French Connections : A Gathering of Franco-American Poets

French Connections : A Gathering of Franco-American Poets

A collection of poetry and essays written by and for Franco America. Varying artistic and literary expressions from writers who share - at least to some degree - in a similar cultural reality. From the editor's website: "This anthology began with an innuendo: the unnamed advisor to President George W. Bush who was quoted in the New York Times in 2004 as saying of Massachusetts’ senator John Kerry . . . that Kerry 'looks French.' This was not intended as a compliment....What does it mean to look – or to sound – French...or more specifically, Franco-American? Even just thinking casually about this question highlighted the issue. For the majority of Americans, if the term itself brought any image to mind, it was likely a red-and-white can of bland spaghetti...Why is Franco-American so occult an identity in America?The vision for this anthology was not that it would define Franco-American in any essentialist way and it was not even to collect a group of poems on the theme of French identity. Instead what I had in mind was to bring some measure of visibility to Franco-American through a simple gathering of poets you might well never have thought of holding this particular component of identity in common and letting the poets speak for themselves: in their short bio-essays and in their poems, to provide a forum from which one could hear the wide spectrum of what it might mean to “sound French.” And that is definitely intended as a compliment, though you may find it means things you didn’t expect."

Includes pieces from the following writers: Jack B. Bedell, Erin Belieu, Jim Bishop, Michelle Boisseau, Darrell Bourque, Henri Cole, Chard de Niord, John Dufresne, Denise Duhamel, Christine Gelineau, Allison Hedge Coke, Benjamin Ivry, Colette Inez, Jesse Lee Kercheval, Dorianne Laux, Paul Marion, Beverly Matherne, Kevin Meaux, Ethan Paquin, Chad Parenteau, Jean-Paul Pecqueur, Alison Pelegrin, Bin Ramke, Donald Revell, Rhea Cote Robbins, Sheryl St. Germaine, Cheryl Savageau, Katherine Soniat, Mark Strand, David R. Surette, Jeri Theriault, Connie Voisine

Gelineau, Christine (editor)

Bedell, Jack (editor)

Louisiana Literature Press

2007

English

Book

No

9780945083016

324

Hammond, Louisiana

http://www.christinegelineau.com/Books/French.htm

French Connections...@ Google Books