Posted in Friends, New Orleans on March 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Our estimable pal Jed Horne has this piece about the “new” New Orleans, and the challenges ahead. It’s a very clear-eyed overview, and worth a read if you’re intersted in the future of the 504.
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 Friends, New Orleans on January 14, 2008 | Comments Off
The other day I mentioned our friend Jennifer Shaw’s show at Farrington Smith in New Orleans, and her related book: Hurricane Story. The show has been extended through January 19, if you happen to be in New Orleans.
And if you don’t, well, the book Hurricane Story (paperback; $30) is now available to all via Lulu.com [...]
Posted in Friends, New Orleans on December 13, 2007 | No Comments »
E & I recently returned from a trip to New Orleans. We were there, as mentioned previously, for the opening of E’s photography show Soldier Portraits. It was a nice trip, and I thought I’d pass along some highlights of interest. We hadn’t been in N.O. for a while, and I’ll spare you my [...]
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 Friends, New Orleans on September 20, 2007 | No Comments »
Friend of no notes Lauren Cerand passes along news of this project: A German filmmaker traveling around the U.S. looking for “1000 stories.” (A U.S. filmmaker will do the same in Germany). Details:
During their month-long journeys, each filmmaker will write about his experiences, collect stories, and conduct interviews, posted daily as a video weblog, or [...]
Posted in Friends, New Orleans on August 27, 2007 | No Comments »
It would appear that today is the official publication date of Down In New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City, by certified friend of LfNO, Billy Sothern. Just yesterday I read a very surprising assertion somewhere or other suggesting that there hadn’t been much storytelling from people who lived through Katrina. Well, if you’re looking [...]
Posted in Friends, New Orleans on April 7, 2007 | Comments Off
It’s actually not clear to me how I ended up on the mailing list of NOLAFugees, an online magazine. Did I sign up for it? Do I know these people? But in any case, I’m on it, and as far as I can tell they are perfectly fine people. In fact, I’ll just say they’re [...]
Posted in Friends, New Orleans on March 5, 2007 | Comments Off
I guess I can’t announce every new installment of Josh Neufeld’s “After the Deluge” project, since it’s going to go on for a long time and there will be a lot of it. So after this, it’ll be up to you to keep track on your own, if you want to. Anyway Chapter One just [...]
Posted in Friends, New Orleans on February 2, 2007 | Comments Off
Our old pal Josh Neufeld has a new comics project moving along on the World Wide Web. It’s called After The Deluge, and it’s about Katrina. Here’s part one, here’s part two — it’s going to be an epic, looks like. Check it out.
[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.
