Music is very much alive this festival season in New
Orleans. Last weekend, some of the highlights of the French Quarter Festival
included Gal Holiday, Papo Y Son Mandao, and The Treme Brass Band, all personal
favorites. Next week, the 2018 Jazz Fest begins with two weeks of live music.
Should you need a musical fix in between, there's no shortage of great local
acts in New Orleans. However, this year's Jazz festival will lack a tradition
it's had for several years: books. Books have died at Jazz Fest and there will
no longer be a literary haven for music loving bookworms. Volunteering at the
book tent and selling books in exchange for a free ticket to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival fest was
something I looked forward to year after year. I also took for granted that
there would always be a book tent.
It's an extra treat to meet musicians such as Elvis Costello
who in addition to "writing the book everyday" also wrote a memoir.
Costello was one of many generous authors who patiently signed books as the
line snaked across the field and took photos with all his fans, and went on to
perform a perfect set. Another perk to working the book tent was its location
next to a snowball stand. New Orleans takes a concept like a raspado or shaved
ice with sweet syrup and runs with it, adding wild ingredients like sweetened
condensed milk, whipped cream or bourbon. The book tent was also close enough
to the Gentilly Stage that you didn't have to fight the crowds to hear the
music. This year, the New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association has
decided not to host a book tent at jazz fest. If you were looking forward to finding me at the book tent, you can still find me at the beer tent where I will be volunteering for the local rotary club.
Good thing this month is Poetry Month and there is no
shortage of literature in New Orleans. Last week, I saw my name in lights for
my national poetry month reading at the East Jefferson Parish Library. I had the pleasure of
reading with Gina Ferrara and Anne Babson. Tomorrow, the New Orleans PoetryFestival kicks off and the New Orleans Museum of Art hosts the sixth annual
Edible Book Day, a contest in which your favorite books are recreated in cake
form, a fun event, especially if you like to eat your literature.
1 comment:
Melinda, it seems that books are going the way of the dinosaur. Rapper Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer this year, an honor that normally goes to a writer. Not that I fault Lamar. I think he is an exceptional artist and lyricist. Yet, so few people today read. So, maybe, it is the short articles, stories and poems published on various websites that are the future of literature. Quin Sabe. Thanks for the post.
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