Sam Irwin: author, Photojournalist, musician
Sam Irwin is the author of
Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean
Sam Irwin, Author
Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean
The hunt for red crawfish is the thing, the raison d'etre, of Acadian spring. Introduced to Louisiana by the swamp dwellers of the Atchafalaya Basin, the crawfish is a regional favorite that has spurred a $210 million industry. Whole families work at the same fisheries, and annual crawfish festivals dominate the social calendar. More importantly, no matter the occasion, folks take their boils seriously: they'll endure line cutters, heat and humidity, mosquitoes and high gas prices to procure crawfish for their families' annual backyard boils or their corporate picnics.
"Louisiana Crawfish"...a brief review
Louisiana Crawfish" should be read by all Louisianaians who only know about crawfish as a culinary delight. The brief history of the origin of the people who settled in South Louisiana was interesting. It, the book, was especially interesting to me as I have been to most of the areas mentioned and eaten in many of the restaurants. Laissez le Bon Temps roulez. re your customers raving about you on social media? Share their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones. - Ev! on Amazon.com
Sam hit a home run!
I was highly impressed by this book. Sam did a phenomenal job capturing the heart of Cajun country. As a native of Breaux Bridge, I was struck by his descriptions of people and places I grew up with. It brought back so many memories. I was also blown away by his humor. He wrote the definitive description of Leon Leo Breaux, Eternal Crawfish King. And it was necessary as no book from Acadia explains it so well. I recommend that everyone in Cajun land and everyone else read this book. And I recommend that Sam get to work on his next one. 👍👍 - Brenda on Amazon.com
Fiction
Sam Irwin has written a number of short stories and a very funny novel called The Ransom of Red Goat.
It Happens In Louisiana: Peculiar Tales, Traditions & Recipes From the Bayou
Only in the Bayou State do Louisianans travel door to door on horseback collecting gumbo ingredients for Mardi Gras gatherings. Residents compete in egg pâquer contests to see who can crack their opponent's Easter egg first. Louisiana is a place where frequent collisions with natural disasters can inspire a drink like Pat O'Brien's famous hurricane. And the state's history is filled with colorful figures like Governor Earl K. Long, whose wife committed him to a mental institution--only for him to use his political pull to inspire his own release. Elsewhere these accounts may seem odd or farfetched, but it all happens in Louisiana. Join author Sam Irwin as he details these intriguing Pelican State stories with pithy observations, humorous asides and droll determinations.
From the Forward by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
On Good Friday five years ago, I was sitting in the deep shade on a picnic blanket in the yard of my good friend Greg Guirard, a celebrated swamp photographer who also is a crawfisherman, writer, environmental crusader, salvager of sinker cypress and host of Pie Day in the Henderson, Louisiana area. A throng of friends had contributed pies to his annual affair—sweet pies, crawfish pies, fruit pies—anything but meat pies since meat is forbidden until nightfall on Good Friday. Pie Day is a centuries-old Catholic tradition that has been forgotten in France and nearly forgotten in Louisiana.
Greg, who is not religious, keeps it up because his late mother used to host a local Pie Day. He can’t bear to see the tradition die.
I think that is why Sam Irwin is writing here with such eloquence and authority. He experienced all these things, and he doesn’t want to see them die. As developers divide up the sugarcane fields, as Cajun French disappears with the younger generations, as places that used to be hard to get to become accessible, Sam doesn’t want to see something good die.
I once had a home near little Amy’s (pronounced Ah-me) Grocery in workaday Henderson. By the time I lived in Henderson, Amy’s had been reduced to mostly beer and cigarettes. But once it was a real grocery store in a town that knows its groceries and was owned by Sam’s grandfather. His family members also were pioneers in the crawfish industry. Sam Irwin is what I call bona fide.
Guest Speaker
Sam Irwin is available for speaking engagements for a variety of events. Book him. He puts on a pretty good show!
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