Biography

Elizabeth Nell Dubus published four Louisiana-based historical novels—Cajun, Where Love Rules, To Love and To Dream, and Twilight of the Dawn—and a contemporary novel, Marguerite Tanner. Also a playwright, her award-winning plays were produced nationwide. Her long-running newspaper column, “Conversations Over Coffee,” led to her nonfiction work,  When a Parent Imposes Limits. Dubus taught writing at several Louisiana universities and was co-founder of the Drama program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Memories of a Louisiana Girlhood, her final work, was published posthumously.

Her daughter, Aimée K. Michel, is appearing at the festival in her stead.

Schedule

Noon to 12:45 pm
State Library, Fourth Floor
Three Sets of Memories: Survival, Hope, Remembrance
with Colleen Hildebrand, Aimée K. Michel, Amelia Zachry, and moderator David Armand

Memories of a Louisiana Girlhood

Set in the turbulent times of the early twentieth century, Memories of a Louisiana Girlhood recounts the years 1933 to 1945 from the viewpoint of a girl growing up in southwest Louisiana, a unique region of manners, mores, frequent celebrations, and diverse food of both the French and Cajun settlers. Sprinkled among the pages are stories of Dubus’s encounters with spirited relatives, adventures with neighborhood children, adolescent growing pains, teen escapades, glimpses into Catholic girls’ education, ice cream socials and picnics—all under the watchful and amused eyes of a close-knit community. Recipes from the author’s family and friends are lagniappe to be enjoyed again and again.

Born into two remarkable families, author Elizabeth Nell Dubus recalls a world that, except in memories, has almost ceased to exist. This memoir makes it real for all who read it.