Download or read book Getting Off at Elysian Fields written by John Pope and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No city in America knows how to mark death with more funerary panache than New Orleans. The pageants commemorating departed citizens are often in themselves works of performance art. A grand obituary remains key to this Stygian passage. And no one writes them like New Orleanian John Pope. Collected here are not just simple, mindless recitations of schools and workplaces, marriages, and mourners bereft. These pieces in Getting Off at Elysian Fields: Obituaries from the New Orleans “Times-Picayune” are full-blooded life stories with accounts of great achievements, dubious dabblings, unavoidable foibles, relationships gone sour, and happenstances that turn out to be life-changing. To be sure, there are stories about Carnival monarchs, great philanthropists, and a few politicians. But because New Orleans embraces eccentric behavior, there are stories of people who colored way outside the lines. For instance, there was the doctor who used his plasma to make his flowers grow, and the philanthropist who took money she had put aside for a fur coat to underwrite the lawsuit that desegregated Tulane University. A letter carrier everyone loved turned out to have been a spy during World War II, and a fledgling lawyer changed his lifelong thoughts about race when he saw blind people going into a Christmas party through separate doors—one for white people and another for African Americans. Then there was the punctilious judge who got down on his hands and knees to edge his lawn—with scissors. Because New Orleans funerals are distinctive, the author includes accounts of four that he covered, complete with soulful singing and even some dancing. As a popular, local bumper sticker indisputably declares, “New Orleans—We Put the Fun in Funeral.”
Download or read book Last Car to Elysian Fields written by James Lee Burke and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2003-09-23 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times bestselling series. For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return there means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers. When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesn’t realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his life—and into the lives of those around him—an ancestral evil that could destroy them all. A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, Last Car to Elysian Fields is Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that is “an outstanding entry in an excellent series” (Publishers Weekly).
Download or read book When Blanche Met Brando written by Sam Staggs and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-07-25 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story behind the creation of Tennessee Williams's iconic play is partially drawn from interviews with surviving live performance cast members, shares insights into the connection between Vivien Leigh's personal life and the role of Blanche, and traces the history of the play's adaptation to film.
Download or read book Disgraceland written by Jake Brennan and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the creator of the popular rock 'n' roll true crime podcast, Disgraceland comes an off-kilter, hysterical, at times macabre book inspired by true stories from the highly entertaining underbelly of music history. You may know Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen-year-old cousin but did you know he shot his bass player in the chest with a shotgun or that a couple of his wives died under extremely mysterious circumstances? Or that Sam Cooke was shot dead in a seedy motel after barging into the manager's office naked to attack her? Maybe not. Would it change your view of him if you knew that, or would your love for his music triumph? Real rock stars do truly insane thing and invite truly insane things to happen to them; murder, drug trafficking, rape, cannibalism and the occult. We allow this behavior. We are complicit because a rock star behaving badly is what's expected. It's baked into the cake. Deep down, way down, past all of our self-righteous notions of justice and right and wrong, when it comes down to it, we want our rock stars to be bad. We know the music industry is full of demons, ones that drove Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Sid Vicious and that consumed the Norwegian Black Metal scene. We want to believe in the myths because they're so damn entertaining. Disgraceland is a collection of the best of these stories about some of the music world's most beloved stars and their crimes. It will mix all-new, untold stories with expanded stories from the first two seasons of the Disgraceland podcast. Using figures we already recognize, Disgraceland shines a light into the dark corners of their fame revealing the fine line that separates heroes and villains as well as the danger Americans seek out in their news cycles, tabloids, reality shows and soap operas. At the center of this collection of stories is the ever-fascinating music industry--a glittery stage populated by gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, groupies with violence, scandal and pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll entertainment.
Download or read book Elysian Fields written by Mark Gregory LaFlaur and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2013. * Winner of rare "double crown" of starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. * Publishers Weekly Featured Fiction selection. Simpson Weems is a 36-year-old aspiring poet whose life has been on hold -- to the breaking point. All he needs to fulfill his potential is to move to San Francisco, but he's torn between his long-held dream of being a great artist and obligations to his aged, ailing mother and his emotionally volatile brother, the all-demanding Bartholomew. Will someone in his family have to die before he can get to California? And how might that be arranged?Written "on location" in New Orleans and set shortly before Hurricane Katrina, Elysian Fields combines menace, the comic strangeness of Flannery O'Connor, and hints of magical realism to convey vivid, original characters and a Crescent City that is both recognizable and more offbeat and seductive than visitors usually see.PRAISE FOR "ELYSIAN FIELDS""A wholly involving story with Faulknerian characters in a fully realized setting. [A] tale of brotherly love and menace. . . . LaFlaur's descriptive talent shines. Fertile imagery drips like Spanish moss: the old buildings collapsing, 'as though the humidity-sodden bricks were returning to mud,' while 'cloud stacks glowed like the battlements of heaven.' [Main character] Simpson's mental landscape is equally vivid, drawn with such empathy and depth that readers will forgive his perpetual indecision and may even root for him to carry out the removal of his near-deranged brother." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"[R]eaders will find the author's portrayal of New Orleans convincing and his characters fascinating and fully developed. . . . Life in the Weems family of 1999 New Orleans is anything but Elysian in this engrossing Southern Gothic snapshot." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)"A stunning debut . . . shades of Tennessee Williams, Faulkner and John Kennedy Toole. . . . LaFlaur gently and expertly pulls readers along with his characters, never flinching in the face of their foibles . . ." --Antigravity magazine (New Orleans)"[A] wonderful debut novel, a southern gothic that is at times comedic, at times heartbreaking . . . In places Elysian Fields is as heavy as summer air in New Orleans, but it most definitely has a sense of humor. . . . [A]n impressive debut that will leave readers looking forward to LaFlaur's next offering." --Self-Publishing Review
Download or read book Insiders Guide to New Orleans written by Becky Retz and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010-01-19 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experience the buzz of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. Savor midnight mystery and simple pleasures. • A personal, practical perspective for travelers and residents alike • Comprehensive listings of attractions, restaurants, and accommodations • How to live & thrive in the area—from recreation to relocation • Countless details on shopping, arts & entertainment, and children's activities
Download or read book Bondage and Liberation written by Jayshree Singh (Kama) and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2009-09 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Unofficial Guide to New Orleans written by Eve Zibart and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2007-01-23 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World "A Tourist's Best Friend!" --Chicago Sun-Times "Indispensable" --The New York Times Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide * Hotels, motels, and inns ranked and rated for value and quality -- plus proven strategies for getting the best deals * Everything you ever needed to know about Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest * Witty and informative walking tours of the French Quarter, Arts District and Garden District * The straight truth on all the attractions, from City Park to Aquarium of the Americas * The best plantation home tours * Detailed restaurant reviews and tips on the hottest nightspots Sample Rating City Park ***** Appeal by age Preschool *** Grade school ***** Teens *** Young adults ***** Over 30 ***** Seniors *** 1 Palm Drive off I-10 (City Park/Metairie exit); # 504-482-4888; www.neworleanscitypark.com Type of attraction Municipal park with a variety of recreational and cultural attractions. Admission Park free; museum, botanical gardens, and some recreational centers have fees for out-of-state visitors. Hours Sunrise to sunset. When to go Anytime. Special comments An unrivaled family venue, with attractions for kids, jocks, picnickers, nature-lovers, and general romantics. How much time to allow 1-4 hours.
Download or read book Study Guide written by BookCaps Study Guides Staff and published by BookCaps Study Guides. This book was released on 2012-08-08 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The perfect companion to Tennessee Williamss' "A Streetcar Named Desire," this study guide contains a chapter by chapter analysis of the book, a summary of the plot, and a guide to major characters and themes. BookCap Study Guides do not contain text from the actual book, and are not meant to be purchased as alternatives to reading the book. We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.
Download or read book The Louisiana Field Guide written by Ryan Orgera and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2014-10-13 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Louisiana, every bite of food and each turn of phrase is an expression of cultural literacy. Correctly pronouncing "Tchoupitoulas" or "Atchafalaya," knowing the difference between the first Governor Long and the second one, being able to spot the artwork of Caroline Durieux, and honoring the distinction between a Creole and a Cajun roux serve not just as markers of familiarity; they represent acts of preservation. The Louisiana Field Guide: Understanding Life in the Pelican State expands on this everyday communion of history, delving into the cultural patchwork that makes the Gumbo State both thoroughly American and absolutely singular. An authoritative lineup of contributors reintroduces Louisiana through the lenses of environment, geography, history, politics, religion, culture, language, sports, literature, film, music, architecture, food, and art. Whether describing the archi-tectural details of the Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter or sharing the family history of Bourgeois' Meat Market just outside of Thibodaux, the essays in The Louisiana Field Guide present a fresh and expansive look at the enchanting and perplexing Pelican State. At once an accessible primer and a rich omnibus, this volume explores the well-known destinations and far-flung corners of Louisiana, from Cameron Parish to Congo Square, offering an enlightening companion guide for visitors and a trust-worthy reference for residents.
Download or read book A Streetcar Named Desire written by Harold Bloom and published by Infobase Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the writing of A streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Includes critical essays on the work and a brief biography of the author.
Download or read book Hal Chase written by Martin Donell Kohout and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-07-06 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hal Chase is considered by many to be one of the best first basemen ever to play the game of baseball. He was able to make the routine look spectacular, the spectacular look routine. But Chase will never have his plaque in Cooperstown because he has gone down in history as the biggest crook in baseball. Chase was repeatedly accused of throwing games, bribing players, betting against his own team, and various other crimes, yet with his relaxed nature he always managed to get off the hook for his misdeeds by working his charm. His major league career lasted from 1905 to 1919, and by the mid-1930s he was a destitute alcoholic living off friends. The last fifteen years of Chase's life saw him hospitalized repeatedly for a variety of ailments, living off a sister and brother-in-law who loathed him. This work traces the turbulent life and times of Hal Chase from his humble beginnings to his sad end.
Download or read book Ten Ways of Thinking About Samuel Beckett written by Enoch Brater and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-06-13 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beckett is acknowledged as one of the greatest playwrights and most innovative fiction writers of the twentieth century with an international appeal that bridges both general and more specialist readers. This collection of essays by renowned Beckett scholar Enoch Brater offers a delightfully original, playful and intriguing series of approaches to Beckett's drama, fiction and poetry. Beginning with a chapter entitled 'Things to Ponder While Waiting for Godot', each essay deftly illuminates aspects of Beckett's thinking and craft, making astute and often surprising discoveries along the way. In a series of beguiling discussions such as 'From Dada to Didi: Beckett and the Art of His Century', 'Beckett's Devious Interventions, or Fun with Cube Roots' and 'The Seated Figure on Beckett's Stage', Brater proves the perfect companion and commentator on Beckett's work, helping readers to approach it with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of the author's unique aesthetic. 'An eloquent, witty and erudite collection of essays that illuminates Beckett's drama and prose fiction from a number of complementary perspectives. Brater's precise explication of the interwoven tropes of language and mise-en-scène is combined with a fine grasp of the overarching structure of work ... to create a rich and suggestive series of reflections on Beckett's aesthetics.' - Robert Gordon, Professor of Drama, Goldsmiths, University of London
Download or read book A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 2004-09-17 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critics Circle Award winning play—reissued with an introduction by Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman and The Crucible), and Williams' essay "The World I Live In." It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared—57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Streetcar launched the careers of Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden, and solidified the position of Tennessee Williams as one of the most important young playwrights of his generation, as well as that of Elia Kazan as the greatest American stage director of the '40s and '50s. Who better than America's elder statesman of the theater, Williams' contemporary Arthur Miller, to write as a witness to the lightning that struck American culture in the form of A Streetcar Named Desire? Miller's rich perspective on Williams' singular style of poetic dialogue, sensitive characters, and dramatic violence makes this a unique and valuable new edition of A Streetcar Named Desire. This definitive new edition will also include Williams' essay "The World I Live In," and a brief chronology of the author's life.
Download or read book Havana is Waiting written by Eduardo Machado and published by Samuel French, Inc.. This book was released on 2008 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For three male actors and a percussion player.
Download or read book Into the Story written by David Maraniss and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-01-12 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first collection of the work of Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss, one of the most honored and versatile writers of his generation. The thirty-two "elegant and elegiac" (The Boston Globe) stories here cover a rich array of topics on life, politics, sports, and loss—ranging from seminal moments in modern history to intimate personal reflections, each piece illuminated by the author’s deep reporting and singular sensibility.
Download or read book The Dollhouse Asylum written by Mary Gray and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A group of teenagers are granted asylum from the apocalypse only to be forced to re-enact famous, tragic literary romances... or die. A novel about escaping psychological abuse. When the world is breaking all someone wants is safety. A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched. But when eighteen-year-old Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields-a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus-she is thrilled to have a chance at survival. At first, Elysian Fields-with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns-is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole her heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world. The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now Persephone, and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along. Play it right, then they'll be safe. But play it wrong, they'll die. The Dollhouse Asylum is a fast-paced psychological thriller in the vein of Wayward Pines or The Girl with All the Gifts. If you like unpredictable plots, nightmarish settings, and dangerous love interests, then you'll love Gray's novel about escaping unhealthy love.
