Centenary's Dr. Kress and Tintamarre Honored for Excellence in Louisiana Studies
The Center for Louisiana Studies presented the James William Rivers Prize for Excellence in Louisiana Studies to Dr. Dana Kress, professor emeritus of French and executive director of the Centenary College of Louisiana Press, Les Éditions Tintamarre.
Under the direction of Dr. Kress, Les Éditions Tintamarre has grown from a project reviving historic Louisiana French texts into a literary beacon for language revitalization in both French and Creole. The press, which is the only exclusively Francophone press in the United States, serves as an editorial laboratory where young scholars learn the editing process while immersing themselves in the canon of Louisiana French literature. It is also a platform for today's Franco-Créolophone writers across Louisiana and the Louisiana diaspora.
"Centenary is deeply honored to be recognized with the James William Rivers Prize," said Centenary College President Dr. Christopher Holoman. "As Louisiana's oldest college, we are committed to celebrating the history and culture of the state. I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Kress and his visionary leadership of Les Éditions Tintamarre. It is so much more than a 'foreign language press.' By shedding new light on forgotten or overlooked parts of our culture, Dr. Kress and the press have deepened our understanding of what it means to be from Louisiana while preserving and expanding the rich French speaking traditions of our state."
The Rivers Prize honors individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the scholarship, creative work, or teaching of Louisiana's culture, history, art, architecture, crafts, flora, fauna, music, literature, law, performing arts, geography, or people.
“In awarding the prize to Les Éditions Tintamarre, we are highlighting not only the impact the press has on Louisiana French literacy, but also the impact Dr. Kress has had on French Louisiana's people,” said Dr. Rachel Doherty, Assistant Director for Programming and Special Projects, Center for Louisiana Studies, UL Lafayette. “For many years Dana has traveled to South Louisiana to support literary production among Cajun and Creole writers.”
Dr. Doherty said Kress’ work at the press is a key agent of language revitalization in Louisiana.
“As residents of an area that has a rich French immersion program, we at the Center for Louisiana Studies are also immensely grateful for Dana's teaching legacy,” Doherty said.
“Many French immersion teachers in the Acadiana region are graduates of Centenary. The recent expansion of titles from Les Éditions Tintamarre means that there are more Louisiana French texts for everyone and for Francophiles across the globe to enjoy, but most especially for Louisianans to encounter in classrooms."
In the past three years alone, Les Éditions Tintamarre has published a striking range of work. In 2023, the press celebrated the publication of the first Louisiana French novel written in more than a century, by Zachary Richard, and was the featured press at the Salon du livre de Montréal.
Tintamarre is now the official publisher of Feux Follets, the creative writing review founded and edited by graduate students at UL Lafayette, and its Contes Merveilleux collection gathers original magical tales from some of the youngest speakers of Louisiana French and Creole, paying homage to the state's oral tradition.
Former Poet Laureate of French Louisiana David Cheramie has also published with Tintamarre, as has folklorist Barry Ancelet, whose recent poetry collections and poetic memoir, Vatican, appeared under the press's imprint. According to Kress, editing Ancelet's Cajun French and contributing to the standardization of vernacular Louisiana French have been among the most rewarding projects.
Watch the video of the ceremony, and see more pictures from the event on Centenary College's Facebook (@centenarycollegela) and Instagram (@centenaryla) pages.