Louisiana Book Festival returns in-person Oct. 29
Most excellent news, book lovers: The Louisiana Book Festival will be back in-person on Oct. 29 in Baton Rouge after being hijacked by the surly COVID-19 pandemic.
The free statewide festival—a wonderful opportunity to hear authors, meet other readers and entertain children with lively literary activities—will be in downtown Baton Rouge, at the Louisiana State Capitol, State Library of Louisiana, Capitol Park Museum, Capitol Park Event Center and surrounding area. WordShops, writing workshops with authors as instructors, will be Oct. 28. If you are a reader or just want to explore the capital, this is a fun, economical road trip.
The program includes a celebration of the 75th anniversary of Tennessee Williams’s play “A Streetcar Named Desire” with a discussion led by Dr. Gary Richards, a fest favorite. In addition: Student winners of the Louisiana Writes contest will be recognized; cooking demonstrations and exhibitor booths return; and featured books will be available for purchase and signing through Cavalier House Books of Denham Springs. (For more, with a big thanks to this store: https://www.cavalierhousebooks.com.)
“An abundance of excellent Louisiana authors and books set in or about Louisiana will be featured at this 18th festival for readers of all ages, as well as exceptional writers known nationally and internationally,” says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton.
Nonney Oddlokken of St. Rose created the signature art for this year’s festival, a work called “Magic in the Bayou Atheneum.” The stitched thread on paper piece shows an “Alligator Queen” standing atop a stack of books in an iris-filled bayou with two white alligators, “unicorns of the swamps.” Oddlokken describes her work as using allegorical fables and combining indigenous flora and fauna of southern Louisiana, as well as physical elements such as above-ground cemeteries and tombs. “My entire childhood was filled with my aunt’s daily magical creations, such as baby birds leaving Juicy Fruit gum at the windowsill and a child named Toots who lived in the huge pear tree just outside our screen door,” she says. “Life was filled with magic and wonder. It is with a mixture of my own childhood memories, Catholic references, Cajun folklore and a sprinkle of New Orleans voodoo that I’ve created my series ‘Tiny, Little Fables.’” (For more about her work, see: https://www.batonrougegallery.org/nonney-oddlokken.)
You can find additional information about this year’s festival, including a long list of confirmed authors, at www.LouisianaBookFestival.org. The festival is organized by the Louisiana Center for the Book, established in 1994 in the State Library of Louisiana to stimulate interest in reading, books, literacy and libraries and to celebrate Louisiana’s literary heritage.
To whet your appetite, last year’s virtual festival offers a taste of author interviews free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LouisianaBookFestival. For example, hear Joey Kent talk about his book, “Cradle of the Stars: KWKH and the Louisiana Hayride,” describing the history and legacy of this North Louisiana treasure. The book, published by Pelican Publishing, is filled with images from the archives of the Hayride.
Bossier pastor, Shreveport artist release biblical study book
The Rev. Matt Rawle, lead pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, has released “Jesus Revealed: The I Am Statements in the Gospel of John,” his 11th study book with Abingdon Press. The book is illustrated by Shreveport artist Sarah Duet.
“I hope the reader will see John's Gospel as a Spirit-filled work of art that points us to God's inexhaustible abundance,” Rawle says. “All good art points beyond itself, and if we can begin to understand scripture artfully, we will begin to understand scripture's depth and majesty.”
For groups, the six-week study includes the book, a Leader Guide and DVD/video sessions featuring Rawle, who shows how “I am” words point to the deep mystery of Jesus Christ, including statements about the “bread of life,” “good shepherd,” “light of the world,” “resurrection and the life” and “true vine.”
Rawle, a graduate of the LSU School of Music and Duke Divinity School, says he “loves to tell an old story in a new way, especially at the intersection of pop culture and the church.” For more about his work, see: http://mattrawle.com. He and Abingdon asked Duet to create six works of art, based on the “I Am” statements, to offer a richer understanding of the symbolic images that Jesus used to reveal himself in John’s Gospel. Learn more about Sarah’s work at www.sarahduet.com.
Columnist Judy Christie is the author of 18 novels and nonfiction books and is writing a new novel—about a writer. She co-authored “Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society” with NYT bestselling author Lisa Wingate. For more about Christie, see www.judychristie.com or follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JudyChristieAuthor.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana Book Festival returns in-person Oct. 29
