Year Summary


Well, it’s been a busy year and I have not had a chance to really promote anything. So here is a quick summary of the past year.

In October 2017, my article Last Days of Storyville was published in New Orleans Magazine. The article covered, among other things, the “Miser King of the Tenderloin;” the nefarious behavior of “Mother Beer;” the crucial differences between table girls, dance hall girls, and prostitutes; the Pimps and Procurers club; the attempted segregation of Storyville and how it lead to the first black high school in the city; and Mayor Martin Behrman’s repeated attempts to avoid closing down the district.

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In November 2017, two different tricentennial books I contributed essays for were published.

New Orleans: The First 300 Yearswas published by Pelican Publishing Company and edited by Errol Laborde and Peggy Scott Laborde. It has a foreword by Lawrence Powell, introduction by John Kemp, and essays by: Robert Cangelosi, Jr., John Kemp, Raphael Cassimere, Peter Ricchiuti, Errol Laborde, Angus Lind, Ian McNulty, John Magill, Dawn Wilson, Suzanne Pfefferle Tafur, Stephanie Bruno, Richard Campanella, Brobson Lutz, Susan Larson, Connie Zeanah Atkinson, Dominic Massa, Robert Dupont, Lolis Eric Elie, Marty Mule, and Patricia Brady.

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My essay is called “Street Names: Gathering the Blocks.” It focuses on the naming of street names over the last 50 years.

New Orleans & The World: 1718 – 2018was published by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and edited by Nancy Dixon; with forewords by Walter Isaacson & Leah Chase, Richard Campanella, and Lawrence Powell; and essays by: Daniel Usner, Brigitta Malm, Freddi Williams Evans, Nancy Dixon, Laura D. Kelley, Justin Nystrom, Helen Freund, Patrina Peters and Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Richard Campanella, Robert Dupont, Jack Davis, Jon Kukla, Erin Greenwald, Lawrence Powell, Keith Weldon Medley, Pamela Tyler, Jerry Strahan, Kara Tucina Olidge, Emily Clark, Rev. Dwight Webster, C.W. Cannon, Alecia Long, Zella Palmer, Sally Reeves, Allison Alsup, Brian Costello, Brian Boyles, S. Derby Gisclair, John Shelton Reed, Bruce Boyd Rayburn, Alison Fenstertock, Alex Rawls, David Dennis, Katy Reckdahl, and Dr. Michael White.

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My essay is called “Cities of the Dead,” about how New Orleans cemeteries evolved through necessity and diversity.

In April 2018, my article Bienville’s Tattoos was published in New Orleans Magazine. The article covered, among other things, Bienville’s tattoos (and he had quite a few), his influence on New Orleans, and the thwarted attempt to rename City Park after him during the bicentennial.

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In June, my article on Mrs. Alice Monahan – New Orleans’ first policewoman – was published in Louisiana Cultural Vistas. What a woman! Originally hired to help cleanup Milneburg, she was later moved to Storyville to assist fallen women and wayward girls.

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In July, I was extremely honored to win first prize for feature writing from the Press Club of New Orleans for my article on Storyville. I am very thankful to New Orleans Magazine for nominating me.

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And on November 6, 2018, my first children’s book – The Mermaids of New Orleans – was published… More on that later!

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One Response to Year Summary

  1. Andrew says:

    Any chance of a book on “The Mascot”? A collection of just the illustrations alone would be worthwhile, and, i imagine, salable. Do any original copies exist?

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