Cajun | Louisiana Folklore Society

Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings

Louisiana Folklore Society board of director Dr. Joshua Caffery, is headed to Washington, D.C., and the Library of Congress as the latest winner of the Alan Lomax Fellowship in Folklife Studies. Caffery will move to D.C. in September with his family for the one-year appointment where he will further his scholarship via the expansive 20th century musicological work of the father/son team of Alan and John Lomax, whose studies of American folk music comprise the largest-ever collected body of field recordings, including exhaustive studies of Louisiana’s indigenous music in the 1930s.?? Caffery holds a Ph.D. from UL Lafayette and is also an accomplished musician, having played in such notable groups as the Red Stick Ramblers and the Grammy-nominated Feufollet. He’s also, just in general, a stand-up guy and son of renowned photographer Debbie Fleming Caffery.?? “Alan Lomax believed that certain areas of the country had unique cultural resources that should be conserved for future generations,” explains Caffery in a press release touting the fellowship. “I plan to help continue that vision.” His soon-to-be-released book, Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings, is published by LSU Press. ??Adds Caffery: “For me, having the chance to study the recordings at the Library of Congress is like a Biblical scholar having access to the Dead Sea Scrolls.” To purchase, go to: http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Music-Coastal-Louisiana-Recordings/dp/0807152013

Out of the Shadow of Leprosy
By our Member Claire Manes

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