Adrien Emmanuel Rouquette, Louisiana's most distinguished poet, was
born at New Orleans, February 13, 1813, the scion of an old and
honorable Creole family, and the brother of Francois Dominique
Rouquette (1810-1890), who was also a poet of much merit. From his
boyhood he had a great fancy for the American Indian, and among them
he spent many of his early years. His academic training was begun at
Transylvania University of Lexington, Kentucky, but as the old
matriculation books have disappeared, it now seems quite impossible to
definitely fix his period of residence. From Lexington Rouquette
journeyed to Paris, France, where he studied at the Royal College and
at Nantes and Remnes. He was graduated from Remnes, March 26, 1833,
and at once returned to New Orleans. He had, however, developed into
such an unconventional fellow his family decided that a law course in
Paris was what he needed, so back to the capital of the French he
went. He soon abandoned the law and again returned to New Orleans,
where he took up his abode among the Indians. In 1841 Rouquette
published his first and best book of poems, written wholly in French,
entitled _Les Savanes_ (Paris and New Orleans). Nearly all of the
poems were upon Louisiana subjects, save the finest one, _Souvenir de
Kentucky_, an exquisite memorial of his Kentucky days, written in
1838. As he was partly educated in Kentucky and in praise of Kentucky
wrote his masterpiece, this State has a double claim upon him which,
though secondary to that of Louisiana, is none the less legitimate. In
1842 the poet began his studies for the priesthood, and three years
later he was ordained and attached to the Catholic cathedral at New
Orleans. His subsequent works include _Discours prononce a la
Cathedral de Saint Louis_ (New Orleans, 1846); _Wild Flowers_ (New
Orleans, 1848); _La Thebaide en Amerique_ (New Orleans, 1852);
_L'Antoniade_ (New Orleans, 1860), a long poem in which a solitary
life is extolled; _Poemes patriotiques_ (New Orleans, 1860); _St.
Catherine Tegehkwitha_ (New Orleans, 1873); and, _La Nouvelle Atala_
(New Orleans, 1879). In 1859 the Abbé Rouquette established a mission
for the Choctaw Indians on the Bayou Lacombe, to which work he gave
the larger part of his life. Rouquette also turned into French the
poems of Estelle Anna Lewis (1824-1880), the Baltimore woman whom Poe
admired; and he edited _Selections from the Poets of all Countries_.
The three great Louisiana writers, Rouquette, the poet, Fortier, the
critic, and Gayarré, the historian, published pamphlets condemnatory
of Mr. George W. Cable's conceptions of Creole life and history as set
forth in his many books. The Abbé sent his out anonymously, entitled
_Critical Dialogue between Aboo and Caboo on a New Book, or a
Grandissime Ascension_, edited by E. Junius (Great Publishing House of
Sam Slick Allspice, 12 Veracity street, Mingo City, 1880). From the
Creole standpoint _The Grandissimes_ most probably deserved to be
satirized, but not in the cheap and easy manner of this little
pamphlet. It was a very unhappy swan-song of senility for the Abbé
Rouquette. He died at New Orleans, July 15, 1887, lamented by his city
and state. Sainte-Beuve, though recognizing the influence of
Chateaubriand in Rouquette's work, praised him highly, as did many of
the other famous French critics of his day and generation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. _Cyclopaedia of American Literature_, by E. A. and
G. L. Duyckinck (New York, 1856); _Louisiana Studies_, by Alcée
Fortier (New Orleans, 1894); _Literature of the Louisiana
Territory_, by A. N. DeMenil (St. Louis, 1904).