From Publishers Weekly
The New Orleans of legend might be gone, but it's not forgotten, as evidenced by this reverential anthology of poems and essays by current and former Big Easy residents and a number of artist-types who have visited and departed, but remain infatuated. James, co-founder of the New Orleans-based Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, keeps the selections brief but beguiling: There are tributes to food, of course, "the very best food, ingenious dishes created from a poor people's basics: beans, rice, okra, fish, crabs, oysters, shrimp, peppers, garlic, onions, file..." Ella Brennan, owner of Commander's Palace, writes of the education she received in that venerable New Orleans institution. Paul Prudhomme of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen recalls his experiences in the restaurant business and the influences the city has had on him: "It nudges you to be what you need to be." Wynton Marsalis, Charmaine Neville and writer Christopher Rice pay homage to the city's rich music history and libertine philosophy. But barely heralded here are the darker things for which New Orleans is famous: corruption, voodoo and violence. By addressing these aspects, James might have given depth to this sentimental work, a charming but incomplete look at a beloved American city.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Rosemary James, a former reporter for
The New Orleans States-Item and WWL-TV, is cofounder of The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to writers and their readers. The author of
Plot or Politics, she and her husband own Faulkner House Books, one of the country's most famous bookstores and the heart of the literary scene in New Orleans.
