Edward Sanders is not new to the idea of political commentary; he was an integral member of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. In his new and thought-provoking Poems for New Orleans, Sanders continues his radical analysis of American culture, with over 50 poems about the Crescent City, past and present. In the following interview, Sanders gives an honest account of what inspired him to write Poems for New Orleans, how this project is aligned with his previous literary works, and what he hopes in offering the suite of poems to the public.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
You mention in your Introduction that you decided to write Poems for New Orleans for a recording project. What kind of research did you conduct in order to familiarize yourself with New Orleans—and to decide to write of its past and present, its old-rooted traditions, and its newly founded mindsets?
For around 8 months I read and took notes from as many sources as I could find on the history of New Orleans past and present. I collected books, articles, pamphlets, and clipped many articles. I consulted with friends in New Orleans, such as Professor John Clark of Loyola University, and Andrei Codrescu. I created on my laptop literally thousands of pages of information, notes and sketches for poems. My wife Miriam and I visited the Crescent City and took extensive tours of the flood damaged city, and spoke to a number of residents exposed to the disaster.
I realized that I wanted to tell a story that followed the history and complicated social structures of the city from its founding in 1718 to the present. I wanted to create a work of art that went beyond the polemic and beyond the exposé, to a celebration in poetry form of the triumph of a great and culturally varied city or polis.
How have people reacted to your poems, specifically regarding Hurricane Katrina?
They have reacted very well. I have read a number of the Poems for New Orleans in readings in the United States and Europe. The upsettedness over government neglect and ineptitude in response to the human calamity caused by the hurricane and its aftermath is felt by millions upon millions around the world.
You created a central figure with the Lebage family, whose lineage runs alongside and through the history of New Orleans. Why is this so necessary to the story of the poems? What would be missing if they were not at the core? Or, what is to be gained by their inclusion?
The spine, the strength, the soul of Poems for New Orleans is the Lebage family, beginning with Lemoine Lebage who founded the family dynasty after he came to New Orleans from Haiti and fought with Andy Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, in 1815. He built a house in the Crescent, and it was passed down, generation to generation, till, at the moment of Katrina, it was owned by poet/singer Grace Lebage and her husband. Part of the book’s soul traces the efforts of Grace to restore her flood damaged house, with all her frustrations at a cruel bureaucracy, so that, in the end, she holds a series of benefits around the nation and rebuilds her ancestral home with her own grit and pizzazz. Very American, you could say. In the Amish barn-raising tradition. In the spirit of the World War II community Victory Gardens.
What do you hope to accomplish with this collection? Is it primarily a reflection of a city’s spirit? Is there a political bend that ultimately suffuses the collection? Or rather, is it possible to avoid political commentary considering the social issues that surround New Orleans as of late?
I think my social democrat economic philosophy suffuses the book. But, as to my long-term goals, I wanted to create a work of art that would survive for a couple of centuries and be of use and provide pleasure to those who encounter it.
You’ve led a long career engrossed in the social and political struggles of this country. How did this project compare/fall in line with your previous works and experiences? What level of satisfaction can you feel when dealing with issues like those that plagued New Orleans? Does the indomitable and wildly charming spirit of the city overpower the issues?
The Poems for New Orleans project was conducted in accordance with the principals of my manifesto, “Investivative Poetry,” which suggests and urges poets to become involved, as in the case of ancient bards, in the descriptions of historical reality.
Along with being a printed collection, these poems have also been recorded. What effect do they have in the audio form that cannot be gained through the written word, and vice versa? Are some poems crafted specifically to be performed?
A sequence of Poems for New Orleans were recorded at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, with music composed and produced by Mark Bingham. The sequence chosen highlighted the narrative thread tracing the Lebage family, longtime residents of New Orleans, from the 1815 Battle of New Orleans through the 2005 hurricane disaster. None of the poems were designed specifically to be performed. They are just as eventful when read on the page as heard through speakers or headphones.
Which poem presented the greatest challenge to you? Was it a struggle with voice, imagery, the subject matter, or something else?
The poem with the greatest challenge was “Then Came the Storm— a Prayer for the Victims of Katrina,” which concludes the book. First of all, when you try to ascertain exactly what occurred during a historical moment of great import, you realize that it’s not easy and not simple. I consulted a number of timelines and many, many articles and testimonials in order to come up with an exact chrono-track or timeline for the actual facts and dates and hours of the hurricane. I decided to rhyme some of the sections, and to bring a kind of spiritual quality to the poem’s flow.
This is summed up in the final lines:
And always the question, where is the path
that leads from the Gates of Wrath?
A bard always writes on an ancient shard
but the road from wrath is long and hard
and however ragged and rough my verses are
all of them are a prayer for the victims of Katrina.
Through all your research, work, and reflections on the city, where do you think the story of the Crescent City will go now, considering its struggles and joys through history and how its people have handled it all?
The politics of New Orleans were profoundly changed, I think, by the forced dispersal of over 100,000 residents, most of them black and of modest means, to 44 states. Many have not been able to return, and some have found new lives elsewhere. To me, the pre-Katrina New Orleans showed a way, however imperfect, for a city to thrive culturally even with a good portion of its residents poor and almost poor. Cities and nations have to find ways for the modestly monied to enjoy the basics of decent civilization: safe domicile, national healthcare, and no one hungry or without access to fun and leisure.
New Orleans, I think, will survive quite well. Freedom demands it.
Lastly, what aspect of the Crescent City left you with the strongest impression?
The mix of fun and religion, creativity and partying, prayer and bacchus.
This post was written by our intern, Alya.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Poems for New Orleans.
CLICK HERE to visit Edward Sanders’ Woodstock Journal.
Interview With Edward Sanders, Author of Poems for New Orleans
September 3, 2008Edward Sanders is not new to the idea of political commentary; he was an integral member of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. In his new and thought-provoking Poems for New Orleans, Sanders continues his radical analysis of American culture, with over 50 poems about the Crescent City, past and present. In the following interview, Sanders gives an honest account of what inspired him to write Poems for New Orleans, how this project is aligned with his previous literary works, and what he hopes in offering the suite of poems to the public.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
You mention in your Introduction that you decided to write Poems for New Orleans for a recording project. What kind of research did you conduct in order to familiarize yourself with New Orleans—and to decide to write of its past and present, its old-rooted traditions, and its newly founded mindsets?
For around 8 months I read and took notes from as many sources as I could find on the history of New Orleans past and present. I collected books, articles, pamphlets, and clipped many articles. I consulted with friends in New Orleans, such as Professor John Clark of Loyola University, and Andrei Codrescu. I created on my laptop literally thousands of pages of information, notes and sketches for poems. My wife Miriam and I visited the Crescent City and took extensive tours of the flood damaged city, and spoke to a number of residents exposed to the disaster.
I realized that I wanted to tell a story that followed the history and complicated social structures of the city from its founding in 1718 to the present. I wanted to create a work of art that went beyond the polemic and beyond the exposé, to a celebration in poetry form of the triumph of a great and culturally varied city or polis.
How have people reacted to your poems, specifically regarding Hurricane Katrina?
They have reacted very well. I have read a number of the Poems for New Orleans in readings in the United States and Europe. The upsettedness over government neglect and ineptitude in response to the human calamity caused by the hurricane and its aftermath is felt by millions upon millions around the world.
You created a central figure with the Lebage family, whose lineage runs alongside and through the history of New Orleans. Why is this so necessary to the story of the poems? What would be missing if they were not at the core? Or, what is to be gained by their inclusion?
The spine, the strength, the soul of Poems for New Orleans is the Lebage family, beginning with Lemoine Lebage who founded the family dynasty after he came to New Orleans from Haiti and fought with Andy Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, in 1815. He built a house in the Crescent, and it was passed down, generation to generation, till, at the moment of Katrina, it was owned by poet/singer Grace Lebage and her husband. Part of the book’s soul traces the efforts of Grace to restore her flood damaged house, with all her frustrations at a cruel bureaucracy, so that, in the end, she holds a series of benefits around the nation and rebuilds her ancestral home with her own grit and pizzazz. Very American, you could say. In the Amish barn-raising tradition. In the spirit of the World War II community Victory Gardens.
What do you hope to accomplish with this collection? Is it primarily a reflection of a city’s spirit? Is there a political bend that ultimately suffuses the collection? Or rather, is it possible to avoid political commentary considering the social issues that surround New Orleans as of late?
I think my social democrat economic philosophy suffuses the book. But, as to my long-term goals, I wanted to create a work of art that would survive for a couple of centuries and be of use and provide pleasure to those who encounter it.
You’ve led a long career engrossed in the social and political struggles of this country. How did this project compare/fall in line with your previous works and experiences? What level of satisfaction can you feel when dealing with issues like those that plagued New Orleans? Does the indomitable and wildly charming spirit of the city overpower the issues?
The Poems for New Orleans project was conducted in accordance with the principals of my manifesto, “Investivative Poetry,” which suggests and urges poets to become involved, as in the case of ancient bards, in the descriptions of historical reality.
Along with being a printed collection, these poems have also been recorded. What effect do they have in the audio form that cannot be gained through the written word, and vice versa? Are some poems crafted specifically to be performed?
A sequence of Poems for New Orleans were recorded at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, with music composed and produced by Mark Bingham. The sequence chosen highlighted the narrative thread tracing the Lebage family, longtime residents of New Orleans, from the 1815 Battle of New Orleans through the 2005 hurricane disaster. None of the poems were designed specifically to be performed. They are just as eventful when read on the page as heard through speakers or headphones.
Which poem presented the greatest challenge to you? Was it a struggle with voice, imagery, the subject matter, or something else?
The poem with the greatest challenge was “Then Came the Storm— a Prayer for the Victims of Katrina,” which concludes the book. First of all, when you try to ascertain exactly what occurred during a historical moment of great import, you realize that it’s not easy and not simple. I consulted a number of timelines and many, many articles and testimonials in order to come up with an exact chrono-track or timeline for the actual facts and dates and hours of the hurricane. I decided to rhyme some of the sections, and to bring a kind of spiritual quality to the poem’s flow.
This is summed up in the final lines:
And always the question, where is the path
that leads from the Gates of Wrath?
A bard always writes on an ancient shard
but the road from wrath is long and hard
and however ragged and rough my verses are
all of them are a prayer for the victims of Katrina.
Through all your research, work, and reflections on the city, where do you think the story of the Crescent City will go now, considering its struggles and joys through history and how its people have handled it all?
The politics of New Orleans were profoundly changed, I think, by the forced dispersal of over 100,000 residents, most of them black and of modest means, to 44 states. Many have not been able to return, and some have found new lives elsewhere. To me, the pre-Katrina New Orleans showed a way, however imperfect, for a city to thrive culturally even with a good portion of its residents poor and almost poor. Cities and nations have to find ways for the modestly monied to enjoy the basics of decent civilization: safe domicile, national healthcare, and no one hungry or without access to fun and leisure.
New Orleans, I think, will survive quite well. Freedom demands it.
Lastly, what aspect of the Crescent City left you with the strongest impression?
The mix of fun and religion, creativity and partying, prayer and bacchus.
This post was written by our intern, Alya.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Poems for New Orleans.
CLICK HERE to visit Edward Sanders’ Woodstock Journal.