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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54. Interview with poet Errol Miller.

54. We interview poet Errol Miller.  Mr Miller was born in Montevallo, Alabama, in 1939. He’s lived in Louisiana since 1968. Errol has been published extensively since 1972 in hundreds of literary magazines. He is the co-winner of Spillway Magazine’s 1998 Call And Response Poetry Contest, and he is a featured writer in Poet’s Market 2000. Some of his recent collections are “Blue Rainbow Cafe,” “Literary Junkies,” “Magnolia Hall,” “The Drifter Takes Another Look,” and “4 Runners.” Errol Miller can be contacted at:

Errol Miller
P.O. Box 14693
Monroe, LA 71207

1. This week in Louisiana history. On May 29 1948, the Desire streetcars stopped running.  No more Streetcar Named Desire. 
2. This week in Louisiana.
   Oyster Fest 
   June 1-2, 2014
   We are putting together the best oyster restaurants in the city of New Orleans to deliver some outstanding dishes this festival year. Click the line-up for more info! See ya at the fest! 

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53. Tech Talk reporter Cody Sexton interviews Bruce and Steve

53.  Cody Sexton of the Tech Talk drops by and interviews Bruce and Stephen about the Louisiana Anthology project.  Everything you wanted to know about the Anthology and much, much more.

1. This week in Louisiana history. May 26, 2013.  Episode 1 of the Louisiana Anthology Podcast
2. This week in Louisiana.
   28th Annual Zydeco Extravaganza
   2235 Creswell Lane
   Opelousas, LA 70570
   337-594-3137
   Website | Email
   
   1. This annual event is a celebration of Opelousas being the home of zydeco music with live music, food and fun for the entire family. Music performances will feature some of our local zydeco finest on both indoor and outdoor stages.  
   2. Zydeco Extravaganza was started in May 1987 by the Cravins Family as a way to revive the Creole culture in St. Landry Parish and surrounding areas. It was a natural extension of The Cravins Brothers Zydeco & Info Show, a local zydeco radio show hosted by Donald and Charles Cravins. The event, which started at the Blackham Coliseum, has since been moved to Evangeline Downs Racino in Opelousas, LA, allowing for an outdoor stage as well as an indoor stage in the recently built Event Center at Evangeline Downs.  
   3. Zydeco Extravaganza draws zydeco fans from all over the country and world each Memorial Day weekend. Every year it features the ever popular amateur accordion contest, which is always a crowd favorite. Many of the winners have gone on to make names for themselves in the world of zydeco music with their talent. It is the largest one day zydeco festival in the world, with crowds numbering in the thousands. Zydeco's biggest names such as: Beau Jocque, Boozoo Chavis, Keith Frank, Terrance Simien, Curley Taylor, Geno Delafose, Zydeco Force, and Chris Ardoin have graced the stages of Zydeco Extravaganza. Its continued growth has been a tremendous asset to the revitilization of Creole culture.

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52. Children's writer Donna Jo Napoli, author of Alligator Bayou.

52.  We interview children's writer Donna Jo Napoli, author of Alligator Bayou.  Her book covers a grim period in Louisiana history: the lynching of five Italians in Tallulah in 1899.  The men had moved there after a mass lynching of Italians in New Orleans in 1891.  Donna writes from the perspective of a fourteen year-old boy named Calogero, nephew to the murdered men.  While it is addressed to a young audience, adults will find it interesting also.

1. This week in Louisiana history. May 18, 1896. LA. case of Plessy v. Ferguson, "seperate but equal" [more info]The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the idea of "separate-but-equal" public facilities for blacks in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. The case grew out of a disagreement that occurred in Louisiana when a black railroad passenger named Homer Plessy refused to move out of a whites-only car. Plessy was arrested and challenged the state law allowing separate railroad cars for whites and blacks. A Louisiana judge ruled against him, and Plessy appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which also ruled against him.
2. This week in Louisiana. May 24, 2014.  8th Annual Memorial Day Weekend Cannon Firing and Encampment.
   15149 Highway 175
   Mansfield, LA 71052
   318-872-1474
   Website | Email
   Mansfield State Historic Site, Mansfield - 8th Annual Memorial Day Weekend Cannon Firing and Encampment, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The 4th Louisiana Artillery reenactment group will host a cannon-firing program and living history encampment on the park. Come see how the big guns were fired! Cannon firing demonstrations, camp tours, soldier-life talks and much more will be featured at this exciting event. Start your summer off with a bang!

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