BOOKS AND BEIGNETS WITH GARY RICHARDS

This year’s focus shifts to one of the most important nineteenth-century U.S. writers, Kate Chopin. Born in St. Louis in 1850, her marriage took her to the streets of New Orleans and the bayous and prairies of Louisiana, locales that immeasurably enriched her subsequent literary career. Best known for her novel The Awakening (1899), she was nevertheless a talented short story writer among the most preeminent of her era. The book club discussion will focus on a half-dozen of these stories: “Beyond the Bayou,” “At the ‘Cadian Ball,” “La Belle Zoraïde,” “Athénaïse,” “A Matter of Prejudice,” and “Nég Créol.” They are available in Penguin’s Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie (ISBN: 978-0140436815) but can also be easily found on the internet.

3rd Block Depot, 316 Chartres Street, $25 or VIP Pass