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Michael Warner

That Heathen Crowd at the Green Shutter

In the Roaring 20s, feisty Uptown socialite Martha Westfeldt opens a New Orleans French Quarter bookstore that becomes Bohemia Central. Originally posted at the French Quarter Journal, July 30, 2019. From time to time, a shop opens in the French Quarter that becomes a nexus for creative minds. The shop…

A Lyle Saxon Reader Wins Second Place in 2019 IndieReader Discovery Awards for Fiction

IndieReader.com announced on June 1 that Cultured Oak Press’ recent book, A Lyle Saxon Reader: Lost Stories of the French Quarter and Buried Treasure, has won second place in the 2019 IndieReader Discovery Awards (IRDA) in the Fiction category. In describing the award, IndieReader reported, “Saxon’s unsparing, yet…

Lyle Saxon’s “The Forgotten Cigarette”

One of New Orleans’ most cherished authors is Lyle Saxon, often hailed as the historian laureate of the Crescent City. His most-read books include Fabulous New Orleans (1928) and Old Louisiana (1929). Today’s post reproduces, in its entirety, one of Saxon’s earliest short stories, “The Forgotten Cigarette…

Interview: New Orleans Actress Veleka Gray

New Orleans is a deep well of stories and acting talent. Many gifted actors leave New Orleans to find jobs in cities that have larger television, stage or large screen opportunities. But sometimes they return home to New Orleans.-One such person has a name familiar to many New Orleanians…

The Tail Spin – A New Orleans Prohibition-Era Cocktail

Let’s start our evening with a refreshing cocktail—straight from Prohibition-era New Orleans! I’ll introduce you to the Tail Spin. Prohibition in a Shaker Prohibition lasted in the United States from the 1919 ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution until its repeal in 1933 with…