My New Orleans:

Ballads to the Big Easy By Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers

My New Orleans is a book of essays edited by the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society's co-founder:
Rosemary James, well known journalist, volunteer activist, and designer.
Contributors to My New Orleans are men and women who love the city for what it was pre-Katrina and what it is destined to be again if all of her sons, daughters, and lovers assume the role of heroes and heroines in the monumental task of putting her back together again.

The Faulkner Society began a series of events inspired by this group of essays in January, 2006 with My New Orleans is Her Poets. Each month, a facet of the city's unique persona is celebrated with an event highlighting the city's magnificent obsession with words and music, food and wine; its multi-layered ethnic make-up; its precious neighborhoods full of unique architectural details; its faith and tolerance; its way with people, both outsiders and its own citizens; its traditions. Joining the Society in presenting this series will be other non-profit organizations, such as the Louisiana State Museum, and businesses.

The Faulkner Society provides a forum for New Orleanians and our friends to pour out their hearts in praise of the Big Easy, while examining the elements which combine to make the city an American treasure. Our goal has been simply to keep morale high during the awesome task of restoring the city.

Co-presenter of the series is The Louisiana State Museum.

Among recent programs in the series was My New Orleans is Her Afro-American Heritage, a February 28th event celebrating Black History Month, which attracted more than 300 people for a screening of the new documentary, Faubourg Treme by Dawn Logsdon, producer and director, Lucy Faulknor, producer, and Lolis Elie, screenwriter and narrator. As a result of the high level of interest, the Society screened the film twice, once at 6 p. m. and once at 7:15 p. m.

All events of the My New Orleans series are open to the public. Reservations are requested, as the venue is limited and for purposes of planning food and beverages. Reservations may be made by e-mail: Faulkhouse@aol.com.

The final program of 2006 was My New Orleans is a Creole Christmas with a Famous Author, featured Richard Ford, whose latest novel, The Lay of the Land, was selected one of the five best books of fiction of 2006. The event attracted 225 people. Originally created as a 2006 series, the Faulkner Society and the Louisiana State Museum continued the series in 2007 because of its popularity in 2006.

My New Orleans is the Krewe of Libris
The fun event of the year was the Krewe of Libris ball celebrated on Valentine's day with readings by actors and authors from famous love stories and the crowning of Libris II and his Queen Thalia II and the Crown Prince. Love Potion Number Nine was both the special drink of the evening and the musical theme of /rythym and blues star George Rossi's rocking presentation. Mark your calendars now for Libris, 2008, which will take place on Tuesday, January 22.



Libris II, Dr. E. Quinn Peeper, a member of the Faulkner Society Board and president of the English Speaking Union,
is pictured here with his Queen, Thalia II, Margarita Bergen. The new royals were crowned during ceremonies at My New Orleans is the Krewe of Libris.

Our most recent events include:

My New Orleans is...The Stuff of Dreams, Led by Rodger Kamenetz
Program participants told dreams. Featured author was Rodger Kamenetz, best selling author of The Jew in the Lotus and now of The History of Last Night's Dream:Discovering the Hidden Path to the Soul, released in October. For more on Kamenetz and his exciting new book and other work, click here on Kamenetz. To order his book, call (504) 524-2940.

        
Kamenetz was joined by art photographer Josephine Sacabo, whose new images, Nocturnes, are a magical capturing of dreams. Ms Sacabo will talk about how her work is informed by dreams. Mark Yakich, who recently moved to New Orleans and is teaching at Loyola University of the South, told his recurring dream as did New Orleans artist Jana Napoli, whose most recent art installation, Floodwall, is now on exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge. Nathan Rothstein, Executive Director of the New Orleans Young Urban Rebuilding Professionals Initiative (NOLA YURP) told the dreams young professionals have for New Orleans. For more on Josephine, Mark, Nathan, and Jana and their work, click here on Josephine Sacabo, Mark Yackich, Jana Napoli or Nathan Rothstein. All will be participating in Words &Music, 2007.

My New Orleans is a Salute to all Great Writers, Past, Present and Yet to Come: Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner!

Featuring Faulkner Scholar W. Kenneth Holditch, this event took place on Mr. Faulkner's birthday, September 25. Dr. Holditch spoke on Faulkner's New Orleans experience and how it informed his work and then called on members of the audience to recite their favorite lines from Faulkner's work.

My New Orleans is The Road to Recovery.

     
Featured speakers included Jack Davis, long time vice president and trouble-shooter for the Tribune Corporation, who currently is an executive with a planning organization (Chicago Metropolis 2020) which is trying to improve the physical environment of Chicago and a member of the board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, working on its long-term commitment to New Orleans' recovery. Joining him at the podium was Jed Horne, recently retired news editor for The Times-Picayune and author of one of the best post-Katrina examinations, Breach of Faith. Both are Pulitzer Prize journalists, trained observers with a talent for ferreting out not only the facts but the real story behind the facts. Joshua Clark, who never left New Orleans either in advance of Katrina's arrival or in aftermath and filed reports to NPR, is author of the new memoir, Heart Like Water, and will sign at the event. New Orleans is coming back but is she in danger of losing her personality, her eccentricities, her charm, her architectural heritage? These speakers addressed the stumbling blocks to putting New Orleans in a secure posture for the future, zeroing in on the failures of federal, state, and local government. Signed copies of books by Jed Horne and Joshua Clark may be ordered from Faulkner House Books by e-mail: jsealy@faulknerhousebooks.net or by phone:(504) 524-2940. For more on Jed Horne, click here on: Jedhorne.

LSU's poet in residence, Laura Mullen gave a "stormy" reading on this two-year anniversary of the night when Katrina was barreling our way, destined to change all of our lives forever. For more on Laura, click here on Mullen.html. Her collected poems may be purchased by e-mail: jsealy@faulknerhousebooks.net or by phone: (504) 524-2940. And Tony Seville, a master of many musical instruments and forms, provided "stormy weather" music. Tony, a member of the Faulkner Society, has been playing music professionally since the mid sixties. Born “a little North of Bunkie, Louisiana,” he began traveling in 1969, spending the next 27 years on the road. Playing mostly in hotels, he followed the musical trends through jazz and R & B groups, show bands and the disco era, eventually performing in over 230 cities in five countries. In 1996, he retired from the road and returned to New Orleans, and was soon playing seven days a week on Bourbon St. in venues like Storyville Jazz Parlor, Port Orleans, The Bombay Club, Famous Door and many more. In 2003, Tony and his wife Thais bought Pirates Alley Café, and although they are actively involved in the daily operation of the business, Tony still performs two or three nights a week, currently appearing with his jazz quartet, The “Cadillacs” at Tommy’s Wine Bar. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays trumpet, flute, sax, latin percussion, keyboards and also sings. His musical style draws on his vast experience with diverse musical formats. Playing with a distinctly jazz feel, his performance has a continuity which flows through all kinds of popular music, from blues and Latin to R & B, jazz, and New Orleans standards.

All events of the My New Orleans series are open to the public. Reservations are requested, as the venue is limited and for purposes of planning food and beverages. Reservations may be made by e-mail: Faulkhouse@aol.com.

Other 2007 Events of the series have included:

My New Orleans is Her Native Sons and Daughters...and Her Adopted Children, too!


Walter Isaacson, left, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, and author of the brilliant new biography of Albert Einstein - Einstein: His Life and Universe, was featured at the May session of My New Orleans at The Cabildo. The event was a joint venture with The Louisiana State Museum. In his book, Isaacson takes the complex science associated with the great genius and makes it accessible, while drawing an unforgettable portrait of an eccentric. He appeared with Elise Blackwell. Ms. Blackwell, a Louisianian, currently teaches in the English Department of the University of South Carolina. Her compelling new novel, The Unnatural History of Cypress Parish, opens with a 90-year-old New Orleanian awaiting the landfall of Katrina and the story unfolds through this octogenarian's recollections of the great flood of the Mississippi when a decision was made to dynamite the levees below New Orleans to save the city. A marvelously drawn portrait of politics in Louisiana in the 20s as well as a compelling coming of age story. They were joined by Roy Blount, Jr., southern humorist, essayist, and entertaining lecturer. Blount's new book of personal essays, Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from the South, are a collector's must. These collected "dispatches," written over a few years, represent Blount at his best. LSU's extraordinarily talented and well published poet in residence, Laura Mullen read from her new murder mystery poem, Murmur, her fifth book of verse. For more information on these important authors and to order signed copies of their books, click on Isaacson, Blackwell , Blount, or Mullen.

Isaacson and Blount were among contributors to the anthology My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers.

Other Events, My New Orleans Series
The final event in the My New Orleans series for 2006 was December 14 at 5:30 at The Cabildo, co-presented by The Louisiana State Museum:
My New Orleans is a Creole Christmas with a Famous Writer.
It featured:

PulitzerPrize and Pen/Faulkner Prize author Richard Ford.
author of the new novel, The Lay of the Land.
Signed copies of Richard's novels and stories may be purchased by e-mail: Jsealy@faulknerhousebooks.net or by phone: (504) 524-2940.

My New Orleans is the Soul of Her People was the Faulkner Society's one-year anniversary observance of Hurricane Katrina on Sunday, August 27, with a program featuring gospel and speakers. Following the program, which took place in St. Louis Cathedral, there was a signing reception at The Cabildo. This program was presented jointly by the Faulkner Society, St. Louis Cathedral, Monsignor Crosby Kern, Rector; and The Louisiana State Museum, David Kahn, Director, along with The New Orleans Musicians Clinic, Bethany Bultman, Director, and the New Orleans Musicians' Hurricane Relief Fund, Jordan Hirsch, Director. Among the speakers will be Christopher Cooper, a New Orleans native and one-time reporter for The Times-Picayune. Chris now covers The White House for The Wall Street Journal. He is co-author with his WSJ colleague Robert Block, who covers Homeland Security, of the new non-fiction book, DISASTER: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security. DISASTER is based on exclusive interviews, the inside story of how America's emergency response system failed and how it remains dangerously broken, a frightening account by two reporters who have spent countless hours on the ground in New Orleans and Washington pursuing the story of uncaring incompetence, irresponsible inaction. For more information on the book, including reviews, click here on Disaster.

Chris Cooper, left, White House Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and Robert Block, Co-Authored DISASTER. Block covers the Department of Homeland Security for the Wall Street Journal. Ivor Van Heerden, right, Photo by Paul Kemp.

They were joined by Ivor van Heerden, author STORM: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina-The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist. This book tells "the truth about the appalling mistakes in many quarters, mistakes which Katrina flooding on August 29, 2005, and then assured that the aftermath would be so devastatingly tragic." For years, Ivor van Heerden, Deputy Director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, had warned federal, state and local officials about New Orleans's vulnerability to flooding, but his predictions went unheeded. Bureaucracy, politics and disregard of science came together to devastate this great city-a systemic failure on the part of our society. It should never have happened. Without comprehensive change across the board, it will happen again.From the moment Katrina took shape as a tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean, van Heerden and his colleagues at the Hurricane Center were on the front lines informing the public about the impending disaster, then about the evolving tragedy. LSU's now-famous storm surge models accurately predicted the Katrina flooding two days before landfall. The team's other research over the preceding years had laid out for all who cared to see the scale of the tragedy that would inevitably follow such a flood, given the state of preparations. But officials did not heed their warnings. For more on The Storm and Van Heerden, click here on: TheStorm.

The My New Orleans event at St. Louis Cathedral focused on the astounding purity of soul of New Orleanians as they faced a disaster not of their making with remarks by Cooper, Block, and Van Heerden, along with New Orleans authors:

Edward Rowley (AKA Edgar Nicaud), left, who grew up in Mandeville and Covington, LA and now lives in New Orleans, author of the new book Tremble + Ennui. For more on Ed and his book, click here on Tremble. The My New Orleans...series was inspired by the anthology of essays edited by Rosemary James, My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers. Among the most popular of the pieces in the book has been I Am Creole by Roy F. Guste, Jr., right, whose family heritage in New Orleans dates back to Bienville. The program will open with remarks by poet and fiction writer John Biguenet, whose essays in the New York Times about the experiences he and his family have had, including the complete of their home in Lakeview, have been inspiring to us all. Louisiana Poet Laureate Brenda Marie Osbey, author of the soul-stiring poetry collection, All Saints: New and Collected Poems will read from herwork and introduce Davell Crawford, famous New Orleans composer, pianist, and gospel master.

 Author John Biguenet, left, Poet Laureate Brenda Marie Osbey, and Davell Crawford, New Orleans Gospel Master

The Cathedral program focused on a gospel concert by Davell Crawford, well known composer, pianist, and gospel leader, with his ensemble of gospel singers.

Davell had just returned from a successful tour of Europe and an equally successful performance in New York. A New Orleans daughter who is equally adept at capturing the heart and soul of the Big Easy, Charmaine Neville, performed with her pianist partner, Amassa Miller, at a reception at The Cabildo event following the Cathedral program. Ms. Neville is among the contributors to the essay collection, My New Orleans. Her essay, Come as You Are, captures the soul of New Orleans, the city's legendary hospitality.

My New Orleans is Her Precious Neighborhoods

Jed Horne, author of Breach of Faith, was featured at the most recent of the My New Orleans series.

On July 27 from 6 to 8 p. m. the Faulkner Society presented My New Orleans is Her Precious Neighborhoods at The Cabildo at Jackson Square. Presented jointly with The Louisiana State Museum, the event Jed Horne, Metro Editor of The Times-Picayune and author of the new book, Breach of Faith, must reading for all New Orleanians who want a balanced picture of what happened during and after Katrina and for those who wish to understand the importance of the Ninth Ward to the City's now fragile culture.

Horne's post-Katrina book is an exceptionally objective account by a gifted writer who was in a position to know the facts of what occurred during and immediately after Katrina. He has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his role in the news coverage of Katrina. Horne also is author of Desire Street: A True Story of Death and Deliverance, which was nominated for the non-fiction mystery writing Edgar Award. He lives in the French Quarter with his wife Jane and their son Eli. Jed will address the importance of the Ninth Ward to the salvation of New Orleans. To order his books, click here on JedHorne.

Horne shared the program, which attracted 200 people, many from the Lower Ninth Ward and Treme, with his Times-Picayune colleague, popular columnist, author, musician, and food expert,

Lolis Eric Elie, author of the sell-out culinary classic, Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in Barbecue Land. Elie, who currently is working on a compelling documentary about the cultural significance of one of the oldest Creole neighborhoods in New Orleans, Treme. Elie spoke on Treme and showed a trailer clip from the film, featuring among others Louisiana State Poet Laureate Brenda Marie Osbey, whose words and demeanor were intensely moving. Mary Helen Lagasse, a Latina author whose debut novel, The Fifth Sun, has won an incredible array of prizes and who currently is working on a memoir, read from her reflections on growing up Latina in the Irish Channel. Rosemary James, who edited the book which inspired the series, My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers, selected Mary Helen as one of the contributors to this book, which, like the series, deals with the qualities which have made New Orleans a world class treasure of a city. Ms. Lagasse is one of the My New Orleans contributors singled out for praise, along with Leah Chase and Randy Fertel, in a recent review by The Los Angeles Times. For more on her book, click here on MaryHelenLagasse.To order, e-mail: jsealy@faulknerhousebooks.net or phone: (504) 524-2940.

Mary Helen Lagasse signs at Faulkner Society Event

My New Orleans Contributor, Randy Fertel has an Essay in the Summer, 2006 Issue of Kenyon Review
Randy Fertel, a member of the Advisory Council of the Faulkner Society and a contributor to My New Orleans could not be with us for the evnet but he has an exceptional essay on New Orleans neighborhoods in the Summer, 2006 issue of Kenyon Review. Copies of the journal are available at Faulkner House books, (504) 524-2940. Fertel is among the contributors to My New Orleans singled out for compliments in a July 14th review of the book in the Los Angeles Times.

Rosemary James arrived in New Orleans to visit in 1964, fell in love with the French Quarter, went home to Charleston to quit her job, get her possessions and moved to New Orleans to work for The States-Item, and, you guessed it, live in the French Quarter. She is still there. Since 1990 she and her husband have lived in the French Quarter house which captured her imagination on her first visit, the house where Faulkner wrote his first novel, 624 Pirate's Alley. She spoke about the importance of the neighborhoods of New Orleans, including her own, and introduced other speakers, including her husband and Faulkner Society co-founder, Joseph J. DeSalvo, Jr., who grew up in Mid-City, close to the 17th Street Canal and, later, Gentilly. Joe discuss these neighborhoods, while literary scholar and author, W. Kenneth Holditch, reflected on his neighborhood of the last 40 years, the Faubourg Marigny. Holditch has for many years lived directly across the street from Washington Park on Frenchman Street. James, DeSalvo, and Holditch are co-founders of the Faulkner Society.

Joseph J. DeSalvo, Jr., and W. Kenneth Holdtich, Co-founders of the Faulkner Society

My New Orleans is a Julep in June.

Faulkner Society's annual overture to the summer season and fundraiser was held this year at the Audubon Place residence of Honorary Chairs, Dr. Marilyn Pelias and Dr. Michael Townsend, on Friday, June 23. The event was a huge success with 225 people turning out to sample the cuisine of the Restaurant August culinary team and hear music by the James Andrews ensemble. Featured authors were, from left, below: Diana Hollingsworth Gessler, author of Very New Orleans; Dr. David Newsome and Chef John Besh, authors of The New Orleans Program; and Pamela Binnings Ewen, author of Walk Back the Cat.

Other events in the series have included My New Orleans is Strong Women, which featured three powerful women.

New Orleanian Anya Kamenetz, left, author of Generation Debt, the new non-fiction work on what the future holds for America's young men and women, appeared on CNN to discuss the plight of young adults trying to get an education in America today and find meaningful jobs. She was an intern for the Society when she was a student at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and a contributor to The Double Dealer. For details on this important new book, highlight: Anya Kamenetz. Ms. Kamenetz was guest of honor at a signing party, sharing billing with her mother, successful fiction writer, Moira Crone, right. Ms. Crone's new short fiction collection, What Gets Into Us, includes the novella, The Ice Garden, which won the Faulkner Society's gold medal in 2004, is out and a critical success. Ms. Crone also won the Society's first gold medal for short story and is a regular member of the faculty for the Words & Music writers conference. For more information on Ms. Crone, click here on Moira Crone. They were joined by Rosemary Daniell, author of the new book about writing, Secrets of the Zona Rosa. For details about Rosemary and her book, click here on Rosemary Daniell.

My New Orleans is Jazz

took place April 26 at The Cabildo on Jackson Square and featured a benefit performance by The Hurricane Brass Band of Holland. A ticketed event, gunds from the event augmented grants the Society received from The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic and The New Orleans Hurricane Relief Fund to provide live music for the series. Jazz experts participating in this event were
Dr. Henry Lacey, jazz authority and Dillard University professor; author Tom Piazza; and actor, author, musician, Harry Shearer. Click here on Ballads for details about the book which inspired the series. For books by Piazza, click here on Piazza.

Tom Piazza, left, of New Orleans, a regular member of the Faulkner Society's annual Words & Music faculty, has published two books recently, a post-Katrina memoir, Why New Orleans Matters, which has been selected by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities as one of two "Books of the Year", and Understanding Jazz. Tom, a nationally noted jazz authority and jazz pianist, will sign his latest jazz book at My New Orleans is Jazz. For more about Tom, click here on Piazza. Harry Shearer, long known as the voice of more than a dozen characters on TV's longest-running comedy ever, "The Simpsons", and as the bass-playing Derek Smalls of "This is Spinal Tap", is now branching out. This year, he's released a new CD of comedy about the television news anchors suddenly leaving en masse, Dropping Anchors, and a DVD of highlights from his work on Saturday Night Live and HBO, including the classic "Men's Synchronized Swimming", with Martin Short and Christopher Guest. Harry appears in Guest's latest ensemble film, For Your Consideration, and his first work of prose fiction, a comic novel called Not Enough Indians, is published in September. Shearer lives in Southern California and New Orleans with his wife, the singer-composer Judith Owen. Together, they own a new record/DVD company, Courgette, distributed by Warners/ADA. Shearer is a contributor to the book My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers, and signed at the event. Like Piazza, Shearer is both a "words" and a "music" man. He plays bass. Dr. Henry C. Lacey is Presidential Professor of English at Dillard University, where he teaches such offerings as Survey of African American Literature, African American Poetry, and Jazz in Literature. Author of To Raise, Destroy and Create: The Poetry, Drama, and Fiction of Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), he has contributed to such publications as Obsidian II, and The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. An avocational trumpet player, he is a member of the board of directors and historian of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation. (No Photo made available.)

My New Orleans is a Streetcar Named Desire
took place on the birthday of Tennessee Williams, Sunday, March 26, and was co-sponsored by the Louisiana State Museum at The Cabildo:. The event was a salute to the famous playwright and the Tennessee Williams Festival opened on March 30. The event was part of the new citywide Femme Fest founded in 2006 by Don Marshall and a group of women in the arts. The discussion and readings focused on The Women of Tennessee Williams with Arthur Mendoza, well known acting and voice coach to the stars of Hollywood, including such luminaries as Laurance Fishburne, setting the stage for the readings, and reading with authors Wendi Bernman and Loraine Despres and actress Joanne Sealy.

Audience at Cabildo Salute to Tennessee Williams

Primarily an essayist, Ms. Berman also writes screenplays, documentaries,freelance articles for magazines, and recently contributed to the upcoming African American National Biography from Oxford Press. Ms. Berman read a scene with Mendoza from Orpheus Descending. A native Louisianian, Ms. Depres, who trained for the stage, is a successful screenwriter who lives in Beverly Hills, as well as the author of novels set in Louisiana, including her latest,The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell, just out. Ms. Despres read as one of the playwright's "monster moms", Mrs. Venable of Suddenly Last Summer. A well known actress who has appeared in feature films as well as numerous local productions, Ms. Sealy read from Sweet Bird of Youth.

The Tennessee Williams salute was preceded by My New Orleans is Mardi Gras, February 23 at The Presbytere, The Louisiana State Museum, Jackson Square, New Orleans. The Mardi Gras event was hosted by the new Carnival organization, The Krewe of Libris. The party was hosted by the Krewe of Libris. Members of the Faulkner Society are automatically members of the Krewe of Libris, a new Carnival Club formed to fight, in the tradition of Dumas and Cervantes, to save and support the important facets of New Orleans life, such as its grand storytelling and music traditions.The first king and queen of Libris were presented at

My New Orleans is Mardi Gras.

Co-sponsor of the event was the Louisiana State Museum, which was represented by historian Karen Leathem, who welcomed guests to It's Carnival Time in Louisiana, the Museum's Mardi Gras exhibit, along with Gabriela Hernandez, curator of music and education projects for the museum.

Karen Leathem is an historian at the Louisiana State Museum. She wrote the text for the Mardi Gras exhibit at the Presbytere, It's Carnival Time in Louisiana, and her scholarly research on Carnival in New Orleans has focused on gender and identity. Devoted to all costumed occasions since childhood, she never
passes up the opportunity to masquerade. Dr. Leathem recently co-edited
The American South in the Twentieth Century, a volume of essays published by the University of Georgia Press.

  Gabriela Hernandez, curator of music and education projects for the State Museum and a member of the program committee for Words & Music, 2006, joined hands with Faulkner Society co-founder, Rosemary James, to design the My New Orleans series and is a founding member of the new Krewe of Libris.Shown here at left in an authentic replica of a Napoleonic era costume, Ms. Hernandez gave the Krewe and the the club King their name,
Libris, while Ms. James has given the organization the permanent name for its Queen, Thalia, muse of comedy, drama, and idyllic poetry. Ms. Hernandez holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Pratt Institute and a master's degree in arts in education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. More recently, she completed a fellowship at the Center of Latino Initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution. She is a contributor to Cultural Vistas, the journal of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanties.

The event, as all events of the My New Orleans series, was open to the general public with purchase of a membership in The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society. Membership revenues support the projects of the Society. Members of the public also could purchase of an invitation pass to the event. For more information on how you can participate in Libris III, which will take place in February of 2008, click here on Libris.

  King Libris I and his Queen Thalia I

The first king and queen of the new Carnival organization were introduced at the event. They will reign for a year and then crown the 2007 monarchs at the end of their reign. Queen Thalia I, muse of drama, comedy, and poetry, and King Libris I, are sustaining members of the Faulkner Society, Marti and David Speights. Marti and David embody the spirit of the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, an organization devoted to preserving the literary traditions of New Orleans and to assisting aspiring authors.

The Presbytere, one of the seats of colonial government in Louisiana, today is home of the museum's exciting exhibit, It's Carnival Time in Louisiana.

A Mardi Gras parade float at the Louisiana State Museum in the Museum's permanent exhibit, It's Carnival Time in Louisiana.

Participating authors were, from left, humorist Roy Blount, Jr.; Pulitzer Prize fiction writer, Robert Olen Butler; playwright and novelist Elizabeth Dewberry; and Edgar Award winning detective novel author Julie Smith.

One of the essays in the book, My New Orleans, is Come As You Are, by the exciting New Orleans jazz singer, Charmaine Neville, of the legendary jazz family, which includes her father, Charles Neville, and her uncle, Aaron Neville. The theme of the first costume party of The Krewe of Libris is Come as You Are...Come as You Really Are! in honor of Ms. Neville's exploration of the fact that New Orleans allows its citizens and visitors alike to be themselves and to reinvent themselves continually without fear of disapproval.

Ms. Neville performed at the event, as did Armand St. Martin, a sizzling boogey woogey, New Orleans Sound piano player keeping alive the traditions of Professor Longhair and James Booker. For more details about the first meeting of
The Krewe of Libris, including information about how the general public and participate int the future, click on: Libris.

The first event, My New Orleans is an Inspiration to the Bards, was an appropriate beginning, as the Society's namesake, William Faulkner, came to New Orleans in 1925 as a poet and found new inspiration and his voice as a novelist in his new environment. Among authors who appeared were John Biguenet, David Brinks, Poppy Z. Brite, Peter Cooley, James Nolan, Martha Serpas, and Gordon Walmsley.

As part two of the January event, Walmsley conducted "Poetry Heals" workshops for the general public, utilizing instruction in writing poetry to get New Orleanians to delve into their deepest emotions related to Katrina. These events were co-sponsored by the Hotel Monteleone, The Arts Council of New Orleans, and the New Orleans Music Clinic. Gordon Walmsley's work read at the launch event was popular with those attending, many of whom requested that they be posted. For his poetry, click on: Walmsley. Walmsley is expected to participate in Words & Music, 2007, November 15-18. He is invited to conduct a workshop during the festival.

Other Events of the My New Orleans Series, 2006 included:
My New Orleans is Great Storytellers and Their Tales on Sunday, 24th, 6 p. m.
September's event was a birthday salute to William Faulkner, and those following in his footsteps. Featured authors were Tom Franklin, winner of an Edgar for his first collection of short fiction, Poachers, and selected for the Philip Roth Prize and Chair and the John and Rene Grisham chair at the University of Mississippi. His new novel, Smonk, is much in the Faulkner tradition. Franklin will be joined by Bret Lott, prize winning novelist and editor of The Southern Review, and and well known non-fcition author Jason Berry, whose debut novel, The Last of the Red Hot Papas, is reminiscent of every Louisiana governor you have ever loved or loved to hate! The event will begin at 6 p. m. at The Cabildo, Jackson Square, and featured food, wine, and music. Co-presenters were The Lousiana State Museum, David Kahn, Director; The New Orleans' Musicians Clinic, Bethany Ewald Bultman, Director; and The New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund, Jordan Hirsch, Director.

My New Orleans is 300 Years of Ghosts and Their Stories on October 19th at the Cabildo
The event featured James Nolan and Greg Herren, reading from their contributions to the new collection of stories edited by Julie Smith, New Orleans Noir; poet Gail White, reading ghostly verses of New Orleans; and others.

November Event:Saturday, 4th, 5 p. m.
My New Orleans is Her Magnificent Obsession with Food
November's event took place in concert with Words & Music at the Hotel Monteleone. This was a paid event and featured Cuban music, food, libations and the Society's annual Tall Tales Competition. Introduced by National Book Award winner Julia Glass, who like New Orleanians has a magnificent obsession with food, not only in her personal life but in her novels, including her latest, which has a brilliantly conceived character, who is a chef. She was joined by novelist Himilce Novas, who like Julia, dreams about delicious food, and has co-authored a cookbook with Rosemary Silva. Ms. Glass and Ms. Novas read brief, illustrative passages from their books. A lot of the dishes considered New Orleans food come straight out of the Caribbean and South America, as Jessica Harris, Caribbean culture expert explained. The discussion featured Karen Page and Chef Andrew Dornenburg, bestselling authors of such bibles of the food industry as Culinary Artistry, Dining Out, Chef's Night Out, and The New American Chef and of their new book being released concurrent with Words & Music and also destined for the bestseller list, What to Drink with What You Eat. Karen and Andrew discussed Latin food & and the best things to drink with it.

 Several events of the My New Orleans series and Words & Music, 2006 have taken place at the Hotel Monteleone, 200 Royal Street, a regular sponsor of Faulkner Society events.

Hosts for several My New Orleans events are Ronald Pincus, General Manager of the Monteleone, and his wife Anne Simms Pincus. Mr. and Mrs. Pincus are long time patrons of the Faulkner Society. In 2006, they sponsored a welcome party at their Lakefront home for members of the faculty of Words & Music and out of town patrons. Anne is Chairman of the Faulkner Society for the 2007 - 2008 term.