Megan Wyatt

mbwyatt@theadvertiser.com

He speaks softly but surely most of the time, thoughtfully weaving words and memories into stories. Now and then, though, he’ll slam a hand on the table, his eyes lighting up as he remembers the exact moment he made a connection.

Barry Ancelet, who celebrated his 63rd birthday Wednesday, is a man who has created a career for himself out of his own curiosities.

The Church Point native earned his undergraduate degree in French from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1974. He went on to earn his master’s in folklore from Indiana University and his doctorate in anthropology and linguistics from the Université de Provence in Marseille, France.

He’s spent his years piecing together the Cajun story — deciphering the way we act, sound, dance and build the way we do.

“That’s pretty much what I’ve done over the years — identified connections,” Ancelet said. “I didn’t create them. I just noticed them.”

Ancelet plans to retire soon from UL, leaving the methods he’s developed for studying our past to the current and future generations.

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Ancelet’s idea of retirement is not the same as most.

Sure, his retirement will include more time for grandchildren and travel. But retirement to Ancelet means more time to research the things that have always been important to him. It means more time to travel to places that have connections to the Acadian people.

“I plan to retire sometime soon from the university just to unhitch myself officially from the wagon,” Ancelet said. “I don’t mean to stop. I’m looking to shift into another gear. I still love what I do. I’m still addicted to what I do.”

Ancelet’s retirement could come as soon as the end of the upcoming school year.

When Ancelet, one of the last local French professors in his generation, retires, UL’s Department of Modern Languages will be without a professor whose native language is Louisiana French.

“It’s definitely going to be the end of an era for the department,” said Nathan Rabalais, who studied under Ancelet while at UL and who is pursuing his doctorate in French from Tulane University.

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Even without native Louisiana French speakers for professors, UL will have a whole new generation of passionate people, dedicated to local language and culture.

These young people worked hard to acquire a local version of the standard French they learned through school.

“In a way, what they’ve done is even more heroic because it was harder than what we did,” Ancelet said. “What we did was we came to school with local French and figured out how to understand the structures in terms of using the language in effective ways. What they did was take the structure and try to figure out how to get the other things. It’s harder. It’s more elusive.”

Many of those in the younger generation who keep Louisiana French evolving first found their passion through the passion of Ancelet.

Rabalais, 29, said there is no way he would be writing his dissertation on Louisiana folklore if not for Ancelet.

Kristi Guillory, front-woman for Cajun band Bonsoir, Catin, also studied under Ancelet. She calls him “one of the most influential people” in her life.

Three years ago, Guillory, 35, took over the Cajun and Zydeco Music course Ancelet taught for 25 years.

“He kind of passed that on to me,” Guillory said. “In one way, I was extremely honored because I took that class with him, and it was life-changing for me. It’s kind of come full circle.”

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With cuts to higher education, some worry whether Ancelet’s position will be filled.

Ray Brassieur, who teaches cultural courses for the university, has spent much of his career in collaboration with Ancelet.

“I think our local university — the structure here — will continue to try to support these studies,” Brassieur said. “It’s just fighting so hard against the funding. What happens is the faculty base begins to dwindle. People retire, and then if they do retire, can they be replaced?”

Brassieur, 60, said he is encouraged by the younger generation and believes they can carry on Ancelet’s work.

“I don’t think anybody will ever replace Barry Ancelet, but they will bring some great talent. I’m sure of that,” Brassieur said. “We all have to be replaced. I do believe it will continue. The efforts will continue.”

Tamara Lindner, assistant professor in UL’s Modern Languages Department, said that it would take six people to make one Ancelet.

“Those are big shoes to fill,” Lindner said. “I don’t think one person could fill either shoe, but people will find their ways to do their own thing.”

Ancelet said he does not worry about the university continuing to support the study of the local language and culture.

He says it’s something the university has always backed him on.

“The only way to have a chance to choose well for the future is to have a clear understanding of where you come from and what the process is and what makes up all the pieces of the whole,” Ancelet said. “That’s why it’s important and it continues to be important. The university and other institutions in this community have contributed greatly to that, and I hope that will continue for a long time.”

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More important than the awards, collaborations and connections is how accessible Ancelet made his work to those outside of the academic world.

He brought Festivals Acadiens et Creoles to Lafayette 40 years ago.

He served as the host of Eunice’s Rendez-Vous des Cajuns for a decade.

He showcased his findings not only through scholarly journals but through radio and television shows, through jokes, through folk crafts.

“You sneak information to people when they think they’re being entertained,” Ancelet said. “You use whatever it takes to get the story out.”

Whether teaching inside or outside of the classroom, Ancelet ensured there would be a new generation out there to carry on the process developed by his generation.

“We’re looking to preserve not the thing, but the process that produces these wonderful things,” Ancelet said. “If you preserve the thing, then you freeze dry it, and it’s under glass. But if you preserve the process that produces these things, then it will continue to evolve to produce new things that you couldn’t have anticipated.”

More online

View a video interview with Barry Ancelet at theadvertiser.com.

Ancelet’s books

“Second Line Rescue: Improvised Responses to Katrina and Rita,” (with Marcia Gaudet and Carl Lindhal). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013.

“Le trou dans le mur: Fabliaux cadiens,” (pseud. Jean Arceneaux). Moncton: Editions Perce-Neige, 2012.

“Tout Bec Doux: The Complete Cajun Comics of Ken Meaux and Earl Comeaux,” edited with critical introductions (with Fabrice Leroy). Lafayette: University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2011.

“Dictionary of Louisiana French As Spoken in Cajun, Creole and American Indian Communities,” co-authored with Albert Valdman, Kevin Rottet, Tom Klingler, Amanda LaFleur, Richard Guidry, Tamara Lindner, Michael Picone, and Dominique Ryon. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

“One Generation at a Time: Biography of a Cajun and Creole Music Festival,” with photographs by Philip Gould. Lafayette: University of Louisiana Center for Louisiana Studies, 2007.

“Suite du loup: poésies, chansons et autres textes“ (pseud. Jean Arceneaux). Moncton: Editions Perce-Neige, 1998.

“Cajun and Creole Folktales: The French Oral Tradition of South Louisiana.” New York: Garland Publishing / University Press of Mississippi, 1994 (Choice Outstanding Academic Book of 1994; American Folklore Society Alcée Fortier Award, 1994).

“Je suis cadien“ (pseud. Jean Arceneaux). Cajun Writers Chapbook 2. Merrick, NY: Cross-Cultural Communications, 1994; anthologized in Anthologie de la poésie acadienne, éd. Serge-Patrice Thibodeau. Moncton: Editions Perce-Neige, 2009: 126-134; anthologized (extract) in Points de départs language program, Pearson Education, San Francisco, 2011.

“Cajun Country,” Folklife in the South series, co-authored with Jay Edwards and Glen Pitre. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991.

“The Makers of Cajun Music / Musiciens cadiens et créoles,” with photographs by Elemore Morgan, Jr. Austin: University of Texas Press; and Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec; 1984 (Louisiana Library Association Honor Book, 1985); revised edition, Cajun and Creole Music Makers (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999).

“Acadie tropicale,” ed. Lafayette: Éditions de la Nouvelle Acadie, 1983.

“Anthologie: Littérature française de la Louisiane,” ed., with Mathé Allain. Bedford, NH: National Bilingual Materials Development Center, 1981.

“Cris sur le bayou: Naissance d’une poésie acadienne et créole en Louisiane,” ed. Montréal: Éditions Intermède, 1980.