THE ULTIMATE PURSUIT

Border Press announces the publication of Diane Marquart Moore’s latest book of poetry, The Ultimate Pursuit, which is now available. According to the blurb on the back cover, The Ultimate Pursuit includes explorations of a Persian transmigration inspired by the author’s lifetime readings of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and memories of Persia during her sojourn in this country, 1973-75.

This volume offers a brief glimpse into the culture and history of Persia in lyrics spoken by transmigrated souls, beginning with a rooster who crows day-long on the banks of a Louisiana coulee. The book offers a non-traditional excursion into a culture 2500 years old. The Ultimate Pursuit includes a section of poems about Persia selected from Farda, published in 2009. 

Moore’s deceased brother Paul painted the brilliant-hued cover and provided many paintings for covers of the poet’s 31 books of poetry. Rose Anne Raphael of New Iberia, Louisiana rendered the elegant, imaginative drawings within The Ultimate Pursuit.

During her sojourn in Persia, Moore wrote for The Yaddasht Haftegy in Ahwaz. She has also written non-fiction and young adult books about her life in the oil patch of Khuzestan Province.

A sample from The Ultimate Pursuit entitled “Unborn Tomorrow:”

“A lizard flicks his tail

against the dried mud wall,

always a wall surrounding the women

that men easily broke down;

she, receiving, still plays the lute,

her substance once a shrieking noise,

a rooster remade by the master potter

who gave her this garden —

the Holy Present — to live in,

a gracious trade,

her gowns as green

as the cypress in spring,

the purple desert

outside her window

a plot of dust

looming like tomorrow

into which she could become again,

a vessel broken into another face,

her veils cast down,

every former Self dying,

untrapped in one life

as she enters into dim awareness

of a mystical variance,

the moment of God.”

The Ultimate Pursuit is available online from Amazon and from Border Press, P. O. Box 3124, Sewanee, Tennessee.

ONE OF NEW IBERIA’S RENAISSANCE WOMEN

Rose Anne Raphael

As I was leaving the home of Helen and Rose Anne Raphael here in New Iberia, Louisiana a few weeks ago, I noticed four exquisite hand-tinted etchings hanging in the foyer and asked who had done them. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Rose Anne had rendered them and had won an award for all four prints in the Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Scholarship Exhibition at the California College of the Arts in 2003. The coveted award recognized Rose Anne as an outstanding student in printmaking and was endowed by Yozo Hamaguchi and his wife Minami Keiko, artists of international reputation who were born in Japan and lived in France many years before going to San Francisco in 1982. Mr. Hamaguchi was a renowned master of color mezzotint printing, and Rose Anne’s award acclaimed her as a student who contributed substantially to the quality of printmaking.

"Peace Loving Gadget," etching
by Raphael

Rose Anne graduated from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in English and American Literature and received a Higher Diploma in post-graduate work in Anglo-Irish Literature from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, before migrating to San Francisco and settling in Berkeley. At Berkeley she established her own freelance public relations business, operating it for twenty years. In 2000, Rose Anne decided to concentrate on painting and drawing at the San Francisco Art Institute, then transferred to the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California where she received a BFA in 2004. During this time, she scheduled the printmaking class that fostered the exquisite, award-winning prints. She also participated in several Spring Shows at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001 and 2002.

One of Rose Anne’s sideline vocations has been voice and singing, and she has performed as a voiceover artist for public service announcements in California, as well as subtitle readings for international children’s films. Recently, she did voice acting and crew work for By Mouth Only, a film produced by James Edmunds of New Iberia. Another art form in which Rose Anne excels is photography – she appeared in a 2003 National Juried Exhibition at the Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, California, and won an honorable mention at LSU’s National Compact Competition in 2007. She also was a set designer for theatre in northern California for ten years.

Rose Anne did graduate work toward her MFA at UC Davis before moving back to New Iberia after her father, Morris Raphael, died in 2011. Since that time she has been busy putting his papers in order so that they could be housed in the archives at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has become her mother Helen’s constant companion since moving to New Iberia.

"The Big Idea," etching
by Raphael

A modest person who has been among my closest friends for 35 years, Rose Anne says she doesn’t yearn for fame and recognition but enjoys her various occupations, all of which showcase her diverse gifts. She is a member of the Fortnightly Literary Club, the St. Martinville Garden Club, is a volunteer for the Bayou Teche Museum in New Iberia, a committee member for the Dave Robicheaux Literary Festival scheduled for April, 2016 in New Iberia, and sang in the choir of the First Presbyterian Church where her mother Helen has worshipped for many years. In her spare time, she works on her art, most recently in watercolors, and maintains a website on the Internet (www.raraphael.webs.com) that features a collection of art work she has done. She’s also working on a play based on one of my books, Goat Man Murder, which is set in her father’s birthplace, Natchez, Mississippi.

Rose Anne says she’s excited about being back in New Iberia where the cultural life is “amazing,” and New Iberia is excited about having her back in Teche country. She’s definitely one of those Renaissance women who’ll enrich the arts and culture in the Queen City, and we hope that her renewed thirst for bayou water will keep her here! 

THE RAPHAEL PAPERS

Helen and Rose Anne Raphael, wife and daughter of Morris Raphael, New Iberia author and historian (now deceased), deserve signal kudos for spending the last three years since Morris's death sorting and organizing news stories, magazine articles, and the original writings of this chronicler of Acadiana and Louisiana. Helen and Rose Anne recently donated the Raphael papers to the Archives of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the collection, along with Morris's 14 books, is now on exhibit in the Main Hall of the University library. The exhibit is sponsored by the Dupré Library Special Collections Division and covers the lifetime of a dedicated writer, project engineer, and artist.

During his lifetime, Morris and I teased each other about being members of a mutual admiration society, and every once in a while, he'd invite me into his crowded study to view some of the articles and memorabilia he had collected for over sixty years. He was a tireless researcher and historian and loved writing about Teche country—its people, culture, and history. He wrote fiction and non-fiction books, children's books, newspaper articles, plays, and did the artwork for some of his books, as well as for a unique collection of postcards. I know that organizing the mass of papers in his office was a task of love for Rose Anne and Helen, and valuable history would have been lost had they not been so diligent in making sure Morris's work was housed in a place that would appreciate this collection.

Morris and I shared equal time reviewing each other's books. Morris credited me with spurring him to complete his last book, a commemorative volume about the Civil War in bayou country entitled Civil War Vignettes of Acadiana. He died shortly after its publication during the sesquicentennial commemoration of the War Between the States.  

The exhibit at ULL includes seven glass cases of articles by and about Morris that appeared in the Daily Iberian, The Morning Advocate, Times Picayune, Times of Acadiana, the Franklin Banner Tribune, and other Louisiana periodicals. Copies of his "Bayou Browsing" column in the Daily Iberian are also showcased.

One of the glass cases is devoted to biographical articles and Morris's autobiographical books, My Natchez Years and My Brazilian Years. In this case, a handwritten copy of "Morris's Soup" and a copy of the naturalization certification letter for Khalil Monsour Rafoul, Morris's Lebanese father, are included.

Another showcase touting Morris's passion for the Shadows-on-the-Teche, a National Trust Property in New Iberia, contains articles about the Shadows, as well as the two books that are among my favorites of the books Morris authored: Weeks Hall, Master of the Shadows and The Weeks Hall Tapes. I think that Morris wrote the definitive biography of Weeks Hall, and I hope the National Trust for Historic Preservation will honor him posthumously for this work. 

My favorite fiction book written by Morris, also showcased at the ULL Library, is Mystic Bayou, which relates a story about German U-boats that operated in the Gulf of Mexico during WWII. Three of Morris's book covers are enhanced by paintings rendered by world-famous artist George Rodrigues, a native of New Iberia, Louisiana.

Morris received the Jefferson Davis award from the United Daughters of the Confederacy in recognition of his historical contributions, was inducted into the Iberia Parish Second Wind Hall of Fame, and received the Cajun Culture Award for his work in advancing Cajun culture. He was a member of the Louisiana Writers Guild, the Louisiana Historical Association, and served on the Council of the Shadows-on-the-Teche, to name a few of his civic associations.

On Sunday afternoon, Helen, Rose Anne, Vickie Sullivan (owner of Border Press Books, which published Morris's last book), and I will lift a glass to toast Morris Raphael, Master Chronicler of Teche Country, whose papers and books are now on exhibit at ULL. I only wish he could have seen the exhibit and joined in the congratulatory toast. But maybe he will.