For those in the New Orleans area, next Monday, September 29, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will host the inaugural reading by Peter Cooley, the new poet laureate of Louisiana. Reception to begin at 6, reading at 7. Readings of this nature happen only once every few years, so it’s sure to be a wonderful night.

As part of their ongoing series on advocacy, Pelican Bomb has an exploration of the Sylvia Roberts archive at Newcomb College, Tulane University. One of Louisiana’s most celebrated attorneys, Roberts died late last year, after a career spanning the last half of the twentieth century.

Room 220 has a brief review and interview with Cynthia Joyce, the editor of Please Forward: How Blogging Reconnected New Orleans after Katrina, out this summer from UNO Press. Joyce and a number of contributors from the book will be reading from the anthology tomorrow evening at the Press Street headquarters at 3718 St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans. From the organizers:

The event on Tuesday will feature readings from Please Forward contributors such as Allen Boudreaux, Richard Read, Dedra Johnson, Andrea Boll, Mark Moseley, and Mike “T Mayheart” Dardar. The event is free and open to the public, Maple Street Books will be on hand with copies of the anthology, and complimentary libations will be served, though donations are strongly suggested.

Continuing its summertime theme, Pelican Bomb has a curated selection of poems on the theme of pilgrimage, with a brief introduction.

For those in the Hattiesburg area, I’m thrilled to be joining Oh, Jeremiah! and Cassie Pruyn for a reading and performance tomorrow night, July 10, at the Back Door Coffeehouse at University Baptist Church. Now going for over two decades, the coffeehouse is one of Hattiesburg’s premier arts nights, and a guaranteed great time. Doors at 7, with a small suggested donation — but there’s free coffee and homemade cake (yes, really).