us to cross-post some of his articles on the Louisiana Anthology. 

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 30, 1870 Robert E. Lee and the Natchez began their famous riverboat race.  
2. This week in New Orleans history.  June 28, 1896 -- First Movie in New Orleans:  The first movie in New Orleans was shown on an outdoor screen on the lakefront June 28, 1896, by Allen B. Blakemore, an electrical engineer for the New Orleans City and Lake Railroad. Blakemore reduced the five-hundred-volt current from the trolley line for his vitascope machine by way of a water rheostat.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.  July 3-6  2014 Essence Music Festival Essence Fest features empowerment seminars with nationally known speakers, entertainment, a marketplace, book fair with author signings, food, African-American art, cultural activities and discussions. The 2014 lineup for main stage concerts features Prince, Lionel Richie, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Charlie Wilson, Erykah Badu and Ledisi. Admission: Free for daytime activities. 3-day festival pass including evening concerts, $312. Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center, New Orleans. 

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57. Interview with Fran Holman about Environmentalist Caroline Dorman. Part 2.

57. We interview Fran Holman, the author of the biography of Caroline Dorman, one of Louisiana's most important naturalists and environmentalists. The biography, "The Gift of the Wild Things": The Biography of Caroline Dorman, has recently been reissued. Fran has also edited a book of articles by Dorman herself, Adventures in Wild Flowers: The Timeless Writings of Caroline Dorman. This week: part 2 of our interview.

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 22, 1947 Peter "Pistol Pete" Maravich born.
2. This week in New Orleans history.  June 22, 1837 -- Paul Morphy is Born
   
3. This week in Louisiana.  June 27-28. Louisiana Peach Festival The 64th annual celebration of the summer sweet fruit includes parade, peach-eating contest, arts and crafts, a car show, a diaper derby, and performances by the Molly Ringwalds, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Dylan Scott, and Swamp Donkey. Admission: $10 for Friday and Saturday concerts, $5 for Saturday day only. Free for children age 6 and younger.
   Downtown Ruston
   401 N. Trenton St.
   Ruston, LA 71270
   318.255.2031. 

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56. Interview with Fran Holman about Environmentalist Caroline Dorman. Part 1.

56. We interview Fran Holman, the author of the biography of Caroline Dorman, one of Louisiana's most important naturalists and environmentalists. The biography, "The Gift of the Wild Things": The Biography of Caroline Dorman, has recently been reissued. Fran has also edited a book of articles by Dorman herself, Adventures in Wild Flowers: The Timeless Writings of Caroline Dorman. This week: part 1 of our interview.

1. This week in Louisiana history.  June 15, 1910 Evangeline Parish created
2. This week in New Orleans history.  Alfred Bonnabel, parish school director who served on the school board from 1872 through 1918, dedicated a two-room schoolhouse in Bucktown on June 14, 1908.
3. This week in Louisiana.  June 20-22.  Louisiana Catfish Festival A catfish-skinning exhibition, plus magic shows, balloon animals, children's games, a country store, live bands, pay-one-price rides, foods, arts and crafts. Admission: Free.
   St. Gertrude Catholic Church
   17292 Highway 631
   Des Allemands
   985.758.7542.

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55. We interview Jewel Bush, founder of the Melanated Writer's Collective.

55.  We interview writer Jewel Bush. She is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Courier, The Washington Post and The Times-Picayune. Bush has participated in the Voices summer workshop for writers of color at the University of San Francisco as well as Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop at Texas A&M University. In July 2010, she founded the MelaNated Writers Collective, "One drop in the flood of New Orleans literature."  The Collective is a multi-genre collective for writers of color in New Orleans.  We will continue to learn more about the Collective in the weeks ahead when we interview another founder of the group, Gian Smith.  Stay tuned for more!

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 7, 1862 William B. Mumford is hanged by order of General Benjamin "Beast" Butler for tearing down a Union flag over the New Orleans Mint.
2. This week in New Orleans history.  On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy bought a first class ticket at the Press Street Depot and boarded a "whites only" car of the East Louisiana Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana, bound for Covington, Louisiana. Lead to the Plessy vs Ferguson case in which the Supreme Court ratified Jim Crow laws.
3. This week in Louisiana. June 6-12  New Orleans Loving Festival The multiracial community
   celebration of Loving vs Virginia marks its fourth year with art exhibits, film screenings, iterary events, and a"Loving Day" celebration. Events will take place in various locations around New
   Orleans. Visit the New Orleans Loving Festival Facebook page for more information. Admission: Free. 
   Antenna Gallery and Press Street's Room 220
   3718 St. Claude Ave,
   New Orleans,
   email mail@charitablefilmnetwork.org. 

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