Product Description

The detectable identity of southern Louisiana's one-of-a-kind culture has been expressed in numerous descriptive phrases--"south of the South," "the northern tip of the Caribbean," "this folklore land." A strange, piquant, and savory mixture, it also has been likened to one of the region's signature dishes, gumbo.

Capturing this elusive culture and its charm has challenged many authors, anthropologists, and anthologists. Coming perhaps closest of any book yet published, this new anthology of readings affords reflections on southern Louisiana's distinctive traditions, folklore, and folklife. Crystalizing its rich diversity and character, these sharply focused essays are a precise introduction to aspects that too often are diffused in sundry discussions of general Deep South culture. Here, each is seen distinctly, precisely, and uniquely.

Written by leading scholars, the thirteen essays focus on many subjects, including the celebration of Mardi Gras and of Christmas, Louisiana foodways, the delineation between Cajun and Creole, the African Americans and Native Americans of the region, Zydeco music, and Cajun humor.

The essays show great range and are reprinted from hard-to-find publications. They include a description of Cajun Country Mardi Gras on the prairies of southwestern Louisiana, an analysis of the social implications of the New Orleans Mardi Gras parades, a study of the Houma Indians of coastal Louisiana, and an analysis of the devotion given to a young Cajun girl whom many regard as a saint.

Collected here, the essays portray a land and a people that are unlike any other.

Marcia Gaudet, a professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is the author of Tales from the Levee: The Folklore of St. John the Baptist Parish and Porch Talk with Ernest Gaines: Conversations on the Writer's Craft.

James C. McDonald, a professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is the editor of The Allyn and Bacon Sourcebook for College Writing Teachers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #400087 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 179 pages

From the Inside Flap
An anthology of essays that afford an understanding of southern LouisianaÂ’s diverse culture

Customer Reviews

A Glimpse Into Southern Louisiana
"Mardi Gras, Gumbo, and Zydeco: Readings in Louisiana Culture" is a wonderful collection of essays that focus on the southern half of my colorful home state of Louisiana. Editors Marcia Gaudet and James C. McDonald have compiled thirteen articles that cover topics ranging from those listed in the book's title to crawfish and Catholicism.

The book opens with an introduction to Louisiana's culture and how it is defined by two distinct regions: a predominantly Anglo Protestant north and a predominantly French Catholic south. It also gives a brief introduction to the essays that await the reader, including a warning that Michael P. Smith's article on the influence of Buffalo Bill's Show on the New Orleans Mardis Gras Indians is rather controversial.

From here, the reader gets a good look at topics as serious as the fight for recognition of the United Houma Nation to unique Mardi Gras traditions in places like Choupique to lighter fare such as anti-clerical humor that will definitely draw laughter from the reader.

Personal favorites are the aforementioned essay on anti-clerical humor from Barry Jean Ancelet, C. Paige Gutierrez' look at the crawfish as a symbol of the Cajuns, Patricia K. Rickels' very interesting study of "witch riding" and Marcia Gaudet's essay on the Cajun saint, Charlene Richard.

Granted, this book's articles might sound a bit dated to some, but that makes them no less important than articles written within the last few years. Much like Louisiana, these articles are unique, sometimes funny but always very interesting. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Louisiana, particularly the southern part of the state, Mardi Gras, folk studies, and cultural traditions.

Highly recommended.

Excellent Save For One Flaw
This work, published in 2003, offers many viewpoints on South Louisiana culture, and all but one of the articles are very good to excellent. The painful exception is Michael P. Smith's "Buffalo Bill and The Mardi Gras Indians." How this got published in a peer-reviewed journal (Cultural Vistas) let alone this anthology is very puzzling. This article depends on a great deal of speculation. Phrases like "must have", "were surely" "were likely" and "I suspect" are rampant. There is no hypothesis testing here, just guesses based on parallel events. Smith commits two howling faux paux; first, referring to the Indian tribes as gangs. Then he compounds this by referring to current Creoles (Louisianans of mixed black, white, and latin heritage) as the "Maroons of Urban New Orleans". I can only conclude that he read maroon in an old work and thought it was still current, or, more likely, that his informants set out to pull his leg by filling his head full of "gangs" and "maroons". I hope Mr. Smith never addresses a Creole New Orleanian as a maroon! Reflexive political correctness is also on display. Unlike some of the other entries, there are no references.

Some of the articles were solid but a little dated in 2003, such as "Every Man a King" by Caro and Ireland, but overall (despite the Smith entry) the book is an excellent cultural panorama of pre-Katrina South Louisiana.