One of the great Cajun storytellers, Mary Alice Fontenot, has died at 93. She wrote the Clovis Crawfish series of children’s books, which I devoured as a kid. They featured a menagerie of swamp creatures — Christophe Cricket, Gaston Grasshopper, Rene Rainfrog, and of course the moral center Clovis (pronounced klo-VEECE). They also featured both dialog in both English and Cajun French — one of the earlier and more successful attempts to pass some of the language along to the next generation of Cajuns.

The books do sort of blend together at this late age, but I particularly remember Clovis Crawfish and the Big Betail, Clovis Crawfish and Etienne Escargot, …and the Curious Crapaud and …and the Singing Cigales. The ultimate classic, of course, is Clovis Crawfish and the Orphan Zo-Zo. (Zo-Zo is the Cajun dialect’s word for “bird,” short for the French “oiseau.” Kelly’s pet cockatiel is named Zo-Zo in his honor.)

Mary Alice also wrote the only history of Acadia Parish (where we both grew up). She lived about five miles from my house, and she was the first real writer I ever met.

(Cajun aesthetes all know that the Clovis books were miles ahead of their so-so rival, the vaguely insulting Crawfish-Man superhero series. Although I must admit fond memories of Crawfish-Man Rescues Ron Guidry, the story of how our swamp hero saved the 1978 AL Cy Young winner from some sort of peril caused by the villainous Dark Gator.)

13 May 2003

Comments

No comments yet.

Post a comment