Literary New Orleans

Rating:
Summary: A portrait of the capital of Southern belles lettres
Review: "There is something about New Orleans that makes writers happy."--Andrei Codrescu

New Orleans is a melting pot that has been stirred by French, Spanish, African, and Carribean influences. From the labyrinthine cobblestone streets of the Vieux Carré, the somber elegance of the Garden District, and the bayous and banks of the Mississippi River to the above-ground St. Louis Cemetery, sexy steamy Storyville, and Tin Pan Alley, the Crescent City is one of the longest running literary salons in American history. It is also a city of many contradictions, mysteries, and surprises that have been celebrated the world over. Whether born there or simply passing through, writers have been inspired by New Orleans for centuries, and, in the pages of LITERARY NEW ORLEANS, her stories are finally told.

Illuminating vignettes of fact and fiction from:

Sherwood Anderson, Louis Armstrong, John James Audubon, Arna Bontemps, Sheila Bosworth, James Lee Burke, Robert Olen Butler, George Washington Cable, Truman Capote, Pierre F.X. de Charlevoix, Kate Chopin, Andrei Codrescu, Tom Dent, Adelaide Stuart Dimitry, Tony Dunbar, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, William Faulkner, Henry Bradshaw Fearon, Ellen Gilchrist, Sister Hachard de Saint-Stanislas, Lafacadio Hearn, Lilliam Hellman, O. Henry, Zora Neale Hurston, Thomas Jefferson, Graace King, Brenda Marie Osbey, Walker Percy, De Rémonville, Ishmael Reed, Lyle Saxon, John Kennedy Toole, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman,

Tennessee Williams, and Christine Wiltz

A sampler of Literary New Orleans:

>Mark Twain discovering the meaning of "lagniappe" while "taking a jog through the French Quarter" with George Washington Cable.

>Walt Whitman's recollections of Sunday mornings at the old French Market.

>John James Audubon watching "Green Back Swallows Gambolling over the City and River."

>Zora Neale Hurston's account of learning hoodoo from Marie Leveau's nephew.

>William Faulkner's satiric account the artistic life in the French Quarter, known as "Greenwich Village South."

>Louis Armstrong's memories of "the good old days of Storyville."

>Tour the remarkable cemeteries of New Orleans, "the true cities of the dead," with Walker Percy.

>The irreverent curbside manner of Paradise hot dog vendor Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces.

>Andrei Codrescu seeing his muse while drinking coffee in the Lafayette Cemetery.

Judy Long is editor-in-chief at Hill Street Press.

Patricia Brady is the author of several books and director of publications at the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Rating:
Summary: Literary New Orleans is a feast for the mind
Review: All the talk of food in this book made me get up and start cooking, but after a meal of shrimp creole, I could not wait to get back in my easy chair and feed my mind by reading this anthology. Armstong, Jefferson, and Capote all in one book. The in-depth biographical entries before each selection taught me much about the authors and New Orleans. Sheila Bosworth is a favorite, and I was happy to see her included. I was also glad to see an earlier work by James Lee Burke included, rather than the expected piece from his Robicheaux novels. Overall, a fine anthology.

Rating:
Summary: Captures the spirit of the Crescent City
Review: I grew up in New Orleans and often awake to find myself wandering the city's streets in my dreams. Literary New Orleans captures the spirit of my beloved hometown with selections ranging from Audubon's journal entries describing his wanderings in the city in 1821 to Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Brenda Marie Osbey's "Faubourg." There are some rare finds here, including Tennessee Williams's poem, "Mornings on Bourbon Street," and Robert Olen Butler's "Relic," about a Vietnamese man in New Orleans who owns one of John Lennon's shoes. I commend Long for including a selection by the late Tom Dent, a writer important to us. Excerpts from memoirs by both Louis Armstrong and Lillian Hellman give the reader a true feel for growing up in the Crescent City. I love this anthology, and reading it made me so hungry for New Orleans that I have booked the next flight down. Galatoire's here I come.

Rating:
Summary: New Orleans native says, "Buy this book."
Review: I have seen books on New Orleans come and go, but Literary New Orleans is here to stay. Why? Because it combines history, fiction, essays, memoir, and poetry. I grew up here, and I learned things I never knew. For instance, Audubon gave drawing lessons here, Zora Neale Hurston learned Hoo-Doo here, and Walt Whitman worked for a paper here. My favorite is Ishamael Reed's take on Mardi Gras...Priceless.

Rating:
Summary: A Geniune Portrait of New Orleans
Review: I love the Big Easy, but hate the crowds. Reading this book made me feel that I was there--and here I am sitting in my home in New York and dreaming of walking the streets of N.O. with Audubon, Twain, Faulkner, and Codrescu, and the incredibly talented Brenda Marie Osbey. This is an excellent anthology.

Rating:
Summary: New Orleans brought to full life in a fine collection.
Review: In this day and age the art of collecting fine literary pieces on any subject has almost become extinct due to the exorbitant fees demanded by estates. So it is with genuine pleasure I see that it has been possible for Judy Long to put together and edit this rewarding collection focused on New Orleans in history and fiction. Besides expected classic pieces by Audubon, Twain, Chopin, Anderson, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Grace King, Walker Percy, and Capote there are some really rare gems here, e.g. by Thomas Jefferson, Louis Armstrong (yes, him), Arna Bontemps, Ishmael Reed, and the absolute terrific "The Muse Is Always Half-dressed in New Orleans" by Andrei Codrescu. I imagine that Eudora Welty and Shirley Ann Grau are not included only because too much were charged for the right to print their views of the crescent city. I recommend this book. Jan Nordby Gretlund

Rating:
Summary: Take this with you
Review: This anthology is a great companion volume to take on a visit to New Orleans. Enjoy these selections with some beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde or over a bloody Mary in the court of 2 sisters. If you love New Orleans you can't miss with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Just the right touch!
Review: Wow. What a nice book. Just the right presentation of New Orleans. I love everything about New Orleans and have read some other nice books, but many are too academic or are just a few stories, all fiction. By mixng fiction and nonfiction in this many selections you get a real feel for the history and color of the city. Great job. And, I love paperbacks with flaps.