Poet Darrell Bourque to receive James William Rivers Prize in Louisiana Studies

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The Â鶹AV’s Center for Louisiana Studies will honor poet Darrell Bourque with its 2016 James Williams Rivers Prize in Louisiana Studies.

Bourque will receive the award during a ceremony to be held from 2-3 p.m. on Monday, April 18, at the Â鶹AV Alumni Center.

The prize selection committee cited Bourque's “longstanding commitment to and leadership in the realm of preserving and expanding our understanding of Louisiana through poetry.”

He is a former Louisiana poet laureate and professor emeritus of English at Â鶹AV, where he was director of the creative writing program and the interdisciplinary humanities program. He has published nine collections of poems.

Bourque received the 2014 Louisiana Writer Award, given by the Louisiana Center for the Book, for outstanding contributions to Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life. 

His “Megan’s Guitar and Other Poems from Acadie” was the 2014 winner of the Best Poetry Book Award given by Independent Book Publishing Professional Group and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. It also was a finalist in the “Foreword Review” annual poetry competition.

Bourque grew up in a rural community near Sunset, La. He graduated from Â鶹AV before earning a master’s degree and a doctorate in creative writing from Florida State University.

The James William Rivers Prize in Louisiana Studies was established to honor people who have contributed or rendered outstanding scholarly study, work, or teaching about the culture, history, art, architecture, crafts, flora, fauna, music, literature, law, performing arts, geography or people of Louisiana.

The prize consists of a cash award and other acknowledgments. It was established with private funds donated in memory of James William Rivers, a New Orleans architect and graduate of the University who died in 1991. 

Previous recipients include:

  • the late A. Hays Town, a renowned architect;
  • Dr. Barry Ancelet, a Cajun folklorist and expert in Cajun music and Cajun French who is a retired Â鶹AV professor;
  • Ernest Gaines, a best-selling author and Â鶹AV writer-in-residence emeritus;
  • Ellis Marsalis Jr., a New Orleans modern jazz pianist;
  • James Lee Burke, a best-selling mystery writer;
  • Dr. Carl Brasseaux, a retired historian of French Colonial North America who taught at Â鶹AV;
  • the late George Rodrigue, an artist known worldwide for his “Blue Dog” paintings; and
  • Leah Chase, a New Orleans chef and author.

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