Kate Chopin 
Bayou Folk 

Bayou Folk (1894) is a collection of 23 short stories that tell of life in 19th century Louisiana – on the bayou, in small towns, plantations, and New Orleans. It’s a kaleidoscope of locations, types of stories, and races of characters – whites, Creoles, Acadians, ‘Negros’, and ‘Mulattoes’ are all mixed together here. Most are poor and many are illiterate. The stories take place mostly after the Civil War.