October 4 Wednesday 1 pm Pottle Auditorium Then and Now Lecture Chris Rose: 1 Dead in Attic --  Post-Katrina Stories The Times-Picayune’s Chris Rose was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his “vibrant and compassionate columns that gave voice to the afflictions of his city after it was struck by Hurricane Katrina.” His accounts of the first four months in New Orleans “after The Thing” have been collected in 1 Dead in Attic, which Amazon.com said, “freeze frames New Orleans caught between an old era and a new, New Orleans in its most desperate time, as it struggled out of floodwaters and willed itself back to life in the autumn and early winter of 2005.” A booksigning will follow the lecture. Free

The Last Straws
In “The Sights and Sounds of Jazz,” the Last Straws, who have been playing together for nearly half a century, present a stimulating insight into New Orleans and her most well known product – jazz. Developed with the New Orleans Jazz Club and the New Orleans Jazz Museum, this unique program brings the visual and musical treasurers of jazz to life through life-size photos, a spirited narration, live music, authentic arrangements, vintage instruments, and the talents of dedicated traditional jazz enthusiasts.

$15, adults; $12 srs/fac/staff/alumni, $8, non-SLU students; $5, SLU students

Sponsored by Chaucer Holding Company, L.L.C.—William J. “Bill” Chaucer Jr., Dr. R.E.L. Stuart Memorial Fund, Louisiana Lottery

Soirée Edith Piaf
Spend an enchanted nostalgic evening with the famous French chanteuse, brought to life in a cabaret setting by songstress/actress M.I. Scoggins. In what one reviewer called “a remarkable evocation,” Soirée Edith Piaf recounts the joys and tragedies of France’s legendary “Little Sparrow,” who put her life and heart into songs such as “La Vie en Rose” and “Je ne Regrette Rein.” 

$30, general admission

Sponsored by Christwood Retirement Community

Fanfare Headliner
Author John Barry
Fanfare’s headline speaker, John M. Barry is a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author of five books, including The Great Influenza and Rising Tide, a stellar history of the 1927 flood which bears remarkable parallels in post-Katrina Louisiana. Barry has appeared on Meet the Press, along with all four major television networks, cable news, PBS, NPR, and the BBC. He has contributed to award-winning television documentaries, and written for Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, Esquire, and The Washington Post. 

$12, adults; $10 srs/fac/staff/alumni, $8 group rate; $5, all students

Sponsored by Anderson & Boutwell Law Firm; Terry & Pam King; Phil & Ann Livingston/Sanderson Farms; Ross Downing Chevrolet; Your Bank; Southeastern Arts & Lectures Committee, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of History and Political Science, Student Government Association.

Louisiana Writers Reading the South: 
Bev Marshall and Alison Pelegrin
Two Southeastern English Department colleagues, writer-in-residence Bev Marshall (Walking Through Shadows, Right As Rain, Hot Fudge Sundae Blues) and poet and Alison Pelegrin (Squeezers, The Zydeco Tablet), shine a true and absorbing light on south Louisiana life.
Free

Ronnie Kole
A one-man Broadway show, legendary entertainer Ronnie Kole has the humor of Victor Borge, the showmanship of Liberace, and the virtuoso sounds of a full symphony orchestra. Kole has recorded at Carnegie Hall, performed throughout the world solo and with trios, septets and orchestras, and entertained millions of fans, including a pope and several presidents. Said Harry Connick Jr., "When you look up piano in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Ronnie Kole. He's one of the great players of our time."

$12, adults; $10 srs/fac/staff/alumni, $8 group rate; $5, all students

Sponsored by First Guaranty Bank/Carl & Cheryl  Schneider, Hammond Harley Davidson, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Hollimon, Paul & Patty Hubert, Northshore Broadcasting, Plaza Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Clinic, Southeastern Alumni Association

Judge Leon Ford Lecture in History
John Boles: "Climate, Geography, and Southern History: The Influence of Non-Human Factors" 
John Boles, William Pettus Hobby Professor of History at Rice University, examines the shaping role of large, impersonal forces in southern history. His talk deals not only with global factors such as climate and geography, but also with local environmental factors from the honeybee and boll weevil to the mosquito and cattle tick. “Human action always occurs in an environmental context,” says Boles. “It is important in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to consider the synergistic relationship between nature and human history.”
Free

Sponsored by the Ford Family Charitable Foundation

Amite Arts Council: Irma Thomas – Soul Queen of New Orleans
The Amite Arts Council presents Irma Thomas, the legendary New Orleans “Queen of Soul,” who after more than four decades continues to thrill her fans with her accomplishments as an artist, bandleader, and record producer. Information: 

$25 &  $21 (Tickets available at Ruby’s, 111 E. Thomas St., Hammond, 985-345-4745, and Amite Chamber of Commerce, 101 SE Central Ave., Amite, 985-748-5537. 

Louisiana Writers Reading the South: 
Tim Gautreaux
Timothy Gautreaux is one of Southeastern's most widely published creative writers. A retired professor of English, he has been named by Writer's Digest as one of the top "25 fiction writers" to watch. His acclaimed novels and stories capture the strength, resiliency and joy found in the lives of ordinary, modern-day Cajuns.
Free