In celebration of LSUP’s 80th anniversary the staff selected 80 of our most memorable titles. Adding to our “Around the Press in 80 Books” blog series, Assistant Director and Design and Production Manager Laura Gleason writes about A Creole Lexicon.
There are not many books published by LSU Press that fulfill the Press’s mission better than A Creole Lexicon: Architecture, Landscape, People by Jay Edwards and Nicolas Kariouk. This book guides the reader through Louisiana’s uniquely evolved and specialized vocabulary for describing the region’s buildings, people, and cultural landscapes. It is a valuable reference, and I was fortunate enough to help shape the look of this book from its arrival at the Press until it was printed and bound.
Working on this title was both exciting and challenging. For me, one of the best parts was working with the authors and with Bill Brockway. I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Brockway—long before the work on this book began—when I was involved in competitive muzzle-loading rifle shooting! Imagine my surprise and delight at seeing him in our first meeting about the project. He illustrated many of the book’s images along with two other talented artists, Charles Funderburk and Mary Lee Eggart. These wonderful drawings, diagrams, and maps—along with original reproductions—are peppered throughout the book and are essential to understanding the definitions and descriptions within its pages. They are functional and beautiful.
As someone with deep roots in south Louisiana, I value the books LSU Press publishes that preserve and define my heritage. This was a complicated book to produce with 104 illustrations, sixteen subject headings, sixteen topical indexes, and a two-column format, but when it was finished it was well worth the time and effort!
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