Feature Story I Books Along the Teche Literary Festival

James Lee Burke in Bronze

A Literary Icon Honored

By Patrice Doucet

It’s like a scene from a book, on a quaint downtown main street running parallel to a moss-draped Bayou Teche. The friendly townspeople meandering from tent to tent, talking to book vendors and breaking into conversation with fellow book lovers. Street chattering interrupted by the spotting of a best-selling author. Strangers blending in like coming home to visit after years of being away. Children pulling on their parents’ arms to an area they’ve spotted just for them. It’s a festivity off the pages of the annual Books Along the Teche Literary Festival taking place in New Iberia’s downtown April 5-7.

Now in its 8th year, the festival once again promises writing workshops, book signings, cooking demos from top chefs, performances, exhibits and city tours. Participants will have the opportunity to attend author discussions with the likes of this year’s Great Southern Writer Natalie Baszile, best-selling author of novel-turned-TV series Queen Sugar, along with Lauren Tisdale and Alison Pelegrin, Poet Laureate of Louisiana.

New to this year’s itinerary is a book swap, an informative discussion about book clubs over champagne and hors d’oeuvres, special presentations on the history and production of sugar cane, along with the history of Creoles, a poetry contest in the children’s section, kayak tours down the Bayou Teche and much more.

Sure it’s a weekend of books and the chance to mingle on an equal playing field with accomplished authors, but it’s also the taking in of fantastic Cajun food, arts, history and beautiful sights of a city once named at the top of Forbes magazine’s “15 Most Picturesque Towns with the Best Travel Options.” And it ends on a high note with a free symphony in New Iberia City Park on Sunday, April 7.

Understandably, the festival has drawn book lovers and authors from all over the world and also serves as a reunion looked forward to by the state’s writers. According to Ellen Mullen, festival co-chair along with Laura Duplantis, last year’s attendance was upwards of 1,700, which was up more than 700 from 2022. “I look forward to the hospitality that comes out when book lovers come from all over; I love to show off the town and the culture,” she says.

This year’s event is likely to draw an even bigger crowd with the unveiling of the highly-anticipated statue of author James Lee Burke, on Saturday, April 6 at 12:15 a.m. in Bouligny Plaza.

Burke has long been a part of the New Iberia literary scene. The Pulitzer Prize nominee wrote 22 novels in a series, featuring detective Dave Robicheaux, which has put New Iberia on the radar of thousands of his fans. Burke made fond memories and found inspiration in New Iberia, spending summers visiting relatives as a boy, and making the city home with his wife from 1996 to 2010.

The statue was created by award-winning Houston sculptor Shirley Scarpetta, who has created bronzes for schools, businesses and private collectors. Completed this January, the 5’11” bronze statue depicts James Lee Burke frozen in time, in his mid-50s, in a casual stance, with a book in hand and wearing one of his favorite hats.

Having gathered as much information as she could on Burke to gain insight into the author Scarpetta recounts, “I followed a lot of his works and interviews, read biographies and watched the movie “The Electric Mist,” (based on his novel.) I was looking for details to recreate, things like a certain belt buckle and watch that he wore and a pen he’d clip to the pocket of his shirts.”

She dug deep into the character of the man, conveying what she perceived to be his strongest traits. “I tried to portray his focus and assuredness, but also a kindness that I saw in all of the pictures of him,” she points out.

As to what she’d like viewers to see when they look at the statue, Scarpetta says, “I want people to see Mr. Burke’s humanity and humility, and to know that this man left a legacy for a small town in Louisiana by putting them on the map with his works. I hope they see the greatness of this writer.”

Among her subjects, Scarpetta says Burke is one of the most famous she has sculpted. “That is extremely humbling to me,” she admits. “I think of myself as a legacy maker. I create these amazing legacy makers (in these statues) with incredible stories to tell. I’m the catalyst that brings them back to their communities and shares the legacy.”

For this self-taught sculptor, the highlight of the project came at the end when she received a letter from Burke. “He said the statue took his breath away and congratulated me on my work,” she shares. “It’s a major accomplishment for a sculptor to complete one of their statues – it’s very personal. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment on something that I’ve worked so hard, and I will be elated during the unveiling.”

You can hear more from Scarpetta about the making of the statue during her presentation at the Sliman Theatre at 10 a.m. on April 6. Then at 11 a.m. Burke will join fans at the Theatre via Zoom broadcast from his home in Missoula, Mont. for storytelling and a question-and-answer session.

Whether you’re a book lover, a writer or a novelist in the making, this is a literary festival not to be missed.

For a detailed itinerary of the festival and for ticket information, go to BooksAlongTheTecheLiteraryFestival.com. This year, authors can register online.