When you think of Louisiana, you may think of its unique roots in French, Creole, and indigenous cultures.
Those roots were on full display Saturday at the Les Éditions Tintamarre Book Fair, where French-language authors from across the state gathered to promote their works.
The event was held at Cavalier House Books located on Jefferson Street in downtown Lafayette, through a partnership with Éditions Tintamarre, a publishing company that focuses on promoting works in French, Creole, and indigenous languages. The book fair featured presentations spoken entirely in French from 10 different authors, with genres ranging from non-fiction to poetry.
One of those presenters was Barry Ancelet, who currently serves as professor emeritus of francophone studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Ancelet read excerpts from his recently released collection titled “Vatican,” a reference to the village that lies on Highway 93 between Scott and Cankton.
The book is a personal one for Ancelet, who spent his much of his childhood visiting relatives who lived in the tight-knit community.
“My family had a subsistence farm up there, and they used to babysit me when I was a kid. I spent summers there and weekends and holidays … and I had all of these memories growing up in this house where only my aunt spoke English. I had the idea to write down these memories during COVID. My children might know a little bit about how I grew up and why I do what I do, but my grandchildren probably don’t know that, so that motivated me to start writing.”
The fair also highlighted several LGBTQ+ themed works, including Lyle Alford’s “Ecotones Faquetaiques.” Alford, who is currently employed as a French immersion teacher in Evangeline Parish, quickly recovered from major heart surgery earlier in the week to present at Saturday’s book fair. The book, according to Alford, is about “how gay culture intersects with local Louisiana culture. I found myself inspired by the culture and language of the area, and it was through my inspiration of the Louisiana prairie that I started to write these poems.”
Dana Kress, who owns Editions Tintamarre, had high praise for Alford and his work, which was published by the company late last year.
“We have gotten messages and phone calls from young people crying because they felt like somebody spoke for them at last,” Kress said.
Kress views the festival as not only an opportunity to promote the works of younger authors like Alford, but also as part of a growing interest in French literature written from a Louisiania perspective.
“If you’re a kid, and you grow up in Louisiana, do really want to read something about some 17th-century French king, or would you rather read about some wild stories that happened in the French Quarter or here near Lafayette?”
Ancelet also expressed his belief that Saturday’s event reflects a growing interest in Louisiana-based French literature.
“One might not have thought this would happen 20 years ago, but here we are,” Ancelet said. “We have this really amazing explosion of creativity in French, in Louisiana today. Éditions Tintamarre has been releasing a really interesting number of books by contemporary Louisiana French authors and this is a celebration of that.”
Each of the books presented at the festival are on display at Cavalier House Books located at 302A Jefferson St. in Lafayette. Below is a full list of the works presented at Les Éditions Tintamarre Book Fair:
● “Vatican” by Barry Ancelet
● “Écotones Faquetaïques” by Lyle Alford
● “Les Jours Delta” by Luce Tremblay Gaudett
● “Le Hantage” by Nathan Rabalais