Southeastern English professor and assistant editor for Louisiana Literature David Armand has just published a memoir and volume of poems. Armand was raised in Folsom parish and has had no short list of various jobs; he has been a draftsman, drywall hanger and press operator for a flag printing factory.

His memoir, My Mother’s House is about how Armand was removed from his house and place for adoption as a baby. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle but later suffered the actions of his uncle, who became abusive as well as an suffered from alcoholism. Later in life,  Armand was reunited with his biological mother after a failed suicide attempt, when Armand found her in her home after she had taken a handful of pills.

“The memoir chronicles [documents] my foray into the mental health system as I tried to get my mother the help she needed,” said Armand.

The Deep Woods, Armand’s volume of poems, deals with being a father and the importance of place and memory.

“As I raise my two children, I try to right the wrongs that were done to me as a child,” said Armand.

The poems mostly deal with Armand’s own childhood memories of growing up in the country and how he came to terms with his adoptive father and his abusive behavior, ultimately forgiving him. He passed away when Armand was 20 years old.

“The poems, however, are much more lighthearted in nature than they may sound,” said Armand.

The Deep Woods will be released this October along with another novel called The Gorge.

According to Armand, it is a murder mystery that takes place at the Bogue Chitto State Park in Franklinton, Louisiana. 

“The novel opens with a young girl’s body being discovered in Fricke’s Cave near the head of the gorge, and the subsequent suspicions that are cast among the various people in town who may have had something to do with her death,” said Armand.

Armand also agrees that the process of getting his work published is not an easy one but believes that his success lies in persistence, perseverance and professionalism.

“I try to teach this to all of my students who take creative writing with me here at Southeastern,” says Armand.

His desire to leave something of himself behind in books and stories for his children when they get older drives Armand in his writing and he continues to find inspiration from his love of Louisiana.