Louisiana Words Live: Allstars  will be featuring Ted A. Richard alongside some of the most active writers from Louisiana Words ( louisianawords.com ) and hosted by the creator, Louis Toliver Jr. This isn’t the first time that Ted and Louis have partnered together, establishing  Louisiana Words Live  in Lafayette in 2013 and the Acadiana P.R.I.D.E. Festival in 2014. Ted will be sharing passages from his new book,  The 16th Second , coming out tentatively June 2022. Ted ‘s book deals with the idea of fame and what makes one famous. The captivating, relatable memoir captures overcoming LGBTQIA issues as the backdrop to most of the story. Louisiana Words is a blog that was created at the end of 2012, featuring only writers who were born or have resided in Louisiana for any period of time. Each writer represents their geographic location. Ted represents Church Point contributing over 20 creative works to the Louisiana Words catalogue over its 8 years. Louisiana Words is in transition to be

Check out these past hits from July 2013! Just search for them or find the month under Les Mots Passè on louisianawords.com!

Hurt for reasons ignored. Erased. Whole towns sunken. Brilliance disregarded. It is insidious, the silence. I wake up burning with words unsaid. Unable to confront people because I grew up in such a warring atmosphere that shutting down and retreating is instinct. Being touched without permission. Harassed and cloistered. Having to ask permisssion to celebrate my culture. Stalked and threatened by people who hate that they can't chain me. Decide for me just how much happiness or success they'd prefer to ration. Pandered to. Manipulated. Disrespected. Unprotected Do not hurt me and dare tell me the way my wounds look are obscene. How dare I heal? It must be done with energy surpassing the smug audacity that dealt the first blow. In defiance of evil, erasure, and invalidation Oh, yes I love myself. I have to because being good at something puts a target on your back. In reverance, for those who have their wings, and for a family of sharecroppers and misfits I heal myself. In the

 ...thinking of joining the world  of the missing and the disappeared;  this world is forever changing,  and becoming the world that I most feared... ...thinking  of not thinking,  of disappearing into a world  defined by  death, drugs and drinking... One is a world  where I have never been,  one is world all too familiar,  all too familial. If you knew me, then,  you might not like me now.  Just don't tell me  that I need to change,  if you haven't a clue as to tell me how.

 

MotsdeLouisiane.com showcases the most prominent writers from Louisiana Words. This extension site is setting the stage for Louisiana Words to become a nonprofit that produces journals featuring our most active writers. MotsdeLouisiane.com is updated on Sundays along with Louisiana Words Gumbo, starting November 2021. We share postings to social media on Wednesdays & Thursdays!

  Check out these past hits from June 2013! Just search for them or find the month under Les Mots Passè on louisianawords.com!

Every week, we re-post writings or art from the past years; because, on Louisiana Words, you are never forgotten! Shared on social media Mondays and Fridays, we continue the legacy of all our writers & artists with Les Mots Passè, which means “past words.” Formerly called Louisiana Words Flashbacks, Les Mots Passè keeps our catalogue of just over 1200 poems, stories, paintings, photography, music, & more! 

Every Sunday, Louisiana Words updates with new writing, art, and music!

In Dustin Gaspard’s song, “Just a Little”, he asks, “Am I living longer or just dying slower?” There have been many times in my life that I’ve pondered the same thing. I had spent the past twenty-seven years trying to recreate my first fifteen seconds of fame by devoting my second attempt at success in life to making my next fifteen seconds of fame mean something different; I succeeded each time, but different didn’t necessarily mean good. Beginning the journey of my second life was also the beginning of my downfall into the abyss of alcoholism and substance abuse. I saw my life spiraling out of control but refused to do anything to make the rest of my life any better; I was dying anyway, so it really didn’t matter. I remember seeing a movie called “The Help”, which began to change the trajectory of my life in only my second year of sobriety. There is a line near the end of the movie where Allison Janney’s character, Charlotte, tells her daughter, Skeeter (played by

 

I walk around stiffly, a porcelain doll who can't bend I might break if I move too fast, something might shift and crack Flakes of skin colored ceramic fall around my ankles Something has shifted in my abdomen and tumbles around I remember being brand new, fresh out of my collector's box My features shiny, my hair with bouncy curls, my shoes perfectly fitted Now my seams are ripped and I've lost my shine Hair has straightened and slippers lost along the way My button nose has a chip and one of my fingers has been slain I don't breathe too much because I fear the disturbance it might incur I do not trust my porcelain to protect me anymore.