Republicans, Democrats or Independents — no matter what your political inclination, it’s difficult not to be interested in the life and times of the flamboyant former governor of Louisiana, Edwin W. Edwards.

If your curiosity is piqued, be sure to calendar the Thursday, Feb. 21 presentation by reporter and author Leo Honeycutt at 6 p.m. at the Vidalia branch of the Concordia Parish Library.

Honeycutt, an award-winning television journalist, will give the inside scoop on Edwards’ life and politics, telling stories that he knows first-hand from his years of covering the former governor’s administration, and his in-depth research that has led to his soon-to-be-published biography of one of the most famous governors ever.

Co-sponsors Concordia Parish Library and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office invite the public to attend this free, extremely informative event at the newly remodeled library located on Texas Street in Vidalia. Concordia’s Clerk of Court Clyde Ray Webber will present the evening’s welcome.

Honeycutt’s easy-going, but factual style is sure to hold your interest as he relates the stories of the ever-popular Edwards, who is now 80 years old, leading the state through his four terms as governor, and later being convicted of racketeering charges.

Many residents of the Miss-Lou region are familiar with Honeycutt through his co-hosting of the south Louisiana morning television show, 2une In, at WBRZ in Baton Rouge from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1993 to 1999.

Edwards selected Honeycutt as his official biographer in 2005, after the reporter wrote the acclaimed novel, “Over the Edge,” fictionalizing his many news stories of the drug trade. After two years of exhaustive research and numerous interviews with the controversial former governor, the biography’s publication is scheduled for this year.

Honeycutt, who has won numerous Associated Press awards for journalism, has had a long, varied and exciting career in the journalism, public relations and publishing field. He has also worked as director of media and media investor relations for Manville Corporation, a Fortune 500 conglomerate. He is now president of Honeycutt Communications, LLC.

If you enjoy the intertwining of history and politics, please attend this Thursday, Feb. 21, event at the Concordia Parish Library in Vidalia as Leo Honeycutt separates the fact from the fiction surrounding the life of Edwin W. Edwards.

Bobbie Calhoun is the library board president.