In this June 1919 picture Edmond G. Landry, a veteran of World War I, was a husband and the father of a four month old daughter, Leonide “Teenie” Landry.  Life was good for him and his wife Claire.  Dedication to hard work, family and his religious faith defined his life.  But already the leprosy bacillus was invading his life.  Only one month later in July 1919 his brother Norbert would enter the Louisiana Leper’s Home in Carville, Louisiana the forerunner of the federal hospital and by 1924 Edmond would   himself become voluntarily incarcerated at the United States Public Health Services Hospital.  The two brothers were the first of their family to be isolated in Carville.  In the 1930s and 40s, Amelie, Marie, and Albert followed their brothers to the hospital for treatment.  Out of the Shadow of Leprosy is Edmond’s story written from his letters by me, his only granddaughter, who was born thirteen years after his death.  It is published by University Press of Mississippi and is set for release in May 2013.  It will be available through Barnes and Noble, University Press of Mississippi, area bookstores and Amazon.com

57th Meeting of the Louisiana Folklore Society 

March 15-16, 2013

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

The Louisiana Folklore Society will hold its 57^th annual meeting on Friday, March 15^th and Saturday, March 16^th, 2013 on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.  The meeting begins with a Friday evening  lecture, “From Belizaire to Beasts: Louisiana Folklife and Filmmaking”  by award-winning filmmakers Glen Pitre (Belizaire the Cajun, Haunted Waters, Fragile Lands) and Benh Zeitlin  (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Glory at Sea).

The Louisiana Folklore Society’s annual meeting continues on Saturday, March 16^th  in the Howe-Russell Building, on the LSU campus. Papers address topics such as rural and urban Mardi Gras traditions, Michael Jackson’s influence on children’s folklore, shrimp fleet blessings, cultural adaptation in a Native American bayou community, New Orleans ghost legends, material culture in the Atchafalaya Basin, and representations of Louisiana culture in American television shows and Japanese restaurants.

To register to attend or get more information, please visit the Current Meeting page of this site.

Creole cowboys and Cajun jockeys, Cotton Knights and Mardi Gras revelers reveal the long history and blend between Creoles and Cajuns and the horses they love. This equine love affair began more than 250 years ago on the first ranches of South Louisiana. Creoles and Cajuns are some of America’s first cowboys. Not only essential to hard ranch work, horses were often the focus of French Louisiana’s renowned joie de vivre. T-GALOP romps playfully across South Louisiana through professional sports to community rituals bearing witness to a modern horse culture that that was born many centuries ago. For screening or purchasing information, contact connicastille@gmail.com

de Caro, Frank. “Emerging New Orleans Mardi Gras Traditions: The St. Joan of Arc Parade and the Red Beans Krewe, 2010.” 1-29.

LeJeune, Keagan. “Knowing How to Bury Your Dead: The Significance of the Post-Burial Home Visit.” 30-50.

Manes, Clare. “In His Own Hand: The Correspondence of Edmond G. Landry from Carville, Louisiana.” 51-61.

Delahoussaye, Jim. “Bringing Food and Buying Fish: The Significance of the Fishboat to Isolated Communities in the Atchafalaya Basin.” 62-73.

Bordelon, Dominic. “The Difference between a House and a Home: Latino Experiences in Baton Rouge.” 74-97.

Louisiana Folklore Society 2010 Meeting Program” 98-99.

Louisiana Folklore Society Officers. 100.

Back Issues of LFM Available. 101.

Ware, Carolyn. “Folk Belief and Healing: Introductory Remarks on this Issue.” 1-3.

Otero, Solimar. “Santería Health Systems: Looking at “La Limpieza”: An Ethnographic Study of Yoruba-Cuban Folk Medicine.” 4-21.

Owens, Maida. “The Transformation and Healing Power of the Labyrinth: An Emerging Vernacular Belief Community.” 22-51.

Whelan-Stewart, Wendy. “The Pine Island Apparation: Cajun Values Revealed.” 52-73.

Swett, Julia. “French Louisiana Traiteurs.” 74-90.

Gaitely, Patricia. “Perceptions and Misconceptions in James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux Novels.” 91-108.

Louisiana Folklore Society Meeting Program and Officers. 109-111.I

Conni Castille applied her grant to complete T-Galop: A Louisiana Horse Story, a full-length documentary on Louisiana cowboy culture that bears witness to present-day horseback traditions started long, long ago. A Baton Rouge premiere is scheduled on September 6th, 2012 at the Manship Theater. For more information about the film, contact Connicastille@gmail.com.