Louisiana Creole Literature: A Historical StudyLouisiana Creole Literature is a broad-ranging critical reading of belles lettres--in both French and English--connected to and generally produced by the distinctive Louisiana Creole peoples, chiefly in the southeastern part of the state. The book covers primarily the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the flourishing period during which the term Creole had broad and contested cultural reference in Louisiana. The study consists in part of literary history and biography. When available and appropriate, each discussion--arranged chronologically--provides pertinent personal information on authors, as well as publishing facts. Readers will find also summaries and evaluation of key texts, some virtually unknown, others of difficult access. Brosman illuminates the biographies and works of Kate Chopin, Lafcadio Hearn, George Washington Cable, Grace King, and Adolphe Duhart, among others. In addition, she challenges views that appear to be skewed regarding canon formation. The book places emphasis on poetry and fiction, reaching from early nineteenth-century writing through the twentieth century to selected works by poets still writing in the early twenty-first century. A few plays are treated also, especially by Victor Séjour. Louisiana Creole Literature examines at length the writings of important Francophone figures, and certain Anglophone novelists likewise receive extended treatment. Since much of nineteenth-century Louisiana literature was transnational, the book considers Creole-based works which appeared in Paris as well as those published locally. |
Contents
The Historical Background | 3 |
Chapter Two Features of Early Louisiana Literature and the Cultural Milieu | 17 |
Chapter Three Père Rouquette and Other Early Francophone Poets | 28 |
Chapter Four Mercier and Other Novelists Born in the Early Nineteenth Century | 45 |
Chapter Five MidNineteenthCentury Immigrant Francophone Authors | 57 |
Chapter Six Fiction and Drama by MidNineteenthCentury Free People of Color | 68 |
Chapter Seven Poetry by MidNineteenthCentury Free People of Color | 80 |
Chapter Eight Cable and Hearn | 93 |
Chapter Ten Kate Chopin | 121 |
Chapter Eleven King Stuart and Others | 131 |
Chapter Twelve Some TwentiethCentury Louisiana Prose Writers | 149 |
Chapter Thirteen Louisiana Creole Poets of the Twentieth and TwentyFirst Centuries | 168 |
Notes | 189 |
| 231 | |
| 241 | |
de la Houssaye du Quesnay Dessommes | 104 |