A small house in Monroe, LA. Monroe is a city surrounded by small rural farming communities. Early afternoon on Thanksgiving Day in the 1970s. (FRANCES, an estranged housewife in her 40s, is tidying up her dining area in her kitchen. She is wearing a house dress or muumuu with a house coat over it. She has flat house slippers on. Her hair is styled in a short afro. The table is set with a centerpiece of flowers in a large coffee can, but nothing else. There is a counter upstage left that has pots and pans full of food ready to serve. There are also a couple desserts, a four-layer coconut cake and a sweet potato pie. She is expecting her children to come over and eat with her. The wall-mounted phone rings. She picks up with no hesitation.) FRANCES Hey, Peggy…yes, gal! I tole you to come ova at two. Yo brotha stayed up late gettin’ dis turkey done. Now I still got a pecan pie in da oven…Yes, I know how much you love dem. I can’t wait to see y’all. It’s been a long time. Da do...

  Every new year of Louisiana Words, we celebrate the Top Ten contributions (writings or art) that have received the most views for the year. As of now, once a contribution reaches the Top Ten, it is not eligible to be in the Top Ten again. (*This could change in the future.*) As of 2021, we now have 30 Top Ten writings or art. We will be re-posting the Top Ten for the years 2019 & 2020 this month too, so that readers get acquainted with some our top contributors to Louisiana Words since the beginning. We are excited to have a such a diverse top ten this 2021, being that each spot is held by a different contributor! As of 2021, our top ten is as follows: 1. The Louisiana Pledge (Louis Toliver Jr – Swartz, LA) 2. Invisible Tiara (Ted A. Richard – Church Point, LA) 3. Advantages (Sasha Massey – Lafayette, LA) 4. Parent’s Touch (Barry Sons – Berwick, LA) 5. Judge Me Not (Annette Redmond Walters – Lafayette, LA) 6. United (James Leland Ludeau III – Lafayette, LA) 7. Inevitable (Mad...

  Louisiana Words is back to celebrate it’s 8th year alive! This year we will re-ignite our artistic flame across the state for the our worldwide audience to see! Louisiana Words will evolve into a platform for Louisiana statewide writers and artists to have a free platform to expose themselves to the rest of the world. This way, they can build an audience and hopefully boost support for future endeavors that may or may not be related to Louisiana Words.  In 2021, in this 8th year of this movement that’s grown into an esteemed community’s artistic body of work, we are here to stay! This is something to celebrate! Louisiana Words will start it’s evolution into a nonprofit organization. You can expect the return of our monthly feature of writers on “Mots de Louisiane,” public shows, and, virtual readings. Also, we have a podcast and a documentary in the works.  Please follow Louisiana Words often in July to learn more about who we are and where we are going in the future. O...

The pandemic didn’t put Louisiana Words fire out! Get ready and Laissez les bons temps rouler! More writers! A virtual tour! A documentary! Hold on, y’all! Louisiana is ready to lead! 

  "Trials & Tribulations" by Joseph Michael Benoit these trials and tribulations befalling so many nations all of them can be summed up with some simple vocabulary   vanity gluttony and greed to have much more than you'll ever need these are the things that tear nations apart pitting each other against some fictitious other some unknown invisible enemy slowly invading your home   yet all along while they sing this song they are slowly charming their way into your hearts and your minds subtly, secretly planting their mines waiting for the day when it all breaks loose so they can rob you of everything while you hang by their noose

  On Les Mots Passè this week, “Memory on the Horizon” by Taylor Coen,  “Hiding Behing My Truth” by Ted A. Richard, "I'm Done” by Louis Toliver Jr., and “Return of the Raven" by Annette Redmond Walters.

 

 

Watch as they fall in the tens and their hundreds. Weep for them all, for it is no fault of their own.   Watch, as it all fails from all of their blunders. Be not amazed by their promises of wonders. Leaders and followers all of them, alike will soon feel the sting as temperatures spike.   Watch, and prepare as best you can. Get yourself some sort of plan. Eat a lot better, sleep more, too Worry more about others and less about you.

  "Your Very Own Robot" by J. Michael Norris   I sat cross-legged in our foyer staring at the front door, daring the FedEx guy to stick a note on the outside and run off without knocking. I was sure he’d done that the past two days; how else did I miss those deliveries? I was on sabbatical; waiting for my son’s toy robot was all I had to do. One more missed attempt meant driving downtown for a pick-up, and that wasn’t going to happen.   I positioned myself strategically on the foyer’s uneven tile, a discount terracotta my wife Channing and I picked seven years back when travertine seemed too expensive. Since our son Destin began his stays at Oschner Hospital, a room covered in travertine sounded like a good deal. When the FedEx guy finally knocked, I jumped up and threw open the door, hoping to catch him walking off so I could let him have it. Instead he smiled, handed me a package, then asked me to sign like everything was normal. I scratched my si...