92 pages / 5.50 x 8.80 inches / no illustrations
This is an altogether engaging collection of ruminations on early New Orleans writers—George Washington Cable, Grace King, Lafcadio Hearn, and Kate Chopin—as well as three prolific twentieth-century authors who called New Orleans “home” at various times: William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Walker Percy. In the book’s final essay, Lewis P. Simpson reflects on the history of New Orleans as a literary center, giving special emphasis to Percy’s The Moviegoer and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces.
Richard S. Kennedy (1920–2002) was the author of Dreams in the Mirror: A Biography of E. E. Cummings and The Window of Memory: A Literary Biography of Thomas Wolfe. He also edited the collection Literary New Orleans: Essays and Meditations. He was a professor emeritus of English at Temple University in Philadelphia.
“A fine tribute to that great city New Orleans, written by the city’s most renowned contemporary commentators. . . . Kennedy’s collection is full of gems.”—American Studies
“What a trip to New Orleans! No heat, no humidity, no hangover. I did it all without leaving my house.”—Memphis Commercial Appeal
“Historical place is given brilliant examination [here].”—American Literary Scholarship
“A truly delightful book.”—Mississippi Quarterly
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