555. This week we talk to Randy Gonzales about his poetry book Settling
St. Malo. "I am excited about the launch of a book I spent
more than a decade writing. My research into Filipino Louisiana
started as a way to understand my family’s Filipino story. I
learned that without the fishermen at St. Malo, the shrimpers at
Manila Village, and the seamen who settled in New Orleans, my
Filipino ancestors may not have moved to Louisiana.
Poetry — attention to sound, rhythm, and the emotional register of
words — helped me organize and make sense of research and make it
meaningful to me" (Gonzales). "I am a native New Orleanian of Filipino
descent; a poet, writer, and community historian who researches
and shares the stories of Filipino Louisiana; a scholar and
educator, an associate professor of English at the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette who holds the Dr. James
Wilson/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship in Southern
Studies; a father who wants his children to be proud of their
heritage" (Gonzales).
St. Malo. "I am excited about the launch of a book I spent
more than a decade writing. My research into Filipino Louisiana
started as a way to understand my family’s Filipino story. I
learned that without the fishermen at St. Malo, the shrimpers at
Manila Village, and the seamen who settled in New Orleans, my
Filipino ancestors may not have moved to Louisiana.
Poetry — attention to sound, rhythm, and the emotional register of
words — helped me organize and make sense of research and make it
meaningful to me" (Gonzales). "I am a native New Orleanian of Filipino
descent; a poet, writer, and community historian who researches
and shares the stories of Filipino Louisiana; a scholar and
educator, an associate professor of English at the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette who holds the Dr. James
Wilson/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship in Southern
Studies; a father who wants his children to be proud of their
heritage" (Gonzales).
- This week in Louisiana history. January 8 1815. The Battle
of New Orleans took place. - This week in New Orleans history. On January 7, 1944, the
Liberty ship Leon Godchaux was launched by Delta Shipbuilding
Company.
- This week in Louisiana. The Feast
of Epiphany is a Christian feast day commemorating the
visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at
Cana. It's also the beginning of Carnival. Less than two weeks
after Christmas, New Orleans begins the reveling anew with its
celebration of Twelfth Night. Jan. 6th marks the Feast of the
Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men visited the Christ child. In
New Orleans it also means the launch of Carnival season. And
New Orleans observes it with the Joan of Arc parade that
marches through the Quarter. Société Des Champs Elysée rolls
down the Rampart - St. Claude Avenue streetcar line nearby.
Meanwhile Uptown, the Phunny Phorty Phellows board the St.
Charles streetcar for a parade all their own. This is followed
by the Funky Uptown Krewe.
- Postcards from Louisiana. Bubbles Brown at the Apple Barrel
on Frenchmen.
Activity