Ernest Gaines

[NewsCopy]

After 22 years as the writer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana, author Ernest J. Gaines looks forward to writing a new chapter in his life.

When Ernest J. Gaines was a kid growing up on the banks of False River in Oscar, he never dreamed that he would one day build his home alongside the big house of the plantation on which he was raised. In the town of Oscar, south of New Roads in Pointe Coupee Parish, the bare trees extend into the gray sky overhead. The open fields, once planted in cotton, corn and potatoes, are now planted in sugar cane and soybeans. It's the land of Gaines' fictional Bayonne, the setting of his stories depicting Louisiana early in the century, when black and white sharecroppers worked the land of River Lake Plantation.

Gaines looks out over the land. He's a tall man, wearing his signature beret and an amulet around his neck. At 70 years old, he uses a cane whenever he can. In the last decade, his arthritis has become worse and it's harder for him to get around. He's soft-spoken, but his voice is deep. "This is my world," he says. "This is my country. This is what I write about. This is my dream. This is my home."

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R. Reese Fuller is senior writer for The Times. Phone him at 237-3560, ext. 122, or e-mail him at reese.fuller@timesofacadiana.com.

[NewsCopy]

Transcript of the Ernest Gaines, interview

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana author Ernest J. Gaines read a story from a soon-to-be-released collection of his fiction and essays to a crowd of people at LSU's Lod and Carole Cook Alumni Center.

Sponsored by the LSU departments of English and history, the event Saturday was designed as an introduction to Gaines' upcoming book, "Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays," but it also served as a showcase for the author's rich body of work.

Gaines was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in 1933 and lived with his aunt for the first 15 years of his life. The former slaves' quarters at the River Lake plantation near New Roads served as the family's home. They are the same quarters where five generations of Gaines' family had lived.

Gaines told the crowd at the Alumni Center Saturday that he began his literary career writing letters for the old people who lived on the plantation.

"They were my first critics," he said.

Gaines' new book contains five short stories and six essays. The essays were adapted from some of Gaines' oral presentations.

Professor Marcia Gaudet, head of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's English department, said the essays cover the story behind the story of some of Gaines' best-known works.

The fiction -- with the exception of one new story -- represents some of Gaines' earliest writings. They were published, Gaudet said, in some "very obscure" places. The collection includes Gaines' first published story, "The Turtles," from a 1956 issue of Transfer magazine.

"These are wonderful stories," said Gaudet, who co-edited the book with ULL English Professor Reggie Young.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, "Mozart and Leadbelly" is due out in September.

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BY CHUCK HUSTMYRE
Special to The Advocate

[NewsCopy]

Ernest Gaines will visit Lafayette to sign and read from his latest book, Mozart and Leadbelly, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 5707 Johnston St. Gaines' collection of autobiographical essays and fictional pieces will transport readers to the rural Louisiana of the 1940s and the influences that shaped him. Gaines was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish near New Roads, a setting for his fictional works. Gaines' novels include A Lesson Before Dying, A Gathering of Old Men, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Of Love and Dust. He is writer-in-residence emeritus at the University of Louisiana. The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Ernest Gaines author of American classics "A Lesson Before Dyin" and "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," was born on a Louisiana plantation. He went to school in California, and fell in love with Russian authors, especially Chekhov and Turgenev. When he began to write (on a rented manual typewriter), he realized that "the Russian steppes sounded interesting, but they were not the swamps of Louisiana. I wanted to smell the Louisiana earth, sit under the shade of one of those Louisiana oaks," he writes. Similarly, Gaines grew up listening to Haydn, Brahms and Mozart, but he realized that, "though Mozart and Haydn soothe my brain while I write, neither can tell me about the Great Flood of '27 as Bessie Smith or Big Bill Bronzy can. And neither can describe Louisiana State Prison at Angola as Leadbelly can." This fascinating new memoir -- in essays, stories, and an interview -- mediates between the old and new, classical and colloquial. It talks about the life-long process of coming home, in his writing, to Bayonne -- the fictional Yoknawpatapha of all his novels. [Gaines has lectured at Spalding University's MFA in writing course.] For Gaines, it's all about character. When Oprah Winfrey asked him what he strives for in his writing, he replied, "I try to create characters with character to help develop my own character and maybe the character of the reader who might read me." Fiction, then, is a moral force in the world, which any reader of Gaines already knows. He battled the stereotypical portrayal of black people -- "Either she was a mammy, or he was a Tom," Gaines explains. His novel "A Lesson Before Dying" is an inquiry into the nature of human dignity set on death row at the Angola prison. This book has sold more than two million copies, and it won the National Book Critics Circle Award. His novel "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," drawn from his recollections of the old folk sitting and talking on the porch late in the evening -- as well as newspaper clippings, oral histories and the memory of a favorite aunt -- presents a character so strong, so convincing, even critics thought she was a real woman; Newsweek magazine asked him to send a photograph they could run with their review. Gaines is also the author of "A Gathering of Old Men," "Catherine Carmier," and "Of Love and Dust," among others. He lives in Louisiana, where he is writer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana at La. The rest of the story By Frederick Smock Special to The Courier-Journal

[BurninCayenne]

Does UL pay Ernest Gaines a salary, office space, a home or other perks? I guess I'm asking how writer-in-residence works?

[NewsCopy]

Ernest J. Gaines, author of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" and "A Gathering of Old Men," will discuss his most celebrated novel, "A Lesson Before Dying," at Clemson University’s Strom Thurmond Institute at 7:30 p.m. April 4. A book signing and reception will follow. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, "Lesson" won the Best Fiction Award by the National Book Critics Circle in 1994. Mr. Gaines is a native of a small town in southern Louisiana, where he was part of the fifth generation of his family to be born on the River Lake Plantation. Most of his fiction is set in that general area, even though Mr. Gaines left for California when he was 15 years old, to join his parents, who had moved west during World War II. Mr. Gaines, professor of English and writer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, was recognized by President Clinton in 2000 with the National Humanities Medal. He has been named a MacArthur Fellow. The source of the story

[NewsCopy]

Ernest J. Gaines, (retired?) Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at The University of Louisiana   The winner of the first annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence is Ms. Olympia Vernon for her novel, A Killing In This Town. Ms. Vernon will receive a $10,000 award and commemorative sculpture created by artist Robert Moreland at the award ceremony on January 24, 2008 at 7 p.m., at the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge. For information about the award and tickets to the celebration, read the press release. Her novel was selected from 29 entries from across the country by a panel of nationally-known judges. One of America’s finest writers and teachers of writing, Mr. Gaines has been recognized internationally for his work. The award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is designed to honor Mr. Gaines and inspire new generations of African-American writers as they aspire to the literary heights for which Ernest Gaines is known. The rest of the story

[Hammer58]

The section "About Ernest Gaines" was a bit light on info especially omitting any reference to his years spent here at UL as a professor and writer in residence. Of course, if I point out that this was written by a Baton Rouge area organization I would be accussed of being paranoid.

[LsuULfan]

_ The section "About Ernest Gaines" was a bit light on info especially omitting any reference to his years spent here at UL as a professor and writer in residence. Of course, if I point out that this was written by a Baton Rouge area organization I would be accussed of being paranoid. _

The bio on the flyer was as long (i.e., very brief) as every other section in the flyer. If you click on the webpage it mentions in the second sentance that he was writer-in-residence at UL.

[NewsCopy]

A new approach to architecture in south Louisiana's changing landscape has earned one UL professor international recognition. Michael McClure, associate professor of architecture at UL, has been chosen as a recipient of a 2008 Rome Prize, one of the most highly regarded awards in the arts and humanities. McClure shares the award with his wife, Ursula Emery-McClure, an architect and LSU professor. Awarded annually by the American Academy in Rome, the prize is given to 30 emerging artists and scholars in the early or middle stages of their careers. Winners of the prize spend time in Rome, refining and expanding their work alongside fellow Prize recipients. The rest of the story Cody Daigle news@theadvertiser.com

[CajunFun]

UL News Services and the local media have COMPLETELY missed the boat on this one.

When I found out about it last Friday, I about had a conniption. No one outside of the arts & humanities has ANY idea how big this is.

It's as big as Ernest Gaines, the basketball teams of the '70's, John Breaux, and almost as big as John Kennedy Toole posthumously winning the Pulitzer. If all goes well, my article for ultoday.com will come out tomorrow, and then you'll all have a better idea of what this means.