In 1515, Pope Leo X tried to cancel the bible. Well, Gutenberg’s bible. It’s hard to imagine now, but back then printed books were considered a threat. Literacy among the wider population could undermine the influence of the Church.

In all, Gutenberg produced 180 copies of his Bible. Today, 280 characters on Twitter is how you change the world. So what room is there for the study of letters? And what about the original tweet: Short Fiction?

Recovering lawyer, author Jim Lambert

Jim Lambert spent a career in law before putting his shoulder to the wheel of the metaverse and starting to write short fiction. Jim took creative writing courses with the late, great Ernest Gaines at UL, and published his first compilation of short stories, Sub Rosa, in 2021. Jim specializes in a kind of “hidden history” — finding nuggets of under-documented history and spinning them into fictionalized narratives. In a very non-fictional world, Jim is also a spiritual mentor for inmates at Louisiana’s Angola Prison.

ULL Dean of Liberal Arts, Jordan Kellman

Speaking of second acts, according to Jordan Kellman, Dean of UL’s College of Liberal Arts, adult enrollment has boomed at UL Lafayette. A key component of that is the Complete LA program which gives discounted tuition to adults looking to finish their degrees. These late bloomers are attending an institution rising in prominence. UL, as you may have heard, attained R1 status, recognizing it as a top research university.

Dr. Kellman holds a PhD in the History of Science and French History and has served as liberal arts dean since 2012.

Jim Lambert, Christiaan Mader and Jordan Kellman, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos

Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded live over lunch at Tula Tacos and Amigos in downtown Lafayette. Photos by Astor Morgan.

And you can hear recent lunchtime conversation about the benefits of a UL education with the Dean of the grad school and the benefits of dropping out from entrepreneur Josh Goree.