The Neighborhood Story Project strikes again, this time bringing us open letters from the men and women responsible for the behind-the-scenes ballet that facilitates a bunch of faster-than-normal horses carrying smaller-than-normal people to run around a dirt track for spectators who gamble and gasp at photograph finishes. The newest NSP exhibition will be on display … The Neighborhood Story Project takes it to the track
The local reading series 17 Poets recently announced its spring lineup. Although it includes seven events stretched over several months and a number of people who I imagine are perfectly decent writers, the only thing you really have to remember is that Eileen Myles is going to read on April 28, because if you forget … 17 Poets Spring Calendar Plus Holy Shit Eileen Myles
Octavia Books owner Tom Lowenburg has taken the closing of the Borders Books on St. Charles as an impetus to invite the book-buying community to join an open discussion on what we want from our local independent bookstores. As a space that functions as a business, an event space, and a venue where people and … How Should a Local Bookstore Be? — Community Forum at Octavia
Eric Baus lulls the reader into a kind of synesthetic, surreal state—hands become blind, articles become defined objects—there is no limit to his language. With lines so elegantly executed, you almost forget how complex they are. The world of his poems feels nostalgic, rural, and at times innocent, but never mundane, and almost always haunting. … Eric Baus reads at the Ogden Saturday, March 19
MEENA : An Introduction to Arabic Culture Tuesdays , March 15th-April 19th @ Antenna Gallery 7:00 – 9:00 pm $80/ 6 week course, includes Egyptian feast during final class sponsored by Meena, the Zeitoun Foundation and Press Street/Room 220. Explore various aspects of Arabic culture—from faith, literature, music, and film to the alphabet and basic … MEENA : An Introduction to Arabic Culture
Okay, who wants to guess who the smartest person in the room is? That’s right, motherfuckers: Me. The combination of Ian Baucom’s droll British delivery and the fact that the ideas he communicates rigorously exercise even the most astute minds gives one the impression that the next reading hosted by the Tulane English Department … Ian Baucom at Tulane on March 16
Photo by Mario Tama The new issue of the New Orleans Review features a strong essay by Brad Richard on the issues a poet faces when writing about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The disaster prompted an engorged number of poems, essays, books, and stories, and the essay, excerpted here, explains why some of them … A Poetics of Disaster: An Essay by Brad Richard (excerpt)
NOCCA will host the launch of Andre Perry’s new book, The Garden Path: The Miseducation of a City this Sunday, February 27, at 5:30 p.m. The event will feature an interview taped live for Susan Larson’s The Reading Life radio show on WWNO 89.9. Octavia has some additional information on the book and the event, … Andre Perry at NOCCA this Sunday
By Taylor Murrow Endlessly fascinated and inspired by the magnetic world of fairy tales, Kate Bernheimer has dedicated her life and career to preserving the art form through her own literature and editorship. She has published novels, children’s books, and short story collections (the most recent of which is Horse, Flower, Bird), in addition to … An Interview with Kate Bernheimer, Guardian of Fairy Tales
When the fabled Comédie-Française chose the first American play it would perform in its 330 years, producers promised a fresh French approach to Tennessee Williams’ “Streetcar Named Desire.” They hinted that an androgynous Stanley Kowalski would trade his form-fitting T-shirt for a brief appearance in the nude. They debated whether Blanche DuBois and Stella should … “Streetcar” in Paris, Hold the T-Shirt
