Poor Man’s Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana

Award-winning syndicated columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson visits the library for a special presentation and book signing of her new book Poor Man’s Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana. Rheta has covered the South for over three decades as a newspaper reporter and columnist. She writes about ordinary but fascinating people, mining for universal meaning in individual stories.

Her awards include the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award for human interest reporting, the Headliner Award for commentary, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award for commentary. In 1991, she was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

Syndicated by King Features of New York, her column appears in about 50 papers nationwide. She is the author of several books, including Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz (1989). In 2000, she wrote the text for a book of photographs entitled Georgia.

A native of Colquitt, Georgia, Rheta grew up in Montgomery, Alabama and studied journalism at Auburn University. She has lived and worked in the South all her life.

For more information, call 225-231-3745.