Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales Lyle Saxon

Long considered the finest collection of Louisiana folktales and customs, this book chronicles the stories and legends that have emerged from the bayou country.
From the Back Cover
Garlic hangs from the rafters. The Loup Garou holds a convention on Bayou Goula. Spiders dwell in haunted houses. Images of St. Rosalia are carried from church to church. King Zulu parades on Mardi Gras day. The sights and sounds of Louisiana come alive in Gumbo Ya-Ya ("everybody talks at once"). Long considered the finest collection of Louisiana folk tales and customs, this new edition chronicles the stories and legends that have emerged from across the Bayou State. All aspects of society are detailed in this wonderful album of Louisiana tradition: the old-family Creoles, with their strict codes of honor; the fun-loving Cajuns, with their curious family names and spirited fais do-do; the proud blacks, with their fascinating blend of Christianity and voodoo. Ghosts also abound in these pages-including the headless horseman of Natchitoches, the whimsical apparition who startled citizens of Monroe, and the haunted woods in the Mackeville area. Gumbo Ya-Ya is a charming look at the legends and practices of Louisiana. Originally written as part of the WPA's Louisiana Writers' Program, it has endured as a classic of its genre.
About the Author
ROBERT TALLANT (1909-1957) was one of Louisiana's best-known authors and a participant in the WPA Writers' Project during the 1930s and 1940s. During the last years of his life, he was a lecturer in English at Newcomb College.

Lyle Saxon (1891-1946) ranks among Louisiana's most outstanding writers. During the 1920s and 1930s he was the central figure in the regionís literary community, and was widely known as a raconteur and bon vivant. In addition to Father Mississippi, Lafitte the Pirate, and Children of Strangers, he also wrote Fabulous New Orleans, Old Louisiana, The Friends of Joe Gilmore, and was a co-author of Gumbo Ya-Ya, with Edward Dreyer and Robert Tallant. During the Depression, he directed the state WPA Writers Project, which produced the WPA Guide to Louisiana and the WPA Guide to New Orleans.