John Baker’s Blog

This piece from Bruce Desilva looks at a new book of short stories from James Lee Burke, and Levee Prayer, an elegy by bluesman Jimmy Thackery. Both works are inspired by Hurricane Katrina and the mess it left behind in New Orleans.

Here’s James Lee Burke, in Jesus Out to Sea:

“You woke in the morning to the smell of gardenias, the electric smell of the streetcars, chicory coffee, and stone that turned green with lichen. The light was always filtered through the trees, so it was never harsh, and the flowers bloomed year-round. New Orleans was a poem, man, a song in your heart that never died.”

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed