Podcasts about louisiana french

Louisiana's rich French heritage is taking center stage. We're diving into the historical and cultural significance of French in our state, tracing its journey from colonial times to modern preservation efforts. We explore pivotal moments like the 1921 ban on French education, its 1974 repeal, and how programs like French immersion and cultural initiatives are keeping the language alive. Join us as we discuss the challenges and opportunities of preserving Louisiana French, from economic drivers to cultural identity. With insights into the work of organizations like CODOFIL and events like Festival International de Louisiane, we examine how we can all play a role in celebrating and sustaining this vital part of what makes Louisiana unique. Follow Pelican Briefs Patreon: patreon.com/LaPelicanBriefs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lapelicanbriefs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560259747696 X: https://x.com/LaPelicanBriefs

Grammy-award winning Cajun fiddler Louis Michot is headed to New Orleans for a solo performance. The member of the Lost Bayou Ramblers will combine his love of Louisiana French music with new boundary-pushing sounds in his latest work, Rêve du Troubadour . He joins us for more on his upcoming performance and adding a modern spin to traditional Cajun music. 2024 was a memorable year for politics, nationally and locally. WRKF's Capitol Access Reporter Brooke Thorington spoke with LSU Political Science Professor Dr. Robert Hogan about Gov. Jeff Landry's first year in office, the upcoming transition of closed primaries and how the 6th Congressional District will affect the state.The holiday season is upon us, and it feels like everywhere you go, you're surrounded by Christmas music. But in recent years, musicians have found creative ways to adapt these traditional songs for new genres.Yesterday, we brought you the sounds of country artist Sammy Kershaw's Cajun Christmas. Today, we'll hear how the New Birth Brass Band is mixing Christmas classics with New Orleans jazz and funk for a lively march-along. ___Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It's available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Salikoko S. MufweneMondes francophones (2023-2024)Collège de FranceAnnée 2023-2024Colloque - Thomas Klingler : La trajectoire du créole de Louisiane vue sous l'angle de l'écologie des languesIntervenant(s)Thomas KlinglerAssociate Professor, Tulane UniversityRésuméNé de contacts entre langues et cultures nord-américaines, caribéennes, africaines et européennes, le créole de Louisiane est le produit par excellence d'hybridation et de syncrétisme. À travers l'examen de quelques traits structuraux et lexicaux de cette langue, tels l'expression de l'aspect progressif en ap(é) et le terme culinaire couche-couche, mets de farine de maïs servi avec du lait, du lait aigre, ou du café, je propose de montrer comment le cadre analytique de l'écologie des langues développé par S. Mufwene permet de mieux comprendre le processus d'hybridation qui a donné lieu à la langue créole de Louisiane ainsi qu'à la culture créole qu'elle véhicule.Thomas KlinglerThomas Klingler est Associate Professor of French and Linguistics à l'université Tulane (La Nouvelle-Orléans). Ses recherches portent sur le français hors de France et les créoles français, en particulier le français et le créole de Louisiane. Il est l'auteur d'une monographie sur la langue créole de la paroisse civile de la Pointe Coupée, en Louisiane, et coauteur du Dictionary of Louisiana Creole (1998) et du Dictionary of Louisiana French: as Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and Native American Communities (2010). Il collabore actuellement avec Albert Valdman et Kevin Rottet sur le Dictionnaire étymologique, historique et comparé du français de Louisiane.

Join us as we sit down with Louis Michot (best known as the fiddle player and lead-singer for the Grammy award winning Lost Bayou Ramblers, but blowing minds on the sonic masterpiece that is his solo record “Rêve du Troubadour”) and discuss all things Cajun, Zydeco, Old Timey Music, Race Music, the birds of the air and the beauty of precise Louisiana French. “Rêve du Troubadour” was objectively without a doubt one of the finest album releases of the last 10 years and so it was a delight to talk with this humble genius.    Michot's passion for Louisiana French and local folklore, and sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in the world are what fuels his career as a musician. With over 20 LPs under his belt, his music career continues to push the boundaries of the Louisiana French music traditions. Rêve du Troubadour, the first solo album from Louis Michot, is out now and will be the best thing your ears have heard in moons. Special guests on these recordings include Nigerian Tuareg guitar wizard Bombino, and critically acclaimed singer / cellist Leyla McCalla among others. Known as a fiddle player, Michot primarily performed on guitar, bass, T'fer (triangle), samplers, percussions, and accordion. Some of finished tracks feature him playing every part, while others find him backed with bassist where Bryan Webre and drummer Kirkland Middleton of the Ramblers and Louis' other regular band, Michot's Melody Makers as well as guests like Bombino, McCalla, Quintron, guitarist Langhorn Slim, Shardé Thomas with and without her Rising Stars Drum and Fife group, Grammy-nominated accordion player Corey Ledet, and Dickie Landry on sax. Kirkland Middleton of the Ramblers engineered and mixed the album at Nina Highway Studios in Arnaudville, Louisiana with various musicians building on basic tracks Louis had recorded at his home, houseboat studio. The album's title, “Rêve du Troubadour” -- “The Troubadour's Dream” in English -- refers to the manner in which Michot pulls his music from dreams into daylight, then fills it with storytelling. Though Michot has published over 100 songs, he feels that Rêve du Troubadour is his first collection of “writing” as these songs tell their stories in much greater depth than he's achieved before and utilize words peculiar to Louisiana French which seldom appear in musical compositions. 2023 marked the start of Louis Michot touring under his name, as a trio featuring Kirkland and Bryan on drums, bass, synths, and samples. The year started with a four show residency at New Orleans' iconic music venue The Maple Leaf, and continues with a debut at Festival International de Louisiane, and tours of the Midwest, East coast, and West coast later in the year. Louis' solo trajectory started while tracking his original songs in 2022, starting the recordings in his dry-docked house boat named “Sister Ray”, and completing the tracking at Mark Bingham's Piety Studio, the album being engineered and mixed by Kirkland Middleton. 2021 brought special challenges for Michot, from restarting his live music during the pandemic, to doing hurricane relief work as noted in Rolling Stone (Can This Cajun-Punk Musician Protect His Culture From Climate Change?, September 16, 2021) while raising funds to get solar generators and panels to residents of Terrebonne Parish affected by Hurricane Ida, as written about in New Yorker magazine (The Lost Bayou Ramblers Get Lit, January 3, 2022). Louis was named Louisianian of the Year in 2020 along with his brother Andre, and their band Lost Bayou Ramblers was named Entertainers of the Year by New Orleans' Big Easy Awards in 2019. 2017 brought the Lost Bayou Ramblers' first Grammy award for their 8th LP release, Kalenda, and 2019 marked the bands 20th anniversary along with a live album release “Asteur” and a documentary aired internationally on TV5 Monde, “On Va Continuer”. In 2012 Louis' violin and vocal work was the main feature for score of the Oscar nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild, and that same year the band's 6th release, “Mammoth Waltz” was named 2nd most important Louisiana album of the 21st century by nola.com and won New Orleans' Best of the Beat Award.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 1072, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Tv Shows Based On Books By Women 1: This show and its prequel "The Carrie Diaries" were based on books by Candace Bushnell. Sex and the City. 2: Kathy Reichs drew upon her own work as a forensic anthropologist to pen the Temperance Brennan books that became this show. Bones. 3: In the 1970s and '80s Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson starred in "Little House on the Prairie", based on books by this author. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 4: 3 young E.T.s appear as humans and attend a New Mexico high school in books by Melinda Metz, the basis for this TV show. Roswell. 5: Based on novels by Deborah Harkness, "A Discovery of" these beings centers on historian Diana Bishop, who has magical abilities. Witches. Round 2. Category: Breads And Rolls 1: This bread made with dough left over from the previous day is associated with prospecting. sourdough. 2: This crescent-shaped roll dates back to the 1680s, when Austria and Hungary were at war with Turkey. a croissant. 3: This heavy, dark bread originated in Westphalia, Germany. pumpernickel. 4: Puddinglike spoon bread is made of this grain. corn. 5: Made of clumps of dough piled in a tube pan, bubble bread is also known by this simian name. monkey bread. Round 3. Category: D.I.Y. 1: This word for a way to save energy and money also refers to sealing up the seams of a ship. caulking. 2: To clean red wine out of a carpet, sprinkle on this common condiment for 15 minutes, then rinse with soap. vinegar (or salt). 3: Fix your stained-glass problems using this, the word for any alloy that's heated to join the lead strips. solder. 4: If you're working with wood that doesn't need a finished look, you can use the waffle-head type of this. a hammer. 5: To cut a hole in drywall for an electrical outlet, use this saw that sounds like you're working on a door. a keyhole saw. Round 4. Category: Catch The Quechua Word 1: The Quechua people of Peru used this word meaning "ruler" to refer to themselves. Inca. 2: This 4-letter alternate name for the mountain lion comes from the Quechua. puma. 3: The Quechua word for "bark" gives us the name of this malaria medicine obtained from the bark of a tree. quinine. 4: Quechua for "dried flesh", it's meat cut into strips and cured. jerky. 5: Louisiana French for a bonus given to a customer for making a purchase, it's from the Quechua for 'to give more". lagniappe. Round 5. Category: Animals Among Us 1: The U.S. military used these animals to aid the clearing of underwater mines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. dolphins. 2: The lesser pandas of Asia are related to this "masked" North American mammal of the genus Procyon. the raccoon. 3: Plentiful in the Eurasian steppes in the late Pleistocene, these animals stood 16 feet high and had tusks 16 feet long. mammoths. 4: A traditional Uzbek meal might include shurpa, the meat of this "timid" animal served with vegetable soup. a lamb (or sheep). 5: Like the last passenger pigeon, the last captive Carolina parakeet died in the 1910s in this Ohio city's zoo. Cincinnati. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/ AI Voices used

Gov.-elect Jeff Landry is preparing to take office, and his appointees and transition team include some familiar – and some surprising – faces. The Time- Picayune/The Advocate's editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace joins us to break down who's who on the  team.  At Catholic Masses across the New Orleans metro area last month, parishioners heard in an announcement from Archbishop Gregory Aymond that multiple churches in the region are set to close or consolidate by next summer. New Orleans, one of the nation's oldest Catholic cities, will now close or merge roughly 10% of its 111 parishes. Many parishioners responded to the news with shock and sadness.  Stephanie Riegel has been covering the story of the consolidation for the Times-Picayune/The Advocate and joins us now for more on the timeline for these changes and what she's heard from church-goers.  In October, the Louisiana French news outlet Télé-Louisiane officially launched a French-language newspaper, Le Louisianais. But the paper, which offers print stories focused on the state's French and Creole communities, is just one of the media outlet's latest endeavors. It is also airing the second season of its weekly newsmagazine and animated TV show, and it recently hosted an assembly of Louisiana culture activists.  For more on all of Télé-Louisiane's projects, we talk with co-founders, CEO Will McGrew and Chief Creative Officer Drake LeBlanc.  Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our assistant producer is Aubry Procell and our engineer is Garrett Pittman.  You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It's available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts.  Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to. Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview with Louis Michot, fiddler, songwriter, and lead vocalist for Grammy winners Lost Bayou Ramblers on his debut solo album Rêve du Troubadour. Rêve du Troubadour came from long months during the first years of the pandemic of Michot documenting musical ideas in his backyard a dry-docked houseboat named “Sister Ray, given to Louis by Korey Richey of LCD Soundsystem. Sometimes, waking up at 4AM, he'd have his parts nailed down before daylight. While recording, MIchot kept a pair of stereo mics live outside Sister Ray to capture the sounds of birds and insects; as the bird and bug population would change throughout the days and seasons, each song wound up with a unique environmental seasoning. More tracks were then added at Nina Highway Studios, a short walk from Michot's house, by Louis, his rhythm section and various guest musicians. The final track sequence is highly diverse. There are songs that incorporate poetic rapping to hand-laid beats, updates of vintage Acadiana, environment soundscapes, acoustic guitar driven ballads, and even Michot's interpretation of a seminal work by 19th-century Creole composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk. But they're all tied together beautifully by Louisiana French language and Louis' vivid storytelling throughout. Louis's Info

541. We talk to Audrey Gibson about her book, Tempêtes et Éclairs, a collection of Louisiana French poetry by Adolphe Duhart. "'Duhart, a Louisiana Creole who wrote poetry in French for the first Black daily newspaper in the United States. Duhart, who lived in New Orleans, was also a teacher in the 1850s and fought in the Civil War. All of Duhart's poetry was meant to inspire, elevate, and humanize those for whom he wrote,' explained Dr. Dana Kress, professor of French at Centenary and editor in chief of Les Éditions Tintamarre. 'Some of his poems are about family, and his public had sometimes never seen families like their own celebrated in verse in writing. Others are powerful social commentaries such as the poem about Lincoln's assassination, published on April 25,1865, in New Orleans; these works elicit a powerful emotional response but also stand as a monument to Duhart's courage for daring to speak out publicly in a major Confederate city.'"    “'I approached Dr. Kress during my first year at Centenary and asked him for ideas on how to get involved in research,” recalled Gibson. “He told me about Adolphe Duhart, a prolific Afro-Creole writer from New Orleans, whose poetry had never been fully collected into a book. He said that this could be a great project for me to work on'" (Centenary). Les Éditions Tintamarre is not only producing a great collection of lost French language Louisiana literature, the project is training the next generation of scholars who will study that literature. This week in Louisiana history. September 22 1972 Nat'l record for most drunken driving arrests, 43 in 8 hours, by New Orleans police This week in New Orleans history. This week in Louisiana. La Fete Des Vieux Temps 4484 Highway 1 Raceland, LA 70394 Phone: 985-637-2166 Danny Mayet Email: dmayetlsfa3@gmail.com October 6 - 8, 2023 Called the "Festival of Old Times" this event features a celebration of music, dancing, & Cajun food. Called the "Festival of Old Times" this event features a celebration of music, dancing, Cajun food, and arts & crafts show. This long standing event is a local favorite and showcases the true authentic Cajun culture of Lafourche Parish. Postcards from Louisiana. Rug Cutters at the Favela Chic Bar on Frenchmen. Listen on Google Play. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook.     

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast presents an interview with musician Louis Michot, best known as the fiddle player and lead-singer for the Grammy-award winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. Rêve du Troubadour, the first solo album from Louis Michot and the focus of this episode, is set for release on September 22, 2023. Special guests on these recordings include Nigerian Tuareg guitar wizard Bombino and critically acclaimed singer / cellist Leyla McCalla, among others. Although known as a fiddle player, Michot can be found performing on guitar, bass, T'fer (triangle), samplers, percussions, and accordion on the album. Some of the eclectic, captivating tracks feature him playing every part, while others find him backed by bassist Bryan Webre and drummer Kirkland Middleton of the Ramblers. Middleton also engineered and mixed the album at Nina Highway Studios in Arnaudville, Louisiana with various, talented musicians building on tracks Michot had recorded at his home, houseboat studio. Though Michot has published over 100 songs, he feels that Rêve du Troubadour is his first collection of “writing” as these songs tell their stories in much greater depth than he's achieved before and utilize words peculiar to Louisiana French which seldom appear in musical compositions. Michot's passion for Louisiana French and local folklore, and sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in the world, are what fuels his career as a musician. With over 20 LPs under his belt, his music career continues to push the boundaries of the Louisiana French music traditions. In this episode host Michael Shields and Louis Michot discuss Michot's Cajun roots and the varied influences that helped shape his unique musical stylings. They thoroughly explore Michot's latest album, how it was crafted in his studio which was built in a houseboat dry-docked on his property, and how many of the soundscapes on it were inspired by nature and the ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. They talk about the amazing guests featured on the album, what to expect from Michot's forthcoming tour, Michot's work in scoring films, and so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hurricane Ida killed dozens of Lousianans and displaced tens of thousands of others. Among the hardest hit were bilingual and French-speaking communities close to the Mississippi Delta. Alces Adams lives halfway between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico in the small community of Cut Off in Lafourche Parish. Hurricane Ida destroyed his trailer.People in this part of Louisiana — bayou country — have long learned to live under adverse weather conditions. But things have gotten much worse in recent years. Rising sea levels, erosion and storm after storm have flooded entire communities. For some French speakers, Hurricane Ida was the last straw, and now many are moving away.A year after Ida, Adams' trailer looks just as it did the day after the storm — twisted and torn apart with furniture spilling out, as if attacked by a pack of wild animals. Next to it is a new trailer, Adams' temporary home provided by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Alces Adams in front of what is left of his trailer, Cut Off, Louisiana.  Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Adams was born a block away in his grandparents' house. His family's older generation spoke only French. Adams said his grandmother learned English, but refused to speak it, except for one word: “Yeah.” “English was forced on us about 100 years ago,” Adams said. That's when English was declared the only language of instruction in public schools.Adams recalled listening to his older relatives as they told him stories in French. Even then, he said, he considered the language beautiful. “I loved listening to that.”Adams' grandmother and others told him stories of storms and floods they had survived. It helped prepare him — still a child — when Hurricane Betsy battered the region in 1965.“I was thinking of getting a sash or vest or something: ‘I survived Betsy, Katrina, Ida,'" Adams said. “All the monsters that I survived."Adams doesn't know what's next for him. He comes from a long line of Cajuns who he said were compelled to move from one place to another, to escape poverty or discrimination, or hurricanes and flooding. The French language has been a constant in all of this generational change. Adams knows that each time a French speaker moves away, it's another micro-blow to the survival of French in southern Louisiana. Tulane University linguist Nathalie Dajko and Alces Adams in a storage unit containing Alces' possessions, Cut Off, Louisiana. Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Tulane University linguist Nathalie Dajko has been tracking the decline of French in Lafourche and neighboring Terrebonne Parishes for nearly 20 years. She was in graduate school at Tulane when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. It left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Some even ended up in camps that were scattered across several southern states. Dajko visited a few of the camps as part of a gig she had with Save the Children, a nongovernmental organization.“Every now and again, we'd come across these French speakers,” Dajko said.“They would be so excited to meet somebody who spoke French, and they would talk about how they missed the French.”They told Dajko about constantly moving, about the language dying and the land eroding. She came to understand the strength of their attachment to the land.After that, she began visiting French speakers still living in bayou country. She recorded their conversations as part of a research project that eventually became a book, “French on Shifting Ground,” about the double loss of language and land. Louisiana French isn't standard Parisian French. But French has had longstanding roots in the region after France claimed it in 1682. With the area drawing French speakers, the language gained a foothold. It even spread to local Indigenous tribes in the 1700s. They'd formed protective alliances with the colonial French against the British. Some of their descendants still speak French, especially those who live closer to the ocean — and the floods and storms.Across a causeway from one of the larger bayous in Terrebonne Parish is an island called Isle de Jean Charles. Abandoned dwellings are everywhere: collapsed walls, caved-in roofs, debris. A couple of the houses are being fixed up. But most aren't. Near the end of the road, a house with a sign outside says, “Isle de Jean Charles is not dead. Climate change sucks.” Chris Brunet, who answered the door in a wheelchair, said he spoke French at home and English at school. Like Alces Adams, Brunet's grandmother only spoke French; his parents were bilingual. Everyone living on the island was a member of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe.  Chris Brunet outside his home, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana.  Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Brunet said he's always lived on Isle de Jean Charles, even as most others left. “Hurricane Ida is the first storm to damage the house,” he said, pointing out his damaged roof. “But it's still standing and it's repairable.” It's one of the few salvageable dwellings here. Most are, as Brunet put it, “gone.”Also likely to be gone soon is this entire island. In the past 65 years, Isle de Jean Charles has shrunk from 22,000 acres to just 320. It's not just the storms. There are many reasons why the land is vanishing: rising sea levels, the rerouting of the Mississippi river — some of it natural, some engineered — canal construction, land erosion, some of that caused by oil and gas extraction. Then there's the levee system, expanded after Hurricane Katrina: a life-saver for those living within it; potentially catastrophic if you're on the outside of it.That's why Brunet, and almost everyone else on the island, is leaving, with federal government assistance, to a city 35 miles inland where virtually no one speaks French.“If I had to predict, I would suggest that people are not going to maintain French,” linguist Nathalie Dajko said.That's the usual pattern when a community is forced to move, Dajko added. As closely as they may stick together in their new home, they're leaving a place — an isolated place — that holds strong associations with the French language. Still, Dajko has studied these French and bilingual communities for close to two decades, and said they're full of surprises. “People have been predicting the death of Louisiana French for generations and it just won't die,” she said. “You cannot predict what people are going to do. They're worse than predicting the weather. They always do something you don't expect.”Dajko clings to this sliver of hope. Indeed, it is the hope of many in the region that the French language will survive the floods of bayou country. For more on the French speakers of southern Louisiana, listen to this episode of "Subtitle," a podcast about languages and the people who speak them. "Subtitle" is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Hurricane Ida killed dozens of Lousianans and displaced tens of thousands of others. Among the hardest hit were bilingual and French-speaking communities close to the Mississippi Delta. Alces Adams lives halfway between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico in the small community of Cut Off in Lafourche Parish. Hurricane Ida destroyed his trailer.People in this part of Louisiana — bayou country — have long learned to live under adverse weather conditions. But things have gotten much worse in recent years. Rising sea levels, erosion and storm after storm have flooded entire communities. For some French speakers, Hurricane Ida was the last straw, and now many are moving away.A year after Ida, Adams' trailer looks just as it did the day after the storm — twisted and torn apart with furniture spilling out, as if attacked by a pack of wild animals. Next to it is a new trailer, Adams' temporary home provided by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Alces Adams in front of what is left of his trailer, Cut Off, Louisiana.  Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Adams was born a block away in his grandparents' house. His family's older generation spoke only French. Adams said his grandmother learned English, but refused to speak it, except for one word: “Yeah.” “English was forced on us about 100 years ago,” Adams said. That's when English was declared the only language of instruction in public schools.Adams recalled listening to his older relatives as they told him stories in French. Even then, he said, he considered the language beautiful. “I loved listening to that.”Adams' grandmother and others told him stories of storms and floods they had survived. It helped prepare him — still a child — when Hurricane Betsy battered the region in 1965.“I was thinking of getting a sash or vest or something: ‘I survived Betsy, Katrina, Ida,'" Adams said. “All the monsters that I survived."Adams doesn't know what's next for him. He comes from a long line of Cajuns who he said were compelled to move from one place to another, to escape poverty or discrimination, or hurricanes and flooding. The French language has been a constant in all of this generational change. Adams knows that each time a French speaker moves away, it's another micro-blow to the survival of French in southern Louisiana. Tulane University linguist Nathalie Dajko and Alces Adams in a storage unit containing Alces' possessions, Cut Off, Louisiana. Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Tulane University linguist Nathalie Dajko has been tracking the decline of French in Lafourche and neighboring Terrebonne Parishes for nearly 20 years. She was in graduate school at Tulane when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. It left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Some even ended up in camps that were scattered across several southern states. Dajko visited a few of the camps as part of a gig she had with Save the Children, a nongovernmental organization.“Every now and again, we'd come across these French speakers,” Dajko said.“They would be so excited to meet somebody who spoke French, and they would talk about how they missed the French.”They told Dajko about constantly moving, about the language dying and the land eroding. She came to understand the strength of their attachment to the land.After that, she began visiting French speakers still living in bayou country. She recorded their conversations as part of a research project that eventually became a book, “French on Shifting Ground,” about the double loss of language and land. Louisiana French isn't standard Parisian French. But French has had longstanding roots in the region after France claimed it in 1682. With the area drawing French speakers, the language gained a foothold. It even spread to local Indigenous tribes in the 1700s. They'd formed protective alliances with the colonial French against the British. Some of their descendants still speak French, especially those who live closer to the ocean — and the floods and storms.Across a causeway from one of the larger bayous in Terrebonne Parish is an island called Isle de Jean Charles. Abandoned dwellings are everywhere: collapsed walls, caved-in roofs, debris. A couple of the houses are being fixed up. But most aren't. Near the end of the road, a house with a sign outside says, “Isle de Jean Charles is not dead. Climate change sucks.” Chris Brunet, who answered the door in a wheelchair, said he spoke French at home and English at school. Like Alces Adams, Brunet's grandmother only spoke French; his parents were bilingual. Everyone living on the island was a member of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe.  Chris Brunet outside his home, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana.  Credit: Courtesy of Julia Kumari Drapkin Brunet said he's always lived on Isle de Jean Charles, even as most others left. “Hurricane Ida is the first storm to damage the house,” he said, pointing out his damaged roof. “But it's still standing and it's repairable.” It's one of the few salvageable dwellings here. Most are, as Brunet put it, “gone.”Also likely to be gone soon is this entire island. In the past 65 years, Isle de Jean Charles has shrunk from 22,000 acres to just 320. It's not just the storms. There are many reasons why the land is vanishing: rising sea levels, the rerouting of the Mississippi river — some of it natural, some engineered — canal construction, land erosion, some of that caused by oil and gas extraction. Then there's the levee system, expanded after Hurricane Katrina: a life-saver for those living within it; potentially catastrophic if you're on the outside of it.That's why Brunet, and almost everyone else on the island, is leaving, with federal government assistance, to a city 35 miles inland where virtually no one speaks French.“If I had to predict, I would suggest that people are not going to maintain French,” linguist Nathalie Dajko said.That's the usual pattern when a community is forced to move, Dajko added. As closely as they may stick together in their new home, they're leaving a place — an isolated place — that holds strong associations with the French language. Still, Dajko has studied these French and bilingual communities for close to two decades, and said they're full of surprises. “People have been predicting the death of Louisiana French for generations and it just won't die,” she said. “You cannot predict what people are going to do. They're worse than predicting the weather. They always do something you don't expect.”Dajko clings to this sliver of hope. Indeed, it is the hope of many in the region that the French language will survive the floods of bayou country. For more on the French speakers of southern Louisiana, listen to this episode of "Subtitle," a podcast about languages and the people who speak them. "Subtitle" is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For hundreds of years, people living in Louisiana's bayou country have spoken French. But rising sea levels are submerging entire communities, forcing people to abandon their homes. As native French speakers move away, will the language survive in this most French of American states? We hitch a ride to the bayou with linguist Nathalie Dajko. Music in this episode by Alces Adams, View Points, Amos Noah, Earle Belo, Finn Danniell, Sture Zetterberg and Lindsey Abraham. Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin. More photos and a transcript are here.

For hundreds of years, people living in Louisiana's bayou country have spoken French. But rising sea levels are submerging entire communities, forcing people to abandon their homes. As native French speakers move away, will the language survive in this most French of American states? We hitch a ride to the bayou with linguist Nathalie Dajko. Music in this episode by Alces Adams, View Points, Amos Noah, Earle Belo, Finn Danniell, Sture Zetterberg and Lindsey Abraham. Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin. More photos and a transcript are here.

Barry Ancelet, acclaimed Cajun folklorist, author, and songwriter, as well as the founder of Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, joined Discover Lafayette to share his love of our culture and his journey as a folklorist. We look forward to celebrating the Festival on Friday, March 18, 2022, after a hiatus due to the COVID shutdown. Barry served on the faculty of UL-Lafayette from 1977 until his retirement in 2016. He was a professor in the Department of Modern Languages, serving as chair of the department and as the first director of the University's Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore. He developed and taught the first course on Cajun and Creole music at the university. He has been involved in over 50 record projects, providing notes, transcriptions and translations, and has written almost two dozen books on Cajun music and culture. "My dad told me when I was a kid, 'Find something you really love to do and you'll never work a day in your life.' I got paid to visit with artists like Dewey Balfa, Dennis Magee, Canray Fontenot, and Nathan Abshire, listen to their stories and turn it into coursework and publications. When I retired, in my speech I said I was happy to be retiring before the university realized I would have done it for free." It wasn't that long ago in Louisiana that speaking French was shunned and children were not allowed to speak the language in school for fear of reprisal. However, Barry says that he grew up in a French-speaking family who enjoyed Cajun music, and, "we never felt French was a liability." His grandmother always quoted a French proverb, "A man who speaks two languages is worth two men," translated in French as "Un home qui parle deux langues vaut deux hommes." Barry excelled early in his French studies and loved it. At Cathedral Carmel High School, he represented the school at the Literary Rally, winning a medal. "It was like getting paid to eat candy." Majoring in French at USL (now UL-Lafayette), he went on to study French at Indiana University where he realized his love of French was grounded in our local French-Acadian culture, not strictly traditional French history. The pre-eminent American folklorist, Henry Glassie, was on the faculty at Indiana U. and encouraged Barry to transfer into folklore, to learn about the cultural side of life, and Barry graduated with an MA in folklore from the university. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the same time as Barry's college days, Louisiana French history was beginning to be recognized for its significance. He mentions local historian Carl Brasseaux and musician Zachary Richard as two others also drawn to finding out how the region's culture came about and asking questions such as "Who are we? Why does our music sound this way? Why does gumbo taste like that? Why do our homes look like that?" Out of curiosity, they started digging and learning about the French-Canadian, African-Caribbean, and French influences which shaped the region's unique culture. While studying French in Nice, France in the Spring of 1973, Barry was miserable and homesick. One day while walking in downtown Nice, Barry heard Cajun music floating from a store owned by Roger Mason. Barry wanted to know more about this store that showcased music that he missed, such as the Crowley Two-Step; Mason shared that he had a mentor, Dewey Balfa, who he had learned from, and encouraged Barry to go to Basile, Louisiana to meet Balfa upon his return to the States. Dewey Balfa wasn't just a mentor to Roger Mason, he was an ambassador of Cajun culture and advocated for the revival of traditional Cajun music. In 1964, Balfa had been invited by the renowned music Smithsonian folklorist Ralph Rinzler (along with Gladdie Thibodeaux and Louis Vinesse Lejeune) to play at the Newport Folk Festival where Balfa's music was met with great excitement. He appeared twice more at the Festival and with the warm acceptance of his music,

In this episode, we return after vacation and finish our discussion with Amanda Lafleur about Louisiana French. It's a fun - and funny! - episode, and we think you'll enjoy listening.

The word "Bayou" derives its origins from Choctaw (bayuk) and Louisiana French. If there's one travel date that is set in stone each year for Rugby PickEm, it's our trip to the Bayou to complete the pilgrimage to one of the great US-based rugby-specific stadiums. This year had to be the Texas Cup. As the RP "Boots on the Ground" 2021 Tour continued in the nation's 4th largest city (population), Sabercat die hard fans Franky Ruggs and Holly Hoops could barely contain their excitement as the group waited for an Uber to Aveva. Frank lives and dies with the ups and downs of being a Houston sports fan, but he loves his teams dearly and one of those teams is his beloved Cats. Hats off to TJ Onyet and the Sabercats front office for making the gameday experience truly memorable. Houston strategically planned this weekend and aligned a USA rugby identification & scouting camp early on in the AM, followed by a multitude of games leading into the Texas Cup to round out the night. Special thanks to Paul Mabry, who in his short interview with Rugby PickEm (if you're reading this, listen to the above audio) mentioned there were teams from Mexico, Kansas City, and just about anywhere in the state of Texas. I know I saw a good amount of Dallas based Regis Jesuit fans in the stands, supporting their head coach Mikey "Bistro" Brown who started at hooker for the Cats. Strategic planning like this is what make a game atmosphere really great. It's hard to just open up your doors and expect people to start pouring in ... you have to work at it, and plan, and follow up with people, and efficiently market your gameday experience ... and you can never stop, because there's always more tickets to be sold. As far as the game went, the first 15 minutes of a 0-0 stalemate was some of the more exciting rugby I've seen. The term "on the edge of your seat" was in full effect, as Franky Ruggs was practically ripping his hair out calling for his beloved Cats to "hold the line!". He did take offense when he laid on eyes the Dallas Jackal mascot (must be trying to make an early splash before the actual team debuts?) .... to quote Frank "This is Houston, not Dallas buddy ...". Maybe the Jackal and Scratch were able to put their differences aside on this day and "get along" for the kids ;) But Austin pulled away in the end, and the Cats just couldn't find the try line. There were fantastic phases of play by both sides, and LaRome White's 20 meter scamper would soon go viral thanks to whatever social media intern runs The Rugby Network's accounts (my guess is it's one of Gilly's people). The Cats can take solace in the fact that their U18 Rugby HTX team defeated the Austin Outlaws U18 team in the curtain raiser. Special thanks to Reggie Harrison for the short interview .... in his words "it was a good shift from the boys". Can't beat the Cat Den for environment. They were rocking all night and the bar was packed to the teeth. Also, an unlimited supply of free tequila (no matter how warm) is always welcome. As you can see by the picture above, they pulled out all of the stops on the marketing front. Skin tight cat suits, full costumed luchadores, and most importantly, great live music. A mariachi band wrapped up the night as Jodie from San Diego managed to sneak into the player food line and gorge on fajitas courtesy of the Cats. It was a truly an experience you can't forget. Regardless of the final score, or how the Cats' first couple of seasons have played out in the league standings .... there's just no beating the Cat Den environment. This franchise will right the ship and before long the wins will be flowing like the Veneno tequila was Saturday night. The Texas Cup stays in Austin until next year. PICKEM!

This week we continue our conversation with Amanda Lafleur about Louisiana French. The first part of our conversation focused on the development of the Dictionary of Louisiana French. In this second episode, we are joined by a colleague, Nathan Wendt, who studies Louisiana Creole, and we begin talking about some of the unique words and structures of Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole.

This week we continue our conversation about Louisiana French with the first of three episodes taken from our interview with Amanda Lafleur. Dr Ancelet's interview was about the socio-historical context, while our discussion with Amanda gets more into the actual features of Louisiana French. The first third of the interview talks about the development of the Dictionary of Louisiana French and many of the dynamics involved.

This week, we finish our discussion with Barry Ancelet. We turn to the future of Louisiana French, how it's expressing itself, and the positive signs that there is a bright future ahead for French in Louisiana. PHOTO CREDIT: Philip Gould

This week we continue our conversation on Louisiana French with Dr. Barry Ancelet, noted folklorist and expert in Cajun culture. We talk about the differences between Louisiana French and Modern Standard French, how they developed independently, and the historical efforts to preserve Louisiana French by writing it and teaching it.

This week we begin a three-part series on Louisiana French with Dr. Barry Ancelet, noted folklorist and expert in Cajun culture. We talk about how French came to be spoken in Louisiana, how it thrived, how it was threatened, and the work that has been to help maintain it going forward.

Singer Alexis Marceaux of renowned bands Sweet Crude and Alexis and the Samurai sits down over Bourrée daqs to discuss Louisiana French, Carole King, the perfect Chalmette accent, and why 12 Mile Limit could be the greatest New Orleans neighborhood bar. Special guest and City Park superstar Casie Duplechain joins us. 

Maybe you could boil the tourism industry down into two segments: where you're going and how you get there — the journey and the destination. Between the two of them you have the “why question,” as in, "Why bother leaving your house?"  For Louisiana and Acadiana particular, the allure to travelers is an exotic land within reach. The region is unique. And if you land in the right spot — a coffee shop with a French table perhaps — you can be transported without going too far.  It isn't as organic as it seems. It's taken years to claw back this area's French language from the brink of oblivion, and that work is far from done. If it disappears, that's one less reason for folks to travel here.  Francophone Will McGrew has taken up the baton of decades of preservation work but with a for-profit twist. His company Tele-Louisiane is part production house, part content platform. It creates and distributes French-language content from across the state and aims to grow the broader cultural economy in Louisiana French dialects. In a sense, he's seeding the market. Both creating and meeting a demand for Louisiana French film, shorts, documentaries and other media created in Louisiana.  Louisiana is the center point here. And Will intends to build a company that sources content from all the language cultures that make a home here. He founded Tele-Louisiane in 2018 and has steadily built a portfolio of original content for commercial and noncommercial partners. In 2021, he's launching two new educational series marketed at the state's French immersion programs. Van Of course for a lot of people, it's not about where you're going, it's how you get there. RV travel isn't just a means of conveyance, it's a way of life. And one that commands a surprisingly lucrative segment of the travel economy. The RV industry accounts for roughly $50 billion in economic activity in the United States. And about 9 million Americans own RVs.  The sector is also starting to get a bit younger, as those bellwether millennials have begun to buy the appeal of traveling the open road in what can amount to a studio apartment on wheels. But the RV industry has been missing the connective tissue that makes hotel travel easier in the information age. Apps like Kayak.com or Travelocity don't exist to centralize booking for the RV market. And that's problematic for travelers who, by nature, go with the flow and often need a place to anchor down at the last minute. That's where Spot2nite comes in. Created by Terry Broussard and his son-in-law, Spot2nite offers both RV parks and RV travelers a convenient way to connect and manage bookings. Unlike the centralized booking apps in the hotel and resort industry, Spot2nite allows site operators to keep their existing booking systems. Spot2nite has park clients in 11 states and is developing an Apple iOS based mobile app that will accelerate the company's growth.  You can find photos by Jill Lafleur from this show at our website. Here's some more lunchtime conversation about Acadiana tourism.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Acadiana, business is a tradition and tradition is a business – often the family business. There's a long heritage of musical families around here, dynasties of fiddlers and accordion players handing down the tools and tricks of the family trade to generation after generation. Here our Acadiana musical families are household names, every bit as famous and respected for their talent as dynasties in other states maybe be revered for wealth and power. In Acadiana, music is one of our greatest exports. Lafayette practically pumps out ranks of acclaimed Zydeco and Cajun musicians and most of them are carrying on something they learned from their parents and their parents' parents. Throw a rock in any direction. You'll probably hit a Grammy nominee. Throw another, you'll hit her momma. Christiaan's guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana are both internationally celebrated musicians from famous Cajun families. Virginia-born Ann Savoy married into the Savoy family of Eunice and has toured internationally with her band the Magnolia Sisters which explores the feminine side of the Cajun tradition — they're not actually her sisters. Ann is a writer and will soon publish the second volume of her archival work Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People. Louis Michot grew up in a big, sprawling Cajun music family. Since 1999, he's toured internationally with Lost Bayou Ramblers, a band he started with his brother Andre 20 years ago. Lost Bayou won a Grammy for their 2017 record Kalenda. Recently, Louis launched Nouveau Electric Records, a label that puts out experimental artists rooted in Louisiana French musical traditions. Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at The French Press in downtown Lafayette. You can photos from this show at our website, Photos by Lucius Fontenot. Hear more tales about Acadiana music over lunch with Wilson Savoy, Joel Savoy, and Andre Michot. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Larroque recounts a joke that he heard from his dear friend Jimmy  while filming "Gumbo la-la" Charles Larroque is the author of several Louisiana French based books such as MEMOIRES DE ST MARTINVILLE and MEMOIRES DE LAFAYETTE. He is also the former General Director of CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana)If you would like to stay in the know about a new episode or project, you can follow our social media accounts down below:Instagram: lacreole_showTwitter: LACréole ShowFacebook: LACréole Show If you would like to view other episodes, you can check our website: www.creoleshow.com

Charles Larroque recounts a joke that he heard from his dear friend Jimmy  while filming "Gumbo la-la"  Charles Larroque is the author of several Louisiana French based books such as MEMOIRES DE ST MARTINVILLE and MEMOIRES DE LAFAYETTE. He is also the former General Director of CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana)If you would like to stay in the know about a new episode or project, you can follow our social media accounts down below:Instagram: lacreole_showTwitter: LACréole ShowFacebook: LACréole Show If you would like to view other episodes, you can check our website: www.creoleshow.com

This Week's Geek - Miranda Rozas:Social MediaIG - @sexydragonbuttmuncherKeep an eye out for a documentary in the works! This Week's Topic - All Things Cajun:(Source: Wikipedia - Cajuns)The Cajuns, also known as Acadians, are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and in the Canadian maritimes provinces consisting in part of the descendants of the original Acadian exiles—French-speakers from Acadia in what are now the Maritimes of Eastern Canada. In Louisiana, Acadian and Cajun are often used as broad cultural terms without reference to actual descent from the deported Acadians. Historically, Louisianians of Acadian descent were also considered to be Louisiana Creoles, although Cajun and Creole are often portrayed as separate identities today. Most Cajuns are of French descent. The Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have had an enormous impact on the state's culture. While Lower Louisiana had been settled by French colonists since the late 17th century, the Cajuns trace their roots to the influx of Acadian settlers after the Great Expulsion from their homeland during the French and British hostilities prior to the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763). The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have become famous for their unique French dialect, Louisiana French (also called "Cajun French", although the dialect predates the Acadians' arrival in Louisiana), and have developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, and cuisine. The Acadiana region is heavily associated with them. This Week's Thanks:Thanks to Visager for our theme song “Welcome Player.” You can find more of their music at visager.us. That’s V-I-S-A-G-E-R dot U-S. Remember to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your favorite podcast sites. And hey while you’re there leave us a review! We LOVE them. Thank you for listening, dear listeners. We’ll be back next week!

Join host Claire-Marie Brisson as she interviews Erin Segura, Instructor of Louisiana French at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. Learn more about the fascinating projects she and her students are recording, pursuing, and documenting!Support the show (http://patreon.com/northamericanfrancophone)

Join host Claire-Marie Brisson as she interviews Alexis Marceaux and Sam Craft of Sweet Crude. Topics cover Louisiana French, reception, music traditions, and their new media initiative New Niveau. #Francophonie #Francophone #Louisiane #LouisianaSupport the show (http://patreon.com/northamericanfrancophone)

The 23rd French Film Festival begins on February 27, and for the next two weeks, NolaVie will be spotlighting a couple of the festival’s featured filmmakers. Marshall Woodworth’s documentary La Veille traces the loss of Louisiana French, as well as the widespread efforts to preserve it. Brian Friedman sat down with Marshall for a quick preview. Visit ViaNolaVie for a related article written by Brian Friedman.

349. Part 2 of our interview with Nathan Rabalais about his documentary, Finding Louisiana. Louisiana French, folk tales. Nathan earned his Ph.D. in French Studies from Tulane University and a Doctorat en Langues et littératures from Université de Poitiers. His research focuses primarily on literatures, cultures, and oral tradition of Francophone North America (primarily Louisiana, Acadia, and Quebec). Professor Rabalais's courses include The Craft of Writing, Heroes, French and Creole Louisiana, and Pop Culture of Francophone North America. His most recent publications and feature-length documentary Finding Cajun (2019) focus on the intersection of language and identity in Louisiana and Acadian communities of Canada. His original poetry has been featured in several literary journals and in his book Le Hantage: un ouvrage de souvenance (2018). He is currently completing a monograph, Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana, forthcoming with LSU Press.This week in Louisiana history. January 26, 1861. Louisiana's Secession Convention overwhelmingly votes to secede from the Union and become the Republic of Louisiana. This week in New Orleans history. Today we celebrate the first edition of The Picayune on Wednesday, January 25, 1837.  It contained 4 pages, few graphics, and was distributed by two carriers who sold 800 of the 1000 copies that had been printed from the office at No. 38 Gravier Street. The following day, January 26, 1837, 2,000 copies were printed and sold. It was the first New Orleans newspaper to sell for less than a dime.  A picayune (a Spanish coin) equalled about 6 1/4 cents. This week in Louisiana. King Cake Festival When: January 26; 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Where: Champions Square What: Taste the many King Cakes from the city’s best bakeries, enjoy live music, and support pediatric programs and the Ochsner Hospital for Children at this annual festival presented by Ochsner.  Presented by Ochsner Medical Center, King Cake Festival is an annual celebration of one of New Orleans sweetest treats: King Cake! Bakeries from across the Crescent City and beyond will serve their special twists on this New Orleans classic for fest-goers to try every January in Champion Square. Taste dozens of king cakes from bakeries, groceries and restaurants across the New Orleans area! King Cake Competitions You can watch the friendly competition among bakeries as they compete for a number of coveted King Cake titles. Categories such as Best Presentation, Most Unique, Best Traditional, People’s Choice and more are up for grabs. Fest Activities Benefitting Ochsner Hospital for Children, King Cake Festival usually has a number of family-friendly and heart-healthy activities. Come energized and ready to exercise with games for all ages. Live music performances also take place within Champion Square. Admission This event is free and open to the public. To taste the king cakes, tickets must be purchased. Usually, it is $20 for 10 tickets and 1 ticket per sample. Since the event is a fundraiser for Ochsner Hospital for Children, donations are highly recommended and greatly appreciated. Postcards from Louisiana. Milly Raccoon sings on Royal St.Listen on iTunesListen on StitcherListen on Google Play.Listen on Spotify.Listen on TuneIn.The Louisiana Anthology Home Page.Like us on Facebook.

In Acadiana, business is a tradition and tradition is a business - often the family business. There's a long heritage of musical families around here, dynasties of fiddlers and accordion players handing down the tools and tricks of the family trade to generation after generation.  It's one of our greatest exports. Lafayette practically pumps out ranks of acclaimed Zydeco and Cajun musicians and most of them are carrying on something they learned from their parents and their parents' parents. Throw a rock in any direction. You'll probably hit a Grammy nominee. Throw another, you'll hit her momma.  Christiaan's guests on this edition of ut to Lunch Acadiana are both internationally celebrated musicians from famous Cajun families.  Virginia-born Ann Savoy married into the Savoy family of Eunice and has toured internationally with her band the Magnolia Sisters which explores the feminine side of the Cajun tradition — they're not actually her sisters. Ann is a writer and will soon publish the second volume of her archival work Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People.  Louis Michot grew up in a big, sprawling Cajun music family. Since 1999, he's toured internationally with Lost Bayou Ramblers, a band he started with his brother Andre 20 years ago. Lost Bayou won a Grammy for their 2017 record Kalenda. Recently, Louis launched Nouveau Electric Records, a label that puts out experimental artists rooted in Louisiana French musical traditions.  Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at The French Press in downtown Lafayette. See photos by Lucius Fontenot and more at our website. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

348. Part 1 of our interview with Nathan Rabalais. Finding Cajun. Louisiana French, folk tales. Nathan earned his Ph.D. in French Studies from Tulane University and a Doctorat en Langues et littératures from Université de Poitiers. His research focuses primarily on literatures, cultures, and oral tradition of Francophone North America (primarily Louisiana, Acadia, and Quebec). Professor Rabalais's courses include The Craft of Writing, Heroes, French and Creole Louisiana, and Pop Culture of Francophone North America. His most recent publications and feature-length documentary Finding Cajun (2019) focus on the intersection of language and identity in Louisiana and Acadian communities of Canada. His original poetry has been featured in several literary journals and in his book Le Hantage: un ouvrage de souvenance (2018). He is currently completing a monograph, Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana, forthcoming with LSU Press.This week in Louisiana history. January 18, 1838. Caddo Parish created from Natchitoches District, named for Caddo Indians. This week in New Orleans history. The New Orleans Public Library first opened its doors to the public on January 18, 1897.  The system began in 1896 as the Fisk Free and Public Library in a building on Lafayette Square. Abijah Fisk was a merchant who, over fifty years earlier, had left his house—at the corner of Iberville and Bourbon Streets—to the city for use as a library. Subsequent donations had resulted in libraries and collections not completely free and open to the citizenry. An 1896 city ordinance proposed by Mayor John Fitzpatrick combined the Fisk collection with a newer municipal library. It eventually became known as the New Orleans Public Library. This week in Louisiana.  Centenary CollegeShreveport, LA January 20, 2020. 5:00 am - 3:00 pm. Room 108. Dream Week 2020 —MLK service day. MLK Service Day is a large scale event open to Centenary students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other local community members to participate in a "day on instead of a day off" in honor of Dr. King's birthday. Postcards from Louisiana. Bourbon Bandstand Bar.Listen on iTunesListen on StitcherListen on Google Play.Listen on Spotify.Listen on TuneIn.The Louisiana Anthology Home Page.Like us on Facebook.

If one were to travel through the modern day US state Louisiana, you would quickly be transported to what seems like another world. French language signs adorn the streets as the sounds of Zydeco or Louisiana French folk music fills the air. Most would cite the menagerie of foods combining french peasant recipes with African and native additions cooked into the various creatures inhabiting the bayou or swamps as the most intriguing sight of all. The genesis of this unique culture started far to the north in what is now the modern Canadian Maritime province of Nova Scotia. Dur: 22mins File: .mp3

Dr. Thomas Cauvin is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Born in France, he received his Ph.D. at the European University Institute (Italy) and has taught in France, Ireland, Italy, and the United States. His research focuses on memory and museums, Irish history, and Louisiana French-speaking heritage. Cauvin has been taking part in the rise of the Public History movement. He is a Board member of the International Federation for Public History, and has written the first single-authored textbook on Public History. Public History. A Textbook of Practice is the ideal companion for introduction to Public History courses. He has produced several public history projects in Louisiana such as History Harvests, online exhibit, and Documentary Film (forthcoming 2017).

In this episode of Confetti Park, we meet some of the teachers and students at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna, Louisiana, and hear some of the original poems and essays created by students in the seventh and eighth grades under teachers Nick and Rick Mithun. Nick Mithun teaches French, while Rick Mithun teaches history. They are the grandsons of Arden Cahill, the woman who founded the school in 1968 along with her husband, Harry. Currently there are four generations of Cahill family members involved at the school—the youngest just enrolled in the infant center. Arden Cahill envisioned an early childhood education center rooted in the arts, and rooted in Louisiana French culture, in a country-like atmosphere. The legacy of her dream is fulfilled today in a twelve-acre campus shaded with oak and cypress trees along Bayou Fatma in Gretna. At the back of campus, there is a country farmyard with animals that children interact with daily, and an equestrian arena with horseback riding lessons. Music, art, and theater classes are core parts of the curriculum, and all children learn French. Confetti Park’s Katy Hobgood Ray interviewed Nick and Rick Mithun and some of their students, and gathered their poems about life in Louisiana. Listen Thank you to all the teachers and students at Arden Cahill for sharing your great work on Confetti Park! To learn more about this wonderful school in Gretna, Louisiana, and its deep focus on French culture and the arts, visit ardencahillcademy.com

Dec. 11, 2013. This talk examines the songs recorded in the summer of 1934 by folklorist John Lomax, with assistance from his son Alan, who was then a teenager. While the music they recorded there has often been described as Cajun or Creole music, what they actually found was much more complex: a diverse admixture of old medieval lays, Continental pop songs, blues ballads, round dance songs, traditional ballads in French, a Scottish jig, and much more. This talk coincides with the release of the book Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana, a study of the 1934 trip. Speaker Biography: Joshua Clegg Caffery is a writer and musician. He is a founding member of the Red Stick Ramblers and a longtime member of the Louisiana French band Feufollet. Caffery was nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for his work on the Feufollet album "En Couleurs." He is currently the Alan Lomax Fellow in Folklife Studies at the John W. Kluge Center in the Library of Congress. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6272