O.J. GONZALEZ

It was indeed a genuine treat. I’m referring to visit last week with fellow writer, Mariana Titus.

I had met her briefly once before and had been impressed by her literary sensitivity and by her passion for all things Louisiana.

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We met at the library in Baldwin where I encountered her looking at the books in the Louisiana section. She seemed attached to them in a profound way.

Mariana explained that she divides her time between her residence in Santa Barbara, Calif., and her deceased mother’s home in Franklin.

When I asked her what was so special about Louisiana, she confessed, “I can come back, year after year, to the familiar and the comfortable. It’s a continuation of my childhood love.”

Mariana actually grew up in Garden City. She fondly recalls it as “... my world back then.” And it was there as a youngster that she eagerly awaited the frequent arrival of the St. Mary Parish bookmobile, which she was always reluctant to leave.

This love for words, together with her adoration for the culture of South Louisiana, has led to five books. Her latest volume, “Sunday Mornings/Crowning Glories,” is due out this month.

Her work is mostly a collection of stories, anecdotes and short conversations. “What I’m doing,” she said, “is capturing life as it really is ...through the joy and sorrow of everyday existence.”

I looked carefully at her volumes. Mariana has an uncanny ability to reveal the very essence of the people of the bayou. Her work is a panorama of tears, laughter, pain and exuberance.

The pages overflow with both candor and stunning intimacy. These books are not meant to be devoured, but savored slowly. They do not shout, they whisper to us.

Incidentally, Mariana is also an accomplished photographer. Her images illustrating the books pay homage to our people by celebrating their earthiness.

The photos depict individuals working, dancing, socializing or sharing quiet interludes.

In one beautiful example, in “Hurricanes, Healings and Dancing Ceilings,” there is a double portrait of an elderly woman and a child. With their eyes closed and their faces touching, nothing else is necessary. Love reigns.

I began to glance through a copy of her first book, “Graveyards and Bayou Bars.” Mariana’s eyes brightened.

“It was very fulfilling to have this published,” she admitted, “... and later to see it, and the others, on the shelves of my hometown library.”

I’d like to conclude this column by quoting part of the preface in “Rain, Cane, Bayou Refrain.” With these words, Mariana eloquently tells us where one can find her heart.

“This is the place where folks still remember living on houseboats that now decay on land with rain-scented memories. The song of crickets serenades a setting sun on these ancient moving waters, a moving lyrical history that never dies.”

O.J. GONZALEZ is a native and resident of Jeanerette. He graduated from USL in printmaking and photography and his photographs have appeared in publications in Louisiana, Alaska, Canada, New Zealand and England.