January 7, 2014 by D.W.

Dalt Wonk – The Riddles of Existence

Brand new card game for Carnival enthusiasts from one of my favorite illustrators, Dalt Wonk (whose name resembles my real signature way too closely!)

The Riddles of Existence is an oversized deck of fifty cards, each with a full-colored figure wearing a costume. Beneath the illustration, there is a riddle in verse. The costume is the answer, or hint, to the riddle. This is the game. The illustrations and the verse provide great pleasure, above and beyond, the game. There is also a card with the answers to The Riddles of Existence for those who are stumped.

Dalt Wonk – THE RIDDLES OF EXISTENCE | Octavia Books | New Orleans, Louisiana – Independent Bookstore.

other work: http://www.daltwonk.com/illustrated-texts/

January 2, 2014 by DW

Dispatches From New Orleans, Vol. 3: A Literary Interlude Starring William Faulkner and Vince Carter – The Triangle Blog – Grantland

An excellent trip through the remaining bookstores of the Quarter and its people and oddities. I’d keep this column as a reference if I were you…Although, his worry about being judged by the booksellers of the Quarter when browsing or buying is entirely unwarranted. If anyone cares less about your preferences than the people of the Quarter, I don’t know who they are.
Rembert Browne (@rembert) is a staff writer for Grantland.

Dispatches From New Orleans, Vol. 3: A Literary Interlude Starring William Faulkner and Vince Carter – The Triangle Blog – Grantland.

December 16, 2013 by DW

200 years in one book

My pal Dr. Nancy Dixon has just released her amazing anthology of New Orleans literature with fascinating historical and literary introductions by herself.

The reason this book was undertaken by this busy university professor was that the lack of a current anthology hampered her teaching and limited regular folks’ access to the treasure trove of authors that have written about our beloved city. I agree; if this had been around when I was a lit-hungry teenager roaming the Quarter, I could have expanded my knowledge of good writing and my own city so much more and probably reduced the petty crime/nuisance levels around Jackson Square for a few specific years.

From the first play performed in the city, to the details on the Creoles of color and the Los Isleños community, all the way to current writers, (she did stop before 2005 which makes me hope for her post 2005-levee break anthology to come along later), Dr. Dixon gives you a sweet sampling of great writers and/or great pieces to pick up at your leisure. Read a few and then to go to your local dusty used bookstore to dive deeper into those works that appeal to you.

Author Nancy Dixon and me at one of her first public book signings for N.O. Lit: 200 years of New Orleans Literature

great local bookstores have it in stock:

http://www.octaviabooks.com/event/nancy-dixon-no-lit

or buy it directly from the publisher and get it inscribed:

http://www.lavenderink.org/content/catalog/210-nolit

November 4, 2013 by DW

200 Years of New Orleans Literature

So looking forward to this book coming out. Partly because it’s sorely needed and partly because the author is my pal and I think I know how much critical thinking and good old-fashioned writing was expended to undoubtedly create a cohesive, yet original overview of the best that New Orleans had offered the world in written form.

The blurb , written by her publisher Bill Lavender:

N.O. Lit: 200 Years of New Orleans Literature, edited by Nancy Dixon– Dr. Dixon taught New Orleans literature for more than a decade at UNO before accepting a professorship at Dillard, and she always wanted a single text that she could assign for that course. Well, she has remedied that situation now and put together the most comprehensive collection of the literature of the city ever. This book will be some 550 densely packed pages of poetry, drama, and prose, beginning with The Heroism of Poucha-Houmma, the 1809 drama of Louisiana life prior to the arrival of the French and Spanish conquerors, going through Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Tom Dent, Truman Capote, and about 40 others, up to the present day, with a general introduction and individual introductions all by Dr. Dixon. It should be out this year.

I hear that some early events will happen this year; best way to know is to check the Lavender Ink site regularly.

October 28, 2013 by DW

Unfathomable City

Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas by Rebecca Solnit

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wrote an earlier review of this book ( I keep busy) and have now decided to update it since receiving the actual published book as I used the advanced reader copy for the previous review and now after reading more of it in a different location than the last time and viewing all of the maps that weren’t in the ARC and let me share that I did all of that new stuff all on All Saints Day, no less. Told you: multitudes.

I decided to do it without the cranky insertion of MY New Orleans up front that was in the previous review and to simply state that it’s a well designed, well-edited and at times beautifully written and illustrated homage to our mysterious city.
This book gives credit where credit is due. To the city’s geography, to its outlandish robber barons of bananas and oil, to the nameless and named that have brought us and bring us music, food, and public displays and joy and sorrow and pain and punishment. It neatly shows a number of juxtapositions that may be uncomfortable for some to view and others that are certainly unfathomable, but it does show them. There. credit given.
Now, back to me:
If you look through my reviews, you can spot a certain fondness for maps. I love them and love poring over them before, during or in spite of actually traveling to the place depicted.
If you read my reviews, you will no doubt spot a serious fondness for essayists. I admire what seems to me to be honest human bravery in extending a point or a purpose to a new end. Taking a walk with an author is how I visualize an essay, and yes there are times that I turn back before getting to the end, but I still appreciate the offer. So maps and essays seem like two sides of one coin and when put together well can alter or color each other’s point and purpose.

So that this is a book of illusory and real maps combined with odd and delightful essays, edited by two sensitive writers is enough for me to tell you.

Let me let the writers and artists tell you themselves in essays and maps such as:

Civil rights and Lemon Ice

Hot and Steamy: Selling Seafood and Selling Sex

Ebb and Flow: Migrations of the Houma, Erosions of the Coast

Juju and Cuckoo: Taking Care of Crazy

Stationary Revelations: Sites of Contemplation and Delight

The first essays introducing this book are alone worth poring over and sharing; how often is that true? That should tell you about the care and thought put into this entire work and offer the best reason to plunk down your money, open it and thumb through while having a Pimm’s or a coffee in front of you, tucked away in a shady corner of our shared city. Enjoy it all.

View all my reviews

French Quarter block by block

History, people, fables and critical essays on the 24/7 life of the French Quarter. “The great music of the city is…when you say good morning and good evening.” (Mr. Jerome Smith)

Category Archives: book reviews

Dalt Wonk – The Riddles of Existence

Dispatches From New Orleans, Vol. 3: A Literary Interlude Starring William Faulkner and Vince Carter – The Triangle Blog – Grantland

200 years in one book

200 Years of New Orleans Literature

Unfathomable City

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: