Inaugural reading with Louisiana Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities proudly presents Louisiana’s newest poet laureate, Mona Lisa Saloy, at her inaugural reading. As Louisiana’s literary ambassador for two years, the poet laureate travels the state encouraging fellow Louisianans to explore and engage with poetry, supporting Louisiana’s vibrant and thriving poetry scene. Saloy, a renowned poet and folklorist on faculty at Dillard University in New Orleans, will present her inaugural reading virtually and free of charge to audiences across Louisiana and beyond.

Mona Lisa Saloy is the 2021-23 Louisiana Poet Laureate. A native New Orleanian as well as a poet and folklorist, Saloy is the Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Professor of English at Dillard University in New Orleans. Her first collection of poetry, “Red Beans & Ricely Yours: Poems” (Truman State University Press) won the 2005 T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry as well as the Pen Oakland-Josephine Miles 16th Annual National Literary Award in 2006.
Her second published collection, “Second Line Home: New Orleans Poems,” was published by Truman State University Press in 2014. Saloy holds a PhD and an MFA from Louisiana State University, an MA from San Francisco State University, and a BA from the University of Washington. Her work has been published in numerous academic and literary journals, including Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, Callaloo, Southern Journal of Linguistics, African American Review, Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, and more.

This program occurred on Wednesday, September 29, at 7 p.m.

This program is produced by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this event do not necessarily represent those of either the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

[BUKCOLLECTOR]

Enjoyed your poetry and reading. I’m a fiction story writer and I believe the following story will appeal to Afro Americans. It is based on a true incident and takes place in the 1950s when racial prejudice was rampant. Titled
ELOISE, EDNA & THE CHICKEN COOP

“based on a true incident”

There was once a young Black lady named Eloise who in the 1950s inherited from her grandmother a parcel of land in the suburbs of Compton, California at a time when there was strong racial prejudice against women of color—especially those Black women who owned property in predominately white neighborhoods.
It happened there lived adjacent to Eloise’s land a white woman named Edna who did not like the fact that a Black lady owned land next to hers.
Eloise would try to be friendly because she believed Jesus when He said “Love Thy Neighbor” and to Eloise that meant even if your neighbor was unfriendly.
But whenever Eloise saw Edna, Edna would turn her back and ignore her and go about her business. In fact, ever since Edna’s husband died a decade ago, she became mean and unfriendly to everyone in the neighborhood.
But to Eloise, she was especially hateful and full of animosity so much so that at night when all the lights in Eloise home were off, Edna went to her own backyard where she kept her chicken coop and gathered up all the manure and dumped it on Eloise land and upon her tomatoes and her greens and everything she was growing, in an attempt to destroy it.
And when Eloise realized the next morning that there was all this manure, instead of becoming angry, she decided to rake and mix it in with the soil and use it as fertilizer.
Every night Edna would dump the manure from her chicken coop litter box on Eloise’s land and every morning Eloise would turn the manure over and mix it in with the soil.
This went on for several weeks until one morning Eloise noticed there was no manure in her yard.
One of the neighbors informed Eloise that Edna had fallen ill. But because Edna was so disliked because of her and unfriendly personality, no one came to see her.
But when Eloise heard about Edna’s condition she picked the best flowers from her garden, walked to Edna’s house, knocked on her front door and when Edna saw Eloise
she was in complete shock that this Black lady who she had been so cruel to, would be the only neighbor to visit and bring flowers.
Edna was deeply moved by Eloise kindness.
Then Eloise handed the flowers to Edna who uttered,
“These are the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen! Where’d you get them?”
Eloise replied
“Edna, I owe you a debt of gratitude; if it wasn’t for you, these flowers would not exist. It was you who helped me make them because when you were dumping in my yard, I decided to plant roses and use your manure as fertilizer.”
This unexpected act of kindness opened the floodgate of Edna’s heart that had been closed for so long.
“When I’m feeling better, I would love to have you over for tea, ” Edna informed Eloise.
“Thank you, “ Edna replied, assuring her she would come. And then added “ I will pray for your speedy recovery every night”
And with those words Eloise departed.
It’s amazing what can blossom from manure.
There are some who allow manure to fall on them and do nothing.
But then there are others—like Eloise —who “turn the other cheek” when abused or in this case “turn over the soil” to make something new like those beautiful red roses that opened a white woman’s heart

—Al Fogel
All love in isolation from
Miami Beach, Florida,
—Al