Media

Resistance: Three Centuries of Les Cenelles

The Historic New Orleans Collection, in partnership with Les Cenelles and Dr. Lloyd Pratt (Oxford University) hosted a special program blending musical performance, lecture, and poetry that will bring three centuries of cultural and literary resistance to life.

Les Cenelles—a reference to the robust, hearty berry native to Louisiana—has convened as a revolutionary organization three times in history: through the 1845 publication Les Cenelles: Choix de poesies indigenes, considered the first anthology of African American poetry; Les Cenelles Society of Arts and Letters, a mid-20th century salon-style academic group; and today, as a cutting-edge ensemble using words and music. All are iterations of the same revolutionary concept.

The program featured the Les Cenelles ensemble—Denise Frazier, Joseph B. Darensbourg, Peter J. Bowling, and Sultana Isham—and guest scholar Lloyd Pratt, New Orleans-area native and professor at St. John’s College at Oxford University. Together, they shared music and insights into the politics of African American poetry, literature, and music.

Thank you, Jenna Mae from Bvlbancha Liberation Radio! Thank you to Dana Logsdon, Heather Hodges, the Neighborhood Story Project, SpyBoy Media Productions, Jason Berry, Chris Finney, Ryan Harrison, Dhani Adomaitis. Thank you to everyone who showed up and everyone who wanted to come, but could not make it!

Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Les Cenelles at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Bear Creek Town (Houston, TX). Thank you to our wonderful collaborators: Sultana Isham, David D’Omni, Li Harris, and Dr. Ian Condry. Special thanks to the staff ––especially Austin, Nick, and Trudi for making our time there organized and supportive!

WE ARE ON AN ALBUM!!!!! In 2024, the NOUS Foundation launched an independent record label because we love creating. Our goal is to release one album a year to create original and contemporary content in French and Creole in Louisiana.

NOUS invited — with the support of the Library of Congress — 6 musicians and musical ensembles from Louisiana (including two Grammy winners) to record an original album to document the centuries-long tradition of singing in French and Creole in Louisiana (read more about our Musique(s) project here).

Musique(s), L’Album was released as an original LP record (12 tracks, 37’40”) on May 7, 2025, and is now available in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C. The album is also available for purchase online and at over 10 retailers across Louisiana and the country. And if you feel like listening to it now, check it out on streaming platforms (including Spotify and Apple Music). Enjoy!

Summer 2025 was very full! We played music at the Nanih Bvlbancha. We had a wonderful trip to Houston to rehearse and prepare for our Cistern performance in September, and Joseph got to touch one of the original copies of the Les Cenelles book.

Joseph Darensbourg and Peter J Bowling had a summer full of performances and workshops. Joseph presented at the Satchmo Fest 2025, and worked with the New Orleans Baby Dolls. Joseph and Peter promoted our new album collaboration, thanks to the NOUS Foundation, at Peaches Records.

Summer 2025 Workshops with The New Orleans Baby Dolls, made possible by the vision of Dillard University’s Chief of Staff Dr. Kim Vaz Deville. And, also, made possible by the generous support of the NOUS Foundation and Dillard University.

Ti Piti: A Louisiana Musical-Cultural Hour with Les Cenelles. Louisiana Children’s Museum. February 2025.

Soul, Soléy, and Soil: The Sound of Les Cenelles. Bayou Culture Collaborative. Presentation by Joseph B Darensbourg and Peter J Bowling. Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7PM.

Registration: bcartistgroup@gmail.com