Book Events for Feb. 12, 2012

St. Francisville literary event is Feb. 25

The 6th annual Celebration of Writers and Readers, sponsored by the Friends of the West Feliciana Library, will be 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Hemingbough Conference Center, 10101 La. 965 in St. Francisville.

Authors will give individual presentations and participate in panel discussions and Q&A sessions. Featured authors this year are novelist Valerie Martin — Property (British Orange Prize), Mary Reilly (Kafka Prize and movie made with Julia Roberts), Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis, The Confessions of Edward Day, and others; poet and nonfiction writer Rodger Kamenetz — The Jew in the Lotus (in 35th printing), The History of Last Night’s Dream, Burnt Books, Terra Infirma, and others; poet Mona Lisa Saloy — Red Beans and Ricely Yours (T. S. Eliot Prize in Poetry, and PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award) and numerous poems in many anthologies and journals; journalist, reporter and current editor of the Clinton Watchman Tom Aswell — first nonfiction book, Louisiana Rocks: The True Genesis of Rock and Roll.

Tickets to the event are $35 and include lunch and coffee breaks and a dessert buffet and wine reception with authors. Tickets may be purchased at West Feliciana Parish Library or by calling [phone]. Seats may be reserved for groups of eight or more who purchase tickets as a group.

Happy birthday, Charlie

The Dickens Project at LSU is taking part in a worldwide celebration of Dickens’s 200th birthday. One of the projects for the observance is the LSU Dickens Film Festival, which will take place on most Monday nights through April 16. Each film screening will be hosted by an LSU professor or graduate student who will lead discussion; many will include other guest presenters as well. The schedule includes:

•  Monday, Feb. 13, Great Expectations (Lean 1946) — Discussion with Dr. Meredith Veldman (History) featuring Dr. Michelle Massé (English) on Victorian courtship.
•  Monday, Feb. 27, Oliver! (Reed 1968) — Discussion with Dr. Sharon Weltman (English) (Note: No extra event due to film length).
•  Monday, March 12, Great Expectations (Cuarón 1998) — Discussion with Laura Marks (English) featuring food blogger and English graduate student Helana Brigman on Gulf Coast cuisine’s Victorian connection.
•  Monday, March 19, Boy Called Twist (Greene 2004) — Discussion with Dr. Jerod Ra’Del Hollyfield (English) featuring a presentation by the Baton Rouge AIDS Society.
•  Monday, April 2, Oliver Twist (Polanski 2005) — Discussion with Dr. Steve Bickmore (English/Education) featuring a presentation on Baton Rouge child homelessness.
•  Monday, April 16, David Copperfield (Cukor 1935) — Discussion with Corrie Kiesel (English) featuring a special presentation on Victorian undergarments.

For more information or to volunteer, contact the Dickens Film Festival organizer, Dr. Jerod Ra’Del Hollyfield, by email at [e-mail].

Black inventors

Umar S. Bey, CEO of the Black Inventors Traveling Museum, is the guest speaker for the Black History Month program at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at the Clifton Chenier Center Auditorium, 220 W. Willow St. in Lafayette.

Bey tells of many inventions used by people today that were patented and invented by African Americans. The traveling museum has artifacts and objects of many of the patented items such as the gas mask that was invented by Garrett Morgan. The Black History Month program will highlight and offer a tribute to black inventors past and present. The program will also feature singing, dancing, and stepping by students in local schools and community residents in celebration of Black History Month. For additional information, call Sherry T. Broussard at [phone].

Gabor at Loyola

The music industry studies program at Loyola University New Orleans presents Jim Gabour, extraordinary professor of video technology, in “Jockomo-fee-nahnay,” a forum highlighting the history of the Mardi Gras Indians at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, in Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall at Loyola, 6363 St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans. The forum, which features never before seen footage and interviews of some of New Orleans’ most legendary Indian tribes, is free and open to the public.

Gabour is an award-winning film producer and director whose work focuses primarily on music and the diversity of cultures. In the late 1970s, he began shooting interviews and footage of the various Mardi Gras Indian tribes and chiefs, famous for their elaborate feathered costumes and Carnival performances.

In celebration of the Mardi Gras season, Gabour will screen and discuss excerpts from several of his clips, including a 1986 interview on beading and costumes with Bo Dollis, Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias; a “meeting of the tribes” at Tipitina’s in 1985 with the Big Chiefs of the Wild Magnolia, Golden Eagle and Creole Wild West tribes; and the Wild Magnolias performing with the Neville Brothers at the 1984 World’s Fair jazz and gospel tent.

For more information, contact Jess Brown in Loyola’s Office of Public Affairs by email at [e-mail] or call [phone].

EBR Parish Library

Are you tired of Valentine’s Day and all the “stuff” that goes with it? If you answered yes, then the River Center branch, 120 St. Louis St., is the place to be for a fun un-Valentine’s Day Celebration at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. Wear black, if you want, and make un-Valentine’s Day cards for your friends or former sweethearts. Bring your favorite un-love songs and enjoy the company of other “un-Valentine” teens. There will be refreshments, and even an award for the best un-Valentine’s Day card.

For more information, call [phone].

Celebrate the state’s bicentennial this year by learning more about the state’s rich history and culture at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at at the Zachary branch, 1900 Church St. In the branch’s first teen presentation, staff from Centenary Historic Site will talk about medicine and medical instruments used during the Civil War.

For more information or to register, call [phone].

Book clubs:

•  Mystery Lovers Book Club will meet at noon Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. Members will discuss mysteries with romance and Valentine’s Day themes.
•  Carver Book Club will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Carver branch, 720 Terrace St. Members will discuss Governor Edwin Edwards by Leo Honeycutt.
•  JCR Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Jones Creek Regional branch, 6222 Jones Creek Road. Members will discuss Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry.
•  Bluebonnet Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Bluebonnet Regional branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd. Members will discuss The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster.

Livingston Parish Library

Young Writers Club will meet 5-6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Denham Springs-Walker branch, 8101 U.S. 190 in Denham Springs. The Denham Springs-Walker Young Writers Club is open to anyone between the ages of 10 and 17. The goal of the club is to write for both publication and performance. Young writers are encouraged to explore their writing interests and develop their voice and style through exciting collaborative activities.

Edward Livingston Historical Association will meet 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Main Library, 13986 Florida Blvd., in Livingston.

Book clubs:

•  Eclectic Book Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Denham Springs-Walker Branch, 8101 U.S. 190 in Denham Springs. Members will discuss Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet.

Ascension Parish Library

Valentine’s Day. Sure, it’s fantastic for couples, but what about the rest of us? The flowers, the candy, those sappy greeting cards… Gross! Ascension Parish Library lays waste to Valentine’s Day with its Anti-Valentine’s Day Party at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at Donaldsonville branch, 500 Mississippi St. in Donaldsonville, and the Main Library, 708 S. Irma Blvd. in Gonzales. Frolic in a fun, kissing-free environment, create anti-conversation hearts, butcher romance novel cover art and compete to crown the best break-up letter author, all to the sugar-free sounds of decidedly un-romantic music. This event is open to teens in grades 6th and above; no reservation required. Remember, it’s totally NOT a date.

Lafayette Public Library

The Acadiana Writing Project, UL Lafayette’s Creative Writing Program and the Lafayette Public Library have announced the 2012 Writes of Spring Writing Contest. Students in grades K-12 are invited to submit an original work in the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or drama (high school students only). Works accepted in English or French.

Submission guidelines

•  The contest is open to students in grades K-12 who reside in Lafayette Parish or in the surrounding parishes: St. Landry, Acadia, St. Martin, Vermilion and Iberia.
•  Students may submit work in only one of the following categories: Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, or Drama/

Screenplay.

•  Work must be original and unpublished.
•  Submissions should be double-spaced, 12-point font, with numbered pages and title of work on each page.
•  French entries will be accepted and judged separately.
•  Entry form and submission need to be turned in by Friday, March 30, to any of the 10 Lafayette Public Library locations. Please paperclip the form to the submission and do not write your name on your work. Works will be judged by Acadiana Writing Project Teacher-Consultants and graduate students in the Creative Writing program at UL Lafayette. First, second, and third place winners in grades 9-12 will be honored at a Young Writers Ceremony/Reception held at 6:30 Wednesday, April 25, at the South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St. First place winners will have their works published in UL Lafayette’s literary journal The Southwestern Review. Following the awards ceremony, Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane will present a special reading. First, second, and third place winners for K-8th grades will be honored at a Young Writers Ceremony/Reception at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 21, at the South Regional Library. All winners will be notified by phone in advance of the ceremonies; names will be posted on the library website, http://www.lafayettepubliclibrary.org on Tuesday, April 10. Family and friends of winners are invited to attend the ceremony.

Find entry forms at http://lafayettepubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Writes-of-Spring-Writing-Contest-Guidelines-and-Form.2012.pdf or visit the nearest library branch.

Book clubs:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Club will meet 6:30-7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St. Members will discuss Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Signings

Dianne de las Casas and Marita Gentry, author and illustrator of Dinosaur Mardi Gras, will sign copies of their book at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at Barnes & Noble Perkins Rowe, 7707 Bluebonnet Blvd. #100.

Todd Starnes, author of Dispatches From Bitter America, will sign copies of his book 5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St. in New Orleans.

Jennifer Barnes Maggio, author of Overwhelmed: The Life of a Single Mom, will sign copies of her book at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the Single Moms event at Healing Place Church, 19202 Highland Road.

Items for Book Events were provided by West Feliciana Parish Library, The Dickens Project at LSU, The Festival of Words Cultural Arts Collective, Loyola University Office of Public Affairs, East Baton Rouge Library, Livingston Parish Library, Ascension Parish Library and Lafayette Public Library.