Posted in Announcements, Friends on February 20, 2008 | No Comments »
E is looking for some help with a new photography project.
She is seeking handmade/homemade Mardi Gras costumes to photograph. You may or may not wear or use costumes yourself — but maybe you know some people who do? Just trying to help get the word out.
E is going to be in New Orleans for a [...]
Posted in Announcements, New Orleans on November 27, 2007 | 1 Comment »
PhotoNOLA is “a monthlong celebration of photography in New Orleans.” Many interesting exhibitions at many venues, with events from November 30 through December 15.
I direct your attention in particular to:
“Ellen Susan: Soldier Portraits“
December 1, 2007 - February 7, 2008.
New [...]
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", 1. St. James (+ Tangents), Announcements, Friends, Letters From New Orleans book, Versions on November 19, 2007 | 2 Comments »
I’m very excited to report that I recently had the opportunity to guest-host my favorite music podcast, The Sounds In My Head, normally hosted by Daniel Dunham. Naturally I took that opportunity, and filled my entire episode with versions of “SJI.” As of Monday November 19, that is available here. Check it out!
If you’re coming [...]
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Announcements, Letters From New Orleans book on October 1, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Amazingly enough, this month marks the two-year anniversary of this site — still, so far as I know, the world’s only one-song blog.
That means it’s been more than two years since I updated the “St. James Infirmary” essay, and there are some things I’d like to add to it or change, based on all the [...]
Posted in Announcements on September 13, 2007 | No Comments »
I recently revived communication with someone I met via email after LfNO, and this happened to occur right as Hurricane Felix was closing in on Nicaragua. My correspondent happens to have connections to Nicaragua, and had particular concerns for the Miskito Indians there. She has since passed along this link, which I pass along to [...]
Posted in Announcements on July 5, 2007 | No Comments »
By the way, I changed the look of this site recently, responding to some feedback that the old design was, frankly, hard to read. Early responses to this change seem positive. If you have thoughts — pro or con, or suggestions for other improvements — let me know .
Posted in Announcements on April 24, 2007 | Comments Off
During the long quasi-hiatus when I was neglecting this site while finishing a completely unrelated book draft, I did continue to acquire new versions of “SJI.”
I’ll be writing about those soon, but first I have a brief clerical note on version-acquisition.
When I set up the first iteration of this site, I was interested in making [...]
Posted in Announcements on April 3, 2007 | No Comments »
So. After a lot of second-guessing myself, and a lot of hassle, and more than a few moments when I was pretty certain I’d made a bad decision: Here’s the all-new, and I-sure-hope improved, “no notes” web site.
The best thing about this new version, I believe, is the “categories” feature in the sidebar at left. [...]
[Or: The Point of this Site]
A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a third version.
And now, this site: A place to collect some of the links, leads, thoughts, and suggestions relating to the song that readers (from Finland, The Netherlands, Australia, Spain, England, Sweden, Canada, and all over the U.S.) have sent me. This may lead to a fourth and significantly expanded version of the essay, some day. Also on this site: Plenty of tangents.
Never heard "St. James Infirmary"? Start here.
The most recent version of my "St. James Infirmary" essay is now a few years old. But it's still a fairly decent overview of what I know about the song, and why I'm interested in it. You can read it either in the book Letters from New Orleans (see below), or in the archives of The Gambit, the New Orleans weekly that published the piece as a book excerpt when LfNO came out.
This site is a partial spinoff of the book Letters from New Orleans, published by the unstoppable Garrett County Press. My interest in "St. James Infirmary" is the subject of one essay in the book. All author proceeds from the book still go to post-Katrina relief efforts, so I think it's okay for me to say: You ought to buy it.
