Native Son, Zachary Richard: Cajun singer-songwriter and poet extraordinaire
The first time I saw Zachary Richard perform in the 1980s, I was living on the Left Bank in Paris, the City of Light. Seeing the large crowd’s amazing response to his rollicking Cajun music made me proud to be from Acadiana. Although the French often turned up their noses at Americans, Cajuns were considered cool in Paris and he had something to do with that perception.
With roots deeply planted in his native south Louisiana and swept up by the French culture, Richard formed the first new generation of Cajun/Rock bands. Most recently, he performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and he got the crowds dancing with his passionate ballads and toe-tapping tunes.
During the period when Richard lived in Montreal (1976-1981), he recorded seven French language albums including two gold albums. Although he and his wife reside in Scott, Louisiana, Richard has kept an apartment in Montreal since 1996. “For French language artists in North America, Montreal is the hub,” he explains. Richard returned to Louisiana in the 1980s and began recording in English, including the perennial favorite, “Zack’s Bon Ton.” The strength of several albums and nonstop touring guaranteed Richard an international following.
An environmentalist, cultural activist, and an author, Richard received the prestigious Prix Champlain for Faire Récolte for his poetry, and he was also awarded the Prix Roland Gasparie in Roumania for his third volume, Feu (the judges noted his militant commitment to the defense of the French language in North America). He has also published three children’s books with his daughter, Sarah.
Richard has received three honorary doctorates, bestowed by the University of Moncton (New Brunswick), the University of Louisiana (Lafayette), and Ste. Anne’s University in Nova Scotia. He has produced and narrated numerous television documentaries including Against the Tide, the Story of the Cajun People of Louisiana. Participating in two distinct cultures and creating in his two languages (French and English), Richard’s artistic expression is unique.
Zachary Richard will be appearing in Baton Rouge October 17 at the Louisiana Book Festival. I managed to catch him for an interview between flights while on tour for his new album, Last Kiss. He also has a new book coming out this fall.
You recorded a version of Robbie Robertson’s “Acadian Driftwood” with Céline Dion on your new album, Last Kiss . Does she have ties to the Québécois or Acadian cultures?
As many of the people of Québec, Céline Dion has an Acadian ancestor in her family tree. Québec was a land of refuge for many of the deported Acadians after the Deportation of 1755. In August of 2008, Céline Dion invited me to sing with her for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Québec. Singing with her in front of over 250,000 people, I was touched by the emotion that flowed between us. I have always loved the Robbie Robertson song “Acadian Driftwood” and asked her right then, on the Plains of Abraham, if she would like to record the song with me. Céline and I are both of Acadian heritage. In my case it is more unambiguous since my ancestors were all Cajun/Acadian. Céline has, as many thousands of Québécois, an Acadian ancestor somewhere up her family tree. The song, however, does not represent for either of us the advocacy of ethnic identity but rather an ideal of tolerance and mercy. Inspired by the tragic story of my ancestors, the deported Acadians, the song is about forgiveness and strength. There are hundreds of thousands of people in North America and around the world who consider themselves Acadian. Victims of the greatest ethnic cleansing in North America (by Europeans on Europeans), our ancestors overcame tremendous adversity just to survive. This song is a great tribute to their tenacity and to the compassion that Céline and I both feel is at the heart of the Acadian experience.
I understand you will be appearing at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge on October 17 in a poetry panel, and you will also have a book signing. Tell us about the poetry you will be presenting.
I began writing poetry and songs in 1968. Influenced by the Beats (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Corso, and most importantly Gary Snyder) I have written songs and poems in both English and French. I consider poetry and songwriting to be closely related, although each allows me to express different aspects of my craft. My songwriting is fundamentally American folk song with a rhyme scheme and measured phrases. My poetry, on the other hand, is free verse. Each allows me to communicate not only in a fundamentally different style, but also to address different themes. My songs are often character driven, with a story line and denouement. The principal themes are love and the longing for love; songs with a social aspect, environmental or cultural resistance (“No French, No More,” “Sunset on Louisianne,” “La Ballade de Jackie Vautour,” “La Ballade de DL 8-153,” “Le Souvenir”); and finally songs of a playful nature (“Filé Gumbo,” “Who Stole my Monkey,” “Crawfish”). My poetry allows me to address themes that would be difficult to manage in the context of the popular song. Because of the relative freedom which poetic expression allows me (as opposed to songwriting) I am able to address themes that touch upon the nature of reality. Being particularly influenced by Gary Snyder, there is an aspect of my poetics that is derived from what can best be described as a Zen sensitivity. I have practiced haiku since 1968. This influence is even more prominent in my French language poetry.
Who served as the inspiration for the song “Sweet Daniel?” It reminded me of the pain one suffers in losing a child, having recently lost my youngest.
I have been able to create very strong ties with the Native American communities of Québec. My songs have been able to strike a nerve with the aboriginal people of Québec and I have enjoyed popular success among the Innu particularly. I met a young Innu girl who told me the story of her younger brother. The aboriginal societies of northern Canada are suffering terribly from the effects of global warming. With the permafrost no longer permanent, entire villages have slid into the sea. The traditional hunting patterns have been interrupted. The incidence of alcoholism and suicide is the highest in North America. In many of the villages, young children have taken to sniffing gasoline to get high, walking about with a plastic bag filled with gas. In this case, the young boy got too close to an open flame space heater and was burned to death. His name was Daniel. He was nine years old.
You founded Action Cadienne in 1996 to enhance French immersion programs in elementary schools in the 22 Acadiana parishes. Is this still being implemented?
French immersion is continuing to develop young students fluent in French in several communities in south Louisiana, although at a pace that I do not find acceptable. The programs are absolutely effective in developing language skills. More importantly, French language immersion is proven to be a very effective teaching method. Students in French immersion perform better, and in some cases significantly better, than their peers on standard English language battery exams. Furthermore, by exposing young students to a variety of cultures (most of the French immersion teachers are from foreign countries), their notion of the world is broadened. The result is bilingual students who perform above average and who have a more tolerant worldview. Why French immersion is not more popular is a political question. School boards, even in the traditional French-speaking parishes (especially in the French-speaking parishes), are resistant to change. There is also a great deal of ignorance regarding just what is French immersion and how it works. If parents understood the benefits of foreign language immersion, every public school in Louisiana would offer the program.
What is, in your opinion, the most beautiful city in Louisiana?
New Orleans.
What is your best memory of a Cajun fais-do-do?
I grew up in a typical Cajun household. In the 50s, Cajun music and the French language were scorned. My parents, although perfectly bilingual and proud of their culture, were not fans of Cajun music. I did not grow up in the “fais do-do.” As a teenager, I was listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It was not until I signed a recording contract (Electra, 1972) and moved to New York that I took interest in Cajun music. That discovery would have a profound impact on my artistic and personal life. I dove into the tradition and determined to learn how to play the Cajun accordion. Felix Richard, a retired carpenter who had played accordion as a young man, agreed to teach me the basics. That was the beginning of my career as an accordion player and the re-launching of his. The dance hall memory of which I am the most proud is from around 1980. I was back in Louisiana after the first Canadian period (1976-1980). After having known some success in Québec (five albums in five years, two of which were certified gold), I returned to Louisiana to build my house and to begin a south Louisiana dance hall career that lasted 12 years. The Triangle Club in my hometown of Scott was a traditional Cajun dance hall. I approached the owner who agreed to let us play for the door. We needed the money and the exposure. During the first set, a busload of French tourists walked through the door. I was delighted since they represented the only cash I would be able to pay my band members for the night. I was appalled when suddenly they all got up and walked out. It was because the club owner had refused to let the bus driver, a black man from New Orleans, enter the club. I approached the owner and forcefully attempted to persuade him to change his mind (this was 1981), to no avail. Seeing that my arguments had no effect (“I won’t let no N.... in my club”), I told the band to pack up. We left the club and I have never been back since.
If you could have one last meal in Louisiana, what would it be?
Mama’s gumbo. ✦
