Saudades: Anthological Contemplations on Persons, Places, Identity and Time

Contributor to the new anthology "Saudades: Anthological Contemplations on Persons, Places, Identity and Time" join moderator Amy Serrano to bring to life artistic interpretations of the word "saudade." Ralph Adamo, James Nolan, Eve Brouwer, Carroll Devine, and Ann Benoit explore this concept through poetry, film, music, and more.

In English, 'saudade' is often explained as a word, impossible to translate, yet quantifiable as a state of being that encompasses a wholly relatable configuration of bittersweet emotions. These involve a distinct strain of profound melancholic yearnings that may be for a person, a place, an identity, or time that has gone, and that may never return. 'Saudade' is also a word for a deep-seated longing about an idealized experience that has not yet happened, and perhaps never will.

Free and open to the public; donations gratefully accepted.

The Andre Callioux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice is accessible to community members who require mobility-related ADA accommodations. Parking near the venue is free, though somewhat limited. The nearest RTA stop is at N. Broad and Columbus.

PRESENTER BIOS

Ralph Adamo teaches at Xavier University, where he edits Xavier Review and Xavier Review Press.His most recent books are All Fall Down (LavenderInk 2024) and All the Good Hiding Places (BlackWidow Press 2020).

Ann Benoit has had TOO many lives. She is a classically trained singer, was a ballet dancer with aRegional company, a lawyer, a researcher for the judiciary and various local authors, an AssistantAttorney General, section chief for Antitrust and BusinessLitigation, Executive Director of aCommunity Care Center, a section chief for The Pro Bono Project, author, photographer, and bookpackager of 3 traditionally published cookbooks and photographer of 2 more, a columnist for theTimes Picayune, a contractphotographer, a memoir writer for hire, the Publisher of 14 onlinenewspapers, and with the publication of Saudades, she now finds herself to be . . . a poet who lovesrun-on sentences. Who knew?

Eve Brouwer, MLA, U of Chicago—has been writing all her life, from Chia Pet ads in the‘80s tochapters in the (UCL, London) book, The Mad Cow Crisis, in 1998. But she found her true literaryvoice upon moving from Chicago to Louisiana in 2008.Sincethen, she’s been a finalist in the NewOrleans Faulkner competition, was named the St. Tammany Parish Literary Artist of the Year, was aspeaker at the Louisiana Book Fair, won first prize in the WNBA Poetry Contest, has been publishedin various anthologies, and wrote the novel, My Grandmother Danced

After having a 5 ½ year global odyssey of life-altering experiences through 32 countries, andcollecting a wealth of stories, Carroll Devine returned to the US, taught school and raised vegetables, goatsand kids in rural Missouri. Back in her native New Orleansarea, besides teaching adult ESL classes,she’s been a journalist-a regular contributor to the Times-Picayune and various magazines. Shewas a poetry finalist in the William Faulkner writing competition and the 2023 Literary Artist of theYear in St. Tammany Parish. She is the author of the memoir, "Sleeping Between the Rails" andcurrently has two more works in progress.

James Nolan’s latest book is the memoir Between Dying and Not Dying, I Chose the Guitar: ThePandemic Years in New Orleans (2024). His Flight Risk won the 2018 Next-Generation Indie BookAward for Best Memoir. He has also published three prize-winningbooks of fiction, four poetrycollections, and a translation of Pablo Neruda’s Stones of the Sky (Copper Canyon Press). Awardedboth Fulbright and Javits fellowships, he has taught at universities in Barcelona, Madrid, SanFrancisco, and Beijing, as well as in his native New Orleans, where he now lives.

Amy Serrano, author of "Saudades: Anthological Contemplations on Persons, Places, Identity andTime," is also an award-winning filmmaker, poet, fine arts photographer, and human rights activist.

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