Louisiana Books

In Louisiana in Words, Joshua Clark celebrates his home state, and especially New Orleans, with prose snapshots arranged to take us through a day in the life of the city. Some of the pieces are flash fictions, others describe places and events. All have literary quality. This collection does not invite us to pity New Orleans for Katrina's devastation, and in fact I don't remember the hurricane being mentioned at all. Instead, the book celebrates life in one of our country's richest and most vibrant cities.

You don't have to know Louisiana to love this book. Joshua Clark is a genius at putting words on paper and assembling other writers' works in a unique format. In this post Katrina time we are all interested in Louisiana. This is a book everyone should buy to own and to share with others as gifts. It is a truly beautiful book from the cover to the introduction and throughout every minute.

This book is so rich, so diverse, so mesmerizing; it's hard to believe we all live in the same state! The vignettes are so on-target the reader feels he is there: visiting a traiteur, cleaning old graves for All Saints Day, watching street performers in Jackson Square, eating boiled crawfish, reciting a rosary in French. It all makes up who we are as Louisianans--native or transplanted. Kudos to Joshua Clark and his crew!!

When we are young, we look breathlessly to the "big moments" that mark our passage to maturity: the first "real" date; the first day of high school; the driver's license; high school graduation day; college; the first day on the job.

As the years pass, we learn that real joy is not in passing highs of happiness, but in each individual moment as we come to live them, know them, appreciate, and treasure them along the way.

Living in Louisiana means living with stories. They are told while you post your mail; sung to you in check out lines; shared while you do your banking. Living in Louisiana means living with conversation, and conversation means sharing stories.

Joshua Clark--who edited this collection of Louisiana moments with the same loving care he gave French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia--has allowed us to paint the canvas of a vast wealth of stories, histories, and peoples coming together in an incredibly lush and beautiful environment to create a state, cities, and a town and country life unlike any others in the country.

Pass some time with us on our front porches, in our living rooms, in the bayous, on our boats, on our streets, in our backyards, and on our waterways. Get to know us.

The lagniappe we are giving you this time is our hearts.

Louisiana in Words is simply a don't-miss look into the soul of the Pelican State. Reach out for us, and we will honestly touch your heart.

I had the honor of being one of the authors in the book, but it also gave me the opportunity and the desire to share in other's "minutes". The book is rich in imagery and full of powerful storylines. Mr. Clark did a fine job at putting together these wonderful "glimpses".

An eye opener. I was loaned this book by one of the reviewers on this site and then ordered one of my own. I had to fight to get the book back from anyone I loaned it to.

I knew many people who were associated with the Kennedy assassination. Worked for Willard Robertson, when he funded the Garrison investigation. Know people who employed Oswald as a numbers runner in New Orleans, know people central in the book "They Killed Kennedy", and knew people in the Cuban resistence movement who were in training on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the late 50s until the mid 60s.

One friend whose father was in the Cuban movement pointed out David Ferrie's house to me on Louisiana Avenue Parkway a few weeks before he died and said at that time that Ferrie was a part of the Anti-Castro group.

So, it was with interest that I read this book. My interest got peaked the more I read and this is one story that should be made into a movie and it will be thought of as fiction, because it will be almost too strange for people to believe, though it comes closer to the truth than anyone would like to admit.

So, when I think of the 60s I remember the CIA people I met through others and the strange characters in the once international city of New Orleans and can only hope that the truth can be allowed to be seen and read.

I give it a five star rating and hope that everyone gets a chance to read this strange and interesting book.

Ed Haslam has written a landmark book of investigative journalism. It is a well-written page turner that is a "must read" for anyone interested in what has really gone on in this country in the last 40 years. I have lived in New Orleans since Mary Sherman was murdered here, and personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. As far as I can tell this book is completely truthful. Mr. Haslam tells you when he is speculating and when he is giving you facts. This book has my highest recommendation.

As a producer for two national talk show hosts, I can honestly say this is one of the finest and most thought provoking books I've read. Ed Haslam's book is a major dot connector. Think about it. We already know thanks to A & E's Investigative Reports that Oswald did NOT kill Kennedy, but that's not the big jist of this book. What needs to be understood is that the polio virus vaccine all the baby boomers received via shots and sugar cubes in the 50s and 60s was contaminated with SV-40 Simian Monkey Virus...the results...an epidemic of soft tissue cancer. And SV-40 shows up in autopsies of cancer victims. However, even more horrific is that the SV-40 contamination does not end with those of us that received the polio vaccine. It is passed to our children and grandchilren even though they have not received the vaccine. Who is responsible? Ed Haslam's fabulous research was given to us in this book in 1995, and five years later, in the February, 2000 issue of Atlantic Monthly, it is finally discussed by the "regular" media. Stop and think about this...Plutonium experiments from 1936 through the cold war on unsuspecting Americans,radiation experiments on military men, the Tuskegee, Alabama syphillis experiments, the depleted uranium issues from Desert Storm, and countless others...this book exposes another form of deception and coverup. If this book doesn't make you think and do even more research, then you're in denial and have your head in the sand. There are countless other books that should be on the suggested reading list after reading Ed's fabulous work, but Amazon hasn't listed them. Please read Pulitzer Prize winner, Eileen Welsome's book, THE PLUTONIUM FILES, then read Martin A. Lee's THE BEAST REAWAKENS, and if you can find a used copy, get Borkin's THE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT OF I.G. FARBEN.

Ed's book is superb and written in a style that is easily assimilated. Buy it, buy two, give one to a friend, loan your copy, but get it out...and connect the dots!

Growing up in the same home as Edward Haslam, I remember so many of these events as they happened -- an apparent series of unrelated and bizarre events, the significance of which would only become clear to me years later when I read an early draft of my brother's book, years after my diagnosis with breast cancer at the age of 39 (as mentioned in the book.) If you are a thinking adult whose life or loved ones have been touched by cancer, you need to find the courage to read this book. A new edition is about to be published under a new name and you can pre-order it from Amazon at an attractive price.(I have 5 copies on order myself to share with friends.) The new title is "Dr. Mary's Monkey: How the Unsolved Murder of a Doctor, a Secret Laboratory in New Orleans and Cancer-Causing Monkey Viruses are Linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, ... Assassination and Emerging Global Epidemics". I have no financial interest in the book, only a belief that the time has come to reveal this information to a wider audience.

This investigation into the unsolved murder of Dr. Mary Sherman is a well-crafted and original expose, arguably of one our nation's worse mistakes. But also perhaps of one of its best-kept secrets.

Over a period of nearly 30 years, the author juxtaposes and correlates a collection of disparate medical facts, police reports, and related events with the activities of an assortment of characters in an around the environs of New Orleans during the Garrison investigation of the JFK assassination. The main characters include a world class Orthopedic Bone Specialist (Dr. Mary Sherman) and an eccentric washed-up CIA operative implicated in the assassination of JFK (Dave Ferrie), and Lee Harvey Oswald, no less.

The question that animates the investigation is why should a world class Medical Specialist like Dr. Sherman be running in the same circles as a self-taught egomaniacal misfit like Ferrie? The book is the author's search for an answer. From these elements, he weaves together a very plausible story about how medical experiments at a secret run underground government medical facility, may have gone awry -- resulting in Dr. Sherman's death and in the current silent epidemic of soft tissue cancers. There is even a hint that what went on in that secret facility may also be implicated in the inadvertent creation of the current AIDS pandemic.

Far from being the convoluted and speculative machinations of a conspiracy crackpot, the author's fiercely logical approach and resourcefulness would put some of our most seasoned investigators to shame. To say that it reads like a novel would be an understatement. Five stars.

I bought this book thinking it would be really validating for me to read about myself, as I was a volunteer who was given some narrative in the book.

However, after beginning to read the book from the beginning, I discovered that I was unable to read more than a few pages at a time without becoming teary-eyed. Cathy did a fabulous job of telling it the way it happened, and I would recommend this book to all. The stories are moving and all true, and will evoke your entire gamut of emotions.

Thank you, Cathy Scott...

Cathy Scott has written an amazing account of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, combined with Clay Myers' moving photographs that documented this tragedy. I was honored to work with Cathy and so many of the other humans and animals in Tylertown that fill the pages of this book. Pawprints of Katrina is a wonderful tribute to the animal victims of the disaster and the people dedicated to saving them.

I just finished reading this awe inspiring book by Cathy Scott, forward by Ali McGraw, and photography by Clay Myers. I was moved to tears. It is an example of what all of us should aspire to. Having compassion and providing assistance in times of need, random acts of kindness, putting others first, caring for those who cannot care for themselves.

Tragedies always bring out the best in others, and this book is a documentary of the very best in humanity. Thank you a thousand times to all who came to the rescue of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, both animal and human. You are the angels on earth.

This is a must read for anyone who has ever loved an animal. Please visit the Best Friends Animal Society website to learn how you can help.

I bought this book as soon as I read about it on the Best Friends Sanctuary website. The story of Marina, the dog first named "Survivor" is inspiring and was--at first--my primary reason for reading it. I cried tears of sadness for the people and animals who didn't make it through Katrina and Rita and tears of happiness for the selflessness of rescuers both locally and from all over North America who stayed to help the people and pets of Louisiana and Mississippi. In this book there is an acknowledgement of the "remote reunion" volunteers who spent many hours on the internet and the telephone linking families and their pets or sharing the grief of those whose pets didn't make it. I was one of those volunteers and it changed my life.

Over the past year, I've had the privilege of listening to Cathy read special parts of the book Pawprints of Katrina before she would finish a chapter and send it to her publisher. With each story or chapter, Cathy and I were reliving those days spent in NOLA. As we talked, our memories were brought to the surface and some of those memories are found in this book. It is with great pleasure and anxious anticipation that I am traveling with my daughter and one of the rescues to Cathy's book signing this Saturday at the Welcome Center of Best Friends Animals Sanctuary in Kanab. Utah. Precious, a terrier mix who was humanely trapped on a street in Gentilly, February 3, 2006 - yes, five months after Hurricane Katrina will be flying with us to Kanab (Precious had with her six puppies she had kept alive since their birth approx 9 weeks prior to their rescue - my daughter adopted one of the puppies, Puxley Madison, I adopted Precious, the pups mother). CONGRATULATIONS CATHY on a book that is destined to be a "Best Seller". Thank you for validating the lives of those we saved and those we could not. Your book is AWESOME!!! Barb

William Greiner is definitely an artist to watch! This book is wonderful! The color photographs are haunting and the presentation honors a most memorable subject - graves and memorials to dead. Not just any dead people - but those quirky graves of New Orleans and vicinity are photographed here. The setting often combines the commonplace with the ethereal. A brillant theme photographed by a genuis at capturing the unusual around us. It's really a wonderful book to own and display.

To capture the ironies, poignancies, and soulful idiosyncrasies of the grave sites pictured in this book, William Greiner spent several years traversing the cemeteries of New Orleans and South Louisiana....Despite Greiner's obvious debt to William Eggleston, who is often cited as the father of modern color photography, his photographs stand out as originals. The compositions are provocative, and he renders garish colors into a lushly seductive palette..... Mr. Greiner's small, Louisiana-style models of the barren earth combine with Thomas Lynch's elegant foreward to make The Reposed a fascinating book. Nov/Dec 1999

William Greiner's first monograph is a welcome selection of photographs from his many years of work in color. Greiner's view of the world, mainly in his native Louisiana, is alternately witty, tender and rhetorical. THE REPOSED is a book that the viewer will want to look at again and again.

-- Deborah Bell, Private Dealer of Photographs, New York City

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is worth sixty two thousands words to describe the surreal photographs. Definitely not enough room here to convey what I think is a remarkable look at cemeteries in and around New Orleans. William Greiner is a genius with a camera,who has taken the cemetery photograph and made it into a haunting, beautiful work of art.

If you only buy one photography book in your lifetime, this is it. Nobody has ever said so much with pictures about a dead subject.

I love this cookbook. Great recipes that are both EASY and delicious. I have made several of the receipts and all were wonderful. I have purchased several since for gifts for family, friends and teachers!

I love this cookbook and use it at least once a week! Terrific and different recipes that reflect south Louisiana cooking. Too many wonderful recipes to list, but favorite are the Crawfish Monica and the crawfish bread, and muffaletta pasta!

This is a great cookbook and it is easy to use!
I have made 10 or so items in this book and people always ask ...How did you make that? It was great!! I just smile and tell them about "Roux To Do"
The salads, chicken cakes and the Pralines French bread to name a few are perfect...A beautiful book that can be displayed on a book holder in your kitchen too.

Not just from New Orleans, al-though a food lover never has to leave the Crescent City for good eats, Roux to Do serves up Louisiana fare that is easy to prepare and delicious. The simple recipes strike a balance between meat and fish, while the central focus is roux-that easy to prepare, easy to ruin base for so many southern dishes. Big name chefs lend a hand, but the charming festival art and sidebars will win you over. Cooks from the Deep South to Novia Scotia can find a roux or two in these pages to color their table.

What a Fabulous Award Wining Cookbook. Hardcover book is excellently illustrated. Easy to prepare and extremely tasty recipes. It is the 2005 WINNER OF THE HOME SECTION OF THE WRITERS NOTES BOOKS AWARDS as well as the HONORABLE MENTION - "BEST BOOKS 2004" COOKBOOKS from USA Book News. A must be in any cookbook collection, especially if you collect Junior League Cookbooks.

A Season of Night is a wonderfully written story of the author's love affair with New Orleans and his personal account of his deliberate decision to move back to an abandoned neighborhood, to embrace his city and refuse to leave her. This is not a story of blame for any government agency, but rather a story of unsung heroes, like the pub and restaurant owners, the reconstruction workers and people like Mr. McNulty himself, that brought New Orleans back to life after the Katrina disaster. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to the author's next book.

Kate O'Riordan
Seattle, Wa.

This book, more than any newspaper article or tv spot, gave an indepth, personal and heartfelt look at the disaster of Katrina. Highly recommended. It covered a range of emotions, love, loss, anger, fear, comraderie, humor............don't miss it. Can't wait for Ian McNulty's next book whatever the topic.

This book will touch you in many ways; it is funny, poignant, enraging, but most often a very graceful book. It is clear that the author values the human experience and has artfully captured the human side of post Katrina. He even attempts a canine perspective of life after the storm with humor and great observational skills. The dark side of the aftermath is evident, but hope is woven through out the pages of this very readable book. When you start it, you won't want to put it down. When you finish it, you will feel like you know the author well and will probably want to read the book again! I highly recommend this book. I am giving it to all my close friends as a way to say I care about them.

Just finished "Season of Night". Too much to savor and process in a capsule review, but a funny, absurd, sad, beautiful and moving work... Fantastically written: serious, simple, unadorned but elegant, clear, precise, emotional but without cloying sentiment or maudlin nonsense, a lucid prose analysis of an impossibly comlex series of crises, personal and universal at once... LOVED it and am in awe of the accomplishment both as a piece of writing and the reality of the story itself... Thank you, Mr. McNulty

Ian McNulty's debut is a must read for those who wondered what New Orleans was really like after Katrina once you go beyond Jazz Fest and the Mardi Gras floats and the sporadic coverage that the recovery has received in the last few years. With a true feel for the grittiness and beauty peeking out from the rubble, McNulty captures a sense of New Orlean's anguish and struggle to rebuild. Most of all, he imparts to the reader a sense of how lonely, sad, depressing and desperate life was for the year following Katrina, and how ordinary people faced with extraordinarily daunting circumstances can huddle together in the dark and share some small piece of happiness. I guarantee you will read it in one sitting and laugh and cry while you do.

I was a life-long resident of St Bernard Parish who longed to know what exactly happened to my hometown. From learning the details about the destruction, to reading about the Fire Department's courage and faithfulness, I've been left in awe. Anyone who calls or called "the Parish" home must read this book.

I read this book and it was one of the best books I have ever read. And I don't really read that much but I couldn't put this book down. I was born and raised in Chalmette and finally there is a book about my people and what they went through. My family and I did evacuate and later my Dad passed away in the hotel. I lost a home and a Dad. I did eventually move away after 6 months of trying to live there again. Every time I went to my house I got disgusted. But anyway, I think it was a fantastic book and recommend anyone who is interested in it to buy it immediately. I will cherish this book the same way I cherish the few items I saved from my home. Everyone who was involved with helping people that day will forever be Heroes to me.

A must read for anyone who lived or has lived in St. Bernard Parish. I read this book in one day. Could not put it down. Brings back memories like it happend yesterday.

Michelle Buuck did an unbelievable job captivating The St. Bernard Fire Departments heroic actions. I started to read the book and 2 days later I was finished. It was very hard to put down once I began to read about the men who were responsible for saving an entire Parish of people; especially without any State or Federal assistance. The personal day by day trials & tribulations of each St. Bernard Fireman is a must read by all. Hurricane Katrina, the World's largest natural disaster, made History along with the Fireman in this book. All are & always will be Heros that will never be forgottten.

MS Buuck has captured the events of this untold story in riveting detail through interviews with the men who were there. These stories of dedication, unselfish acts and heroism, while faced with the greatest natural disaster to hit our nation are a must read. While St Bernard, just minutes from downtown New Orleans, was basically ignored by the press, federal, and state government these men did what firefighters do - get the job done under the most adverse of conditions. Thank you SBFD for doing what you've done and Ms. Buuck for capturing and telling the story.

I just read the book "Through the Storm" by Lynne Spears. It tells the story of a family that knew better than what happened but got caught up in all the fame as her daughter. Like all of us she only wanted her daughter to succeed.

Britney went from the small plays, singing and dancing to the big time. The book reads slowly and unless you are very interested in the Spears because of who they are I am not sure you will be all that excited about reading the book.

The good part of the book shows the side of a family that was hurting and how that probably affected so many other things that happened. A dad who had an alcohol problem, a regular family that didn't know how to deal with all that surrounded them-fame, money, success and most of all what might have been a way too shallow spiritual life.

The best thing that I find in the book is when Lynne tells what she should have done better: The family should have worked harder at building faith in the children-church attendance was regular when they were in town but Bible reading and devotions would have helped.

According to the story the family did indeed miss the stability and anchor of faith though all through the book Lynne shares the story and mentions her faith.

The other regret that she had was not trusting her gut in regards to things that happened-she could often sense that things weren't right but trusted professionals that ended up causing many of the heart aches

I do think after reading the book that there is much more to the story that what we get from the papers, TV news, and especially those that follow the media.

After raising children and having grandchildren it does help someone to hear from the mother and know how she hurt! We can all learn from Lynne to build stronger spiritual lives, be more careful about outside influences, and trust our gut about taking care of the family.Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World

I can't tell you how touched I am by Cholene Espinoza's inspirational story about rebuilding what Katrina washed away. Her clarity, honesty, and sincerity are compelling, humbling and vivid. While I was reading this amazing story, I felt I was on the site myself and that I personally got to know the people she writes about; I could feel their suffering and their hope. Ms. Espinoza gives the readers a wonderful gift by opening our eyes, our hearts, our pocketbooks, and our tool chests to get in there and give whatever help we can, wherever the need exists. I admire her strength to spread this necessary message; it will help so many people. Thank you, Cholene, for your courage to share your experience with us.

In the days immediately following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina two women decide they cannot sit by and wait for others to help those devastated by the storm. A few days later they left their home in New York for Memphis where they rented a van, loaded it with supplies and took off for Mississippi where they planned to distribute their desperately needed cargo.

This could be an ordinary story about two women (or men) who deliver a truck load of supplies to those left after any disaster. But these are not two ordinary women, and this is not an ordinary story. The author, Cholene Espinosa, a former U-2 spy plane pilot now a United Airlines pilot, had been scheduled to fly on September 11, 2001 on United flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco for her next assignment. United 93 we will recall is the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania as passengers fought its hijackers. Fortunately, Cholene's assignment and flight had been rescheduled. Ellen Ratner, Cholene's partner, is a regular commentator on Fox News and a White House correspondent.

The reader will be held captive while learning why Cholene and Ellen chose DeLisle, Mississippi as their destination, reading about the remarkable people in this small Mississippi town and the difficulties to be encountered in what one would think would be a simple and easy mission. This is a story of courage not only of the people in DeLisle but also of Cholene and Ellen in meeting the challenges they faced. The author bravely shares intimate events in her and Ellen's lives that prepared, and indeed, compelled them to undertake this mission. The reader will be drawn into the lives of the people in DeLisle and the future they are struggling to make for themselves and their children.

This is a gripping story that will bring the reader into the lives of hurricane survivors and those giving of their lives to help the victims recover. This is a book that will unite you with the people of DeLisle and the two exceptional women who could not sit by and let others do the job they felt compelled to undertake.

I read the "Storm" in one sitting. Everyone needs to read this book to remember what one person can do and the incredible human spirit that rebuilds a town and oneself. If you need inspiration that one can rebuild oneself, meet challenges, find a better life, question one's preconceptions - this is the book for you! If you have given up all hope, this book will give hope back to you - for yourself, for the world. I can't recommend it more.

We all have seen the news - we saw the unbelievable destruction that Mother Nature bestowed upon the Gulf. We saw the raw emotion - and sometimes lack of - on the the faces of the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who called the Gulf home. Many of us jumped in to help - mostly by writing a check, or sending donations. And, some of us did nothing. For those of us who stood back not knowing what to do, here's our chance.

Cholene Espinoza - Pilot, Air Force Academy graduate, Reporter, and ultimately, Humanitarian - chronicles her unbelievable mission to the Gulf Coast in the book "Through the Eye of the Storm". Cholene was able to round up supplies and manpower to head ultimately to Delisle, Mississippi to see what could be done. The mission that Cholene was on may have started out to help others, but she comes to realize that she is ultimately the one being helped. Cholene discusses in her book the inward battles that she faces regarding her faith and her country. Ultimately, Cholene's spirit and soul are renewed by the strength in the people that she meets along the way.

So, now you must be wondering where we come in - after such an amazing mission, how in the world can we help? You may be saying to yourself "I don't have the strength that Cholene demonstrated" or "I have nothing to give". Well, it is so simple. Buy the book. Save the money you would have spent on a couple Latte's this week. Pack your lunch for 2 days. ALL, and I mean ALL proceeds are going to help build and support a community center that is going to be built in Harrison County, Mississippi. There are 5 acres of land that will be developed to help the children in the area get their GED, job training, and other skills that they so desperately need to help get them through not only the rebuilding of their community, but real life skills that they may otherwise not get. The community needs this center. The children need a safe place to go that gives them the room to grow and be nurtured.

I am amazed by her power. In her hands, words spring to life and life springs to words. Her mind plants the living experience in a kiss on the hand and flings it to her audience like affectionate royalty waving to an attentive crowd.

She was born in Hamburg, Germany and the "Curriculum Vitae" poem in this volume beautifully articulates her immigration to the United States and her life here. Mueller was recently awarded one of the largest prizes in literature, the 2002 Ruth Lilly Prize -- $100,000.00. Her poetry is worth that, and more.

Her Mother's death "hurt" her into poetry, she writes here, and yet the observations she gives through these poems are pure redemption. What she experiences is what we all know, and she offers it to us with reverence and respect in sparkling language of pure gold.

When she stumbles on the fact of aging: "One day," she writes, "on a crowded elevator, everyone's face was younger than mine. . . .The brilliant days and nights are breathless in their hurry."

I love everything she's written and eagerly wait for more.
One short poem just to treat you to an example of what poetry can be:

"EX MACHINA
"My word processor does not know Shakespeare.
It balks at ripeness, stops me at Othello
and Desdemona. They are not
in its vocabulary. On the other hand
it does not question arrogance and power,
accepts betrayal, jealousy and grief,
uncomprehending. They are on the list.

"I am reminded of the face
of the young killer on the screen
the other night. He knew the words
gun and crime and prison.
He even knew the word guilty,
but when he said it, his eyes were blank."

Buy this book -- and all her books if you can find them. Keep them nearby so you can reach into a poem when you need to be reminded what living is for.

This book of poetry won the Pulitzer Prize. She writes about a variety of topics, which makes her writing so easily accessible depending on whatever mood you're in or what you want to read.

Her poetry about birds is particularly detailed and lovely. As is the poetry about her mother, about death, abuse, about relationships...I can't imagine you'd be disappointed. Support POETS, support your own imagination and dreams - buy this book -- add this to your collection or give it as a gift. The title poem, Alive Together, is superb. Some other favorites: The Blind Leading the Blind, Why I need the Birds, When I am Asked, Things, Mirrors, Missing the Dead, and JOY.

here's a bit of When I am Asked:

when I am asked/how I began writing poems, I talk about the indifference of nature.

It was soon after my mother died, a brilliant June day, everything blooming.

I sat on a gray stone bench/ringed with the ingenue faces/of pink and white impatiens/and placed my grief/in the mouth of language,
the only thing that would grieve with me.

RECOMMENDED!

I treasure this book. It is beautiful, clear, and profound. Mueller's words and perspective awaken me with each reading. Robyn Johnson

If you are looking for one poem about relationships, "Alive Together" is the one. And with the rest of the poems in this amazing collection you'll find more truth, beauty and life. Get this book. Read this book. Send "Alive Together" to your significant other.

Lisel Mueller is hands down one of the contemporary masters of the free verse form. In her second language she writes of exile, reclamation, home, beauty. She excels at the persona poem, writing devastating sequences on (among others) Hellen Keller, Patty Hearst, Monet, Schumann, Bach, Brendel, and Mary Shelly. This New and Selected will lead your straight to Mueller's individual collections, worth every penny.

After watching Leah and Ron on the Discovery Channel, I had to own this book. The receipes are the same as I use in my kitchen, but with a little more finesse. Just love it.

I loved both of Leah Chase's companion cook books, but particularly enjoyed the prints of her invaluable pieces of art work which adorn her spectacular restaurant. The receipes in the two books are mostly duplicative, but they are simple and excellent! She is a Queen in her own right and an outstanding mentor to so many in our country.

It has some wonderful recipes that sound mouthwatering! I would really like a copy of this book! Most of the recipes are fairly easy. Even the vegetable loaf sounds good and I tend to stay away from foods that sound like meat replacement.

I just ordered this book and if it is anything like her restaurant, then this should be a great book. I visited her restaurant in May 2005 and I had the best catfish po'boy, red beans & rice, and jambalaya. Her husband "Dookie" was there and he asked me where I was from. I told him Chicago and he told me stories about Ramsey Lewis and when he use to tour with different bands. He was the most pleasant person to talk to and he walked me out to my car when the order was complete. I will not go back to New Orleans until they rebuild Dooky Chase. The food is worth the drive to New Orleans and the hospitality is among the best of any city that I have traveled.

As an official honorary citizen of New Orleans, I have enjoyed many a meal at Dooky Chase. Since I live in Los Angeles I was delighted to be able to get some of Mrs Chase's wonderful recipes. They are practical, easy to read, and absolutely delicious--though of course no one can duplicate her particular genius by themselves.
I also loved reading her anecdotes of the restaurant and the stories behind some of the recipes. I think the "culture" around a cuisine is a major part of the pleasure.

Leah Chase is major figure in our country's heritage. I mean it. The book is a delight.