Book Events for Feb. 5, 2012

Center for the Book hosting black history event Feb. 7

Evans will share the story of historic Congo Square through archival materials including audio and video clips, photographs, sketches, maps and musical instruments.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library is hosting an event featuring author, researcher, scholar and educator Freddi Williams Evans.

Evans will present her book Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans, noon-12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the Seminar Center of the State Library of Louisiana, 701 N. 4th St. A book signing will follow, with copies of the book available for purchase. Evans will share the story of historic Congo Square through archival materials including audio and video clips, photographs, sketches, maps and musical instruments. The author will also highlight connections among cultural practices witnessed in Congo Square and those found in parts of Africa, Haiti and Cuba as well as Congo Square’s influence on the indigenous culture of New Orleans.

The State Library promotes literature and encourages people to appreciate literature. Louisiana’s unique culture inspires stories by its natives and the Louisiana Center for the Book offers a stage for those stories to be heard. The Black History Month program is free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to bring lunch.

ON THE INTERNET: http://www.State.Lib.La.Us

Louisiana Eagle Expo

The 7th Annual Louisiana Eagle Expo will be held Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 9-11, in Morgan City. The Eagle Expo is a tribute to the return of the American Bald Eagle to Louisiana, which was removed from the endangered species list in June 2007. Writer Ann McCutchan, author of River Music: An Atchafalaya Story will give a presentation at a dinner 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at the Petroleum Club, 500 Roderick St. in Morgan City.

The Atchafalaya River Basin is the focus of McCutchan’s narrative. Weaving cultural and environmental history, River Music tells the life story of Louisiana musician, naturalist and sound documentarian Earl Robicheaux while also celebrating the one-and-half-million watery acres of the Atchafalaya Basin.

McCutchan began her writing career as classical music critic for the Austin American-Statesman and art and antiques columnist for Gannett News Service. She received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Educational Press Association of America. She holds music degrees from Florida State University and the University of Michigan, and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston. She is the founding director of the University of Wyoming’s MFA creative writing program, and has taught creative writing at the University of North Texas since 2005.

This three-day event will also include guided boat tours into Lake Verret, Turtle Bayou, Bayou Black, Bayou Long and the Atchafalaya Basin and will also feature seminars by wildlife experts, a presentation by Save Our American Raptors (SOAR) – South, which includes live raptors, and an all day photography workshop given by C.C. Lockwood. For complete event schedule, cost and registration form, contact the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau at [phone] or visit the website.

ON THE INTERNET: http://www.cajuncoast.com

Breaux lecture

Peter J. Breaux, Ph.D., professor, Southern University Department of History, will lecture on “Louisiana’s First Crusade for Civil Rights” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Old Governor’s Mansion, 502 North Boulevard. Breaux’s talk will highlight the historical aspects of civil rights in a crucial period of the 19th Century in Louisiana.

The event is the second in a series of heritage lectures held monthly at the Old Governor’s Mansion. The event, sponsored by the Foundation for Historical Louisiana (FHL), is free to organization members and $10 for guests. The public is invited to attend.

A reception, hosted by Calandro’s Fine Wines and Select Cellars, begins at 6 p.m.

Breaux has also taught at Florida A&M and Savannah State University. In Baton Rouge, he was an active participant in the Scotlandville Community Comprehensive Development Plan process and in Future BR and is now volunteering with Together Baton Rouge.

Go backstage

Register your group and/or book club for a backstage visit at LSU’s Swine Palace Theatre. On Sunday, Feb. 12, Swine Palace will be hosting an extended event.

Following the performance of Pride And Prejudice, join the cast and crew for an exclusive dessert and wine reception and backstage tour of Pride And Prejudice’s costumes and set. This is an opportunity for any women’s group, book club, or Jane Austen fan to get an inside view of the production. Tickets are available. Contact Jacquelyn Craddock at [phone].

EBR Library

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, a first comprehensive look at race relations in American between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, will be presented as a four-part series beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Scotlandville branch, 7373 Scenic Highway, in the meeting room.

This documents the context in which the laws of segregation known as “Jim Crow” originated and developed. Seating is limited. To register, call [phone].

A lesson in how to use Ancestry.com Library Edition, will be presented 1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Zachary branch, 1900 Church St. Attendees will learn how to use Ancestry.com and start building your family tree with five easy steps.

Book club:

Baker Book Club will meet 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the meeting room at the Baker Branch, 3501 Groom Road. Members will discuss The Hornes: An American Family by Gail Buckley. Call [phone]

Ascension Parish Library

St. Augustine Catholic Church, a predominantly African-American church in New Orleans, has stood for more than 170 years. It has been a pillar in the community through such troubling times as the Civil War, segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and most recently, Hurricane Katrina. The Rev. Jerome LeDoux, beloved pastor since 1990, comes to the Donaldsonville branch, 500 Mississippi St. in Donaldsonville, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, to discuss War of the Pews, his telling of the church, its diverse cultural background, and its struggles and triumphs, old and new. A book signing will follow the discussion. This program is free and open to the public but registration is required. Call [phone].

Book Club:

•  Teen Book Club will meet 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Galvez branch, 40300 La. 42 in Prairieville.

Livingston Parish Library

Book clubs:

•  Livingston Book Club will meet 10:30 a.m.-noon Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Main Library, 13986 Florida Blvd., Livingston.
•  Albany-Springfield Book Club will meet 10-11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 6, at Albany-Springfield branch, 26941 La. 43, Hammond. Members will discuss The Secret River by Kate Grenville.

Iberville Parish Library

Members of AKA Sorority’s local chapter, Tau Kappa Omega, will read from some of their favorite books by African-American authors 10-10:45 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Main branch, 24605 J. Gerald Berret Blvd., Plaquemine.

Lafayette Public Library

How do we as a people choose to remember or forget certain aspects of the past? Why did racial categories and labels become so important and what role has race played in United States history?

Such questions continue to preoccupy Professor Ted Maris-Wolf and are the focus of his research and inspire him to challenge his students and his audiences to examine and discuss difficult issues relating to their shared history.

Drawing from oral history interviews conducted by his UL Lafayette students, Assistant Professor of History Maris-Wolf will discuss the various ways that individuals, families and communities remember and communicate the past during a presentation 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the South Regional branch, 6101 Johnston St. in Lafayette.

The focus of his lecture will be the Civil Rights Era in Louisiana and the relationship of memory to history. He will also highlight the significance of the African-American experience to American history.

Maris-Wolf uses various forms of historical evidence, including art, music, architecture, food, and archaeological data in his lectures dealing with African-American history, slavery, memory, public history, and U.S. history.

Signings

Ava Leavell Haymon, author of Why the House is Made of Gingerbread, will read from and sign copies of her book at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, at Louisiana Art & Science Museum, 100 S. River Road.

Carl Weber and Eric Pete, authors of The Family Business, will sign copies of their book at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Scotlandville branch, 7373 Scenic Highway. For more information, call [phone].

Sherry L. Alexander, author of Courtroom Carnival: Famous New Orleans Trials, will sign copies of her book at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. in New Orleans.

Michael Jeffrey Lee, author of Uptown-Something in My Eye, will sign copies of his book at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Maple Street Book Shop, 7523 Maple St. in New Orleans.

Constance Adler, author of My Bayou, will sign copies of her book 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. in New Orleans.

Author Dianne De Las Casas and illustrator Marita Gentry will sign copies of their book, Dinosaur Mardi Gras, at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at Barnes & Noble, 2590 Citiplace Court.

John Barry, author of Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul, will sign copies of his book at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10 at Maple Street Book Shop at Bayou St. John in the top floor of Fair Grinds (3122 Ponce de Leon) in New Orleans.

Items for Book Events were provided by the Center for the Book at the State Library of Louisiana, Louisiana Eagle Expo, Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Swine Palace, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Ascension Parish Library, Livingston Parish Library, Lafayette Public Library and Iberville Parish Library.