The Louisiana field guide : understanding life in the Pelican State

293 Pages·2014·5.53 MB·English

by  Ryan Orgera

The
LOUISIANA
FIELD GUIDE
The
LOUISIANA
FIELD GUIDE
UNDERSTANDING LIFE IN THE PELICAN STATE
EDITED BY
RYAN ORGERA & WAYNE PARENT
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
BATON ROUGE
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2014 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing
Designer: Barbara Neely Bourgoyne
Typefaces: Brandon Printed, display; Whitman, text
Printer and binder: Maple Press
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
The Louisiana field guide : understanding life in the Pelican State / edited by Ryan Orgera
and Wayne Parent.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-5776-3 (cloth : alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5777-0 (pdf) — ISBN
978-0-80715778-7 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5779-4 (mobi) 1. Louisiana. I. Orgera, Ryan,
1983– II. Parent, Wayne, 1955–
F369.L8845 2014
976.3—dc23
2014005846
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
For Melli
&
For the Luquette, Parent, Rivière, and Windom families;
thank you for making me part of your “Louisianas.”
—RO
For my brothers Dale and Randy:
they’re as awesome as the state we love.
—WP
CONTENTS
Preface
Ryan Orgera
Acknowledgments
Shaping Louisiana: Our Geography and Environment
The Geography of Louisiana
Kent Mathewson
The Tie That Binds: Louisiana’s Natural Riches
A. Raynie Harlan and David P. Harlan
Louisiana History
Alecia P. Long
Louisiana Cultures: A Creole Mosaic
Joyce Marie Jackson
Love Vine and Lived Religion in Louisiana
Michael Pasquier
The Many Languages of Louisiana
Louisiane/Louzyann/Luisiana/Louisiana
Ryan Orgera
Les Cadiens
Aaron C. Emmitte
Creole French in Louisiana/Kreyòl Andan La Louzyann
Thomas A. Klingler
Cajun Vernacular English
Sylvie Dubois
Literary Carnival and the Dream State
Karen Williams
The Local Diet
Maggie Heyn Richardson
Louisiana Politics: Populism, Reform, and Disaster
Wayne Parent
Seeing and Hearing Louisiana: Music and Film
“How Did We End Up at This Party?”—A Feral Louisiana Playlist
Alex V. Cook
Authenticity as a Conundrum in Eight Louisiana Films
Zack Godshall
The Architecture of Louisiana
J. Michael Desmond
Louisiana as Center for the Arts
Richard Anthony Lewis
LSU Football and Other Sports in Louisiana
Barry C. Cowan
Contributors
Index
PREFACE
RYAN ORGERA
As Wayne and I discussed the idea that would become this volume, we
knew we did not want to produce another book about Louisiana that
“pined for yore.” Rather, it had to be a timely collection that was both
organic and ordered; creative and succinct; and above all honest. Our
goal remains a pertinent exploration of a multifaceted Louisiana written
by local experts who recognize that we have so much to celebrate and to
experience here. The Louisiana Field Guide offers portraits of the state
that challenge, reaffirm, and elucidate for locals, newcomers, and
visitors alike.
Our state is one that enjoys a larger-than-life image. Even outside of
its borders, the word Louisiana conjures images of thrown beads, king
cakes, hurricanes, corruption, and bayous. Louisiana was the eighteenth
state admitted to the Union, yet despite its long history as part of the
United States, it has retained much of its singularity. Its histories are
often framed by French, Spanish, or English colonial struggles; its
politics is peppered with their vestiges; its cultures live and re-create
their traditions; and its languages are part of this flux. We have rich and
painful connections to West Africa and to pre-European peoples, and
they, too, create our contemporary Louisiana. Louisianians celebrate the
past like no others. Tradition thrives in every jambalaya pot, on the
street signs of Breaux Bridge, and on the farmland of East Carroll Parish.
Louisiana is a land where we rejoice in our roots in churches, jazz clubs,
and Tiger Stadium. For hundreds of years, we have celebrated Mardi
Gras and lit fires on the levees for Christmas Eve, and at times when
celebration seemed futile or impossible, we have found a way to use our
traditions as a means to move forward. Our blithe spirit is not how we
mask our travails; it is how we remake and express our histories.
Heritage is our grandest asset.
These ways of life unfurl over a land and shore equally singular. Few
places have such a bewitching landscape as Louisiana. While we do not
boast the mountain vistas of Wyoming or the long, sandy stretches of
Florida, we do have spaces and places that inspire a feeling distinctly
Louisianian. From the marshes, that pseudo-land between the Gulf of
Mexico’s waters and more solid soils; to the Atchafalaya Basin, a great
carved mass of trees, water, bears, and birds; to the loblolly pinescapes
of west and north Louisiana, this state is truly a natural wonder. The
often close, small-sky vistas of south Louisiana are marked by ancient,
gnarled live oaks that sprouted before the arrival of the first Europeans.
In crowded cypress groves, arrow-straight trees filter sunlight amid the
profound stillness, interrupted only by a passing heron or the slink of a
turtle into our ubiquitous waters. Our landscapes are the products of
ancient struggle and process, of primordial geologic and hydrologic
movements; they set the stage for a people marked by ancient and
concurrent forces.
There is an ineffable quality here, one for which words often fall short
to describe the essence of our landscapes, traditions, shared spirit. Our
origins, be they Angolan, French, Spanish, or Vietnamese, have rubbed
against each other and melded. While we could easily focus on the
tragedies that have befallen our state, we have chosen instead in this
volume to celebrate how Louisiana expresses itself, be it an expression
born from pain or complexity, joy or necessity. The expressions herein
pay homage to the curious, the unique, and the unheard in us all. Enjoy
this collection, as it represents parts of all of those who truly have
known this Pelican State.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This volume is a collaboration, and we appreciate the good work of all
the individual authors and the lasting friends we have made in the
process. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Dustin Howes,
whose photos appear in several essays. Dustin’s good eye, technical
skills, and willingness to meet our needs added joy and real value to this
undertaking. Gabe Giffin, who also contributed a photo, worked with us
from the beginning, formulating ideas and keeping us enthused. Gabe
played an important supportive role throughout. Finally, we would like
to thank Andrew Joyner for his contribution of cartography and ideas
throughout this process.