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March 18, 2007 Section: Accent Page: 4
dyson's latest book carries on race debate of previous issues Chere' Coen
I'm allergic to talk radio. When I'm scanning the radio dial in my car, I can't hit scan fast enough once I hear the raging diatribes of shock jocks and hate-spewing so-called journalists. That's why I love Michael Eric Dyson, a voice of reason and intellect among those demanding change.
Granted, you might not agree with the Baptist preacher, University of Pennsylvania professor, two-time winner of the NAACP Image Award and host of the syndicated radio show appropriately titled the Michael Eric Dyson Show. But he backs up arguments with fact and researched intellect instead of shock facts that may be interpreted several different ways.
Dyson is no stranger to TV talk shows, NPR and publications, speaking out on race, Bill Cosby and the nation's poor on a regular basis. He discussed New Orleans' racial past and present in the scope of our recent storms in the best-selling book, Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and Natural, Racial and Economic Disasters. Now, Dyson has collected a series of debates he participated in, previously unpublished, in Debating Race with Michael Eric Dyson (Basic Civitas Books, $26).
Dyson naturally discusses Katrina, claiming Juan Williams' argument for personal responsibility to be a veil for blaming the poor. He continues his rebuttal against Cosby's remarks about the black poor in a 2004 speech (Dyson's also the author of Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?), criticizes Condoleezza Rice for her politics with members of The View and debated "whiteness studies" with other scholars. There's even a transcript of Dyson's visit to The Colbert Report, with Stephen Colbert offering a satirist look at Katrina.
If you're interested in examining eloquent, well-discussed views on race, black American heritage and issues affecting the nation's poor, don't miss this comprehensive book.
Note: Louisiana's Donna Brazile, author, political strategist and weekly contributor on CNN's Inside Politics and American Morning, called the book a collection of Dyson's "most compelling and thought-provoking conversations, dialogues and debates on the issues of race and class in America. It is a must-read for people who hunger for truth, candor and a way forward."
It's not dead yet
Canadian journalists Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, authors of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, are tackling the massive history of the French language in The Story of French (St. Martin's Press, $25.95).
Whereas many people have reported the demise of French due to the globalization of English, the authors report that French is alive and well, being spoken by 175 million people in 63 countries. French still is second only to English worldwide, with the number of people speaking French tripling in the last 50 years, according to the duo.
The book discusses the origins of the language and its later spread throughout the world, including New France (Canada) and Louisiana. It discusses the travails of adaptation and the struggles to maintain and debates whether the French language is truly in decline.
Acadian and Cajun history are present, including Cajun Renaissance driver James Domengeaux, the founder of CODOFIL, and language preservationist Zachary Richard. But the authors claim French "is barely discernable in Louisiana" today, citing the decline of Louisiana French as being the incentive for preserving the language in Quebec.
"Quebeckers refer to assimilation as la louisianisation (Louisianization) and much of the activism of French Canadians and Acadians in the 1960s was driven by their fear of ending up like Cajuns," the authors write.
The authors also site the strong influence of English within the Cajun language and note how the dialect is distinct from Parisian and even Quebec French.
"But aside from anglicisms, Cajun French has many peculiarities that make it beautiful," they conclude.
Orleans Embrace
Small independent Morgana Press of New Orleans has taken on a huge undertaking. And it's gorgeous.
Morgana has published Orleans Embrace ($50), a 5-pound, 388-page narrative and pictorial homage to New Orleans, primarily the French Quarter, with all of the book's profits going to the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates Inc. and the nonprofit all-volunteer Friends of the Vieux Carre Commission.
The book is divided into three sections, with the middle a re-release of Roy F. Guste Jr.'s popular and stunning The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre. Before and after Guste's gorgeous expose (buy the book for this alone!) is commentary by T.J. Fisher titled Preserving New Orleans and Saving New Orleans, coupled with an exclusive showing of Louis Sahuc Photo Works.
The star of Orleans Embrace is the 378 stunning photos taken before the landscape-altering Hurricane Katrina, from side glimpses of the cathedral spires and morning fog on Jackson Square to lush courtyards where smiling stone cupids peek through fading French doors.
The book also features comments from celebrities, including Frances Ford Coppola, Nicolas Cage, Jimmy Buffett, Lenny Kravitz, Emeril Lagasse, Taylor Hackford, Helen Mirren, Patricia Clarkson, George Rodrigue and Andrei Codrescu.
The release of Orleans Embrace is scheduled for April 1, when an initial gift of $10,000 will be given to the two organizations. However, you can find copies now at South Louisiana bookstores.
Book news
The Friends of the South St. Landry Community Library are working on a book sale and signing booth at the annual Herb Fest in Sunset on May 5. Local authors interested in signing copies of their books should get in touch with Evelyn Smith at 668-4551 or bristol@centurytel.net.
ooo
The debut of Louisiana in Words, Pelican Publishing's collection of "one-minute" nonfiction entries that complete a day in Louisiana, will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. today at the Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St. in New Orleans. The event features free beverages by artist James Michaelopolis' New Orleans Rum and Abita Beer, plus there will be live Dixieland jazz by Some Like It Hot. Several of the 120 writers involved in the project will be there to sign books. The release party is free and open to the public.
For more information on the book, go to www.LouisianaInWords.com.
Acadiana resident ChereCoen is an author under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She teaches Mass Market Novel Writing at UL's Potpourri. Write her at bacoen@cox.net.
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