638. Lori Peek, Part 1

638. Part 1 of our interview with Lori Peek about her book, The Continuing Storm, which she wrote with Kai Erikson. More than fifteen years later, Hurricane Katrina maintains a strong grip on the American imagination. The reason is not simply that Katrina was an event of enormous scale. But, quite apart from its lethality and destructiveness, Katrina retains a place in living memory because it is one of the most telling disasters in our recent national experience, revealing important truths about our society and ourselves. The Continuing Storm reflects upon what we have learned about Katrina and about America. Kai Erikson and Lori Peek expand our view of the disaster by assessing its ongoing impact on individual lives and across the wide-ranging geographies where displaced New Orleanians landed after the storm. Such an expanded view, the authors argue, is critical for understanding the human costs of catastrophe across time and space. Concluding with a broader examination of disasters in the years since Katrina—including COVID-19— The Continuing Storm is a sobering meditation on the duration of a catastrophe that continues to exact steep costs in human suffering.

1. Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today!
   
2. This week in the Louisiana Anthology. Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi by George H. Devol. A cabin boy in 1839; could steal cards and cheat the boys at eleven; stock a deck at fourteen; bested soldiers on the Rio Grande during the Mexican War; won hundreds of thousands from paymasters, cotton buyers, defaulters, and thieves; fought more rough-and-tumble fights than any man in America, and was the most daring gambler in the world. “Some men are born rascals, some men have rascality thrust upon them, others achieve it.”
3. This week in Louisiana history. August 9 1975. The Superdome was opened as the hometown Saints met the Houston Oilers in an exhibition football game. The Oilers won handily, 31-7, in what was described as “a very lackluster” game. The Superdome cost $163 million to construct.
   
4. This week in New Orleans history. Lee Harvey Oswald Arrested in New Orleans on August 9, 1963. August 9, 1963: Oswald distrubutes pro-Castro leaflets  downtown.  Bringuier confronted Oswald, claiming he was tipped off about Oswald's activity by a friend. A scuffle ensued and Oswald, Bringuier, and two of Bringuier's friends were arrested in the 700 block of Canal Street for disturbing the peace. He spend the night in jail.
   
5. This week in Louisiana.
   Centenary State Historic Site
   3522 College Street
   Jackson, LA 70748
   Grounds open to visitors
   Thursday through Saturday
   open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
   closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day
   Buildings open for special programing or by appointment. 
   Admission/Entrance Fees
   $4 per person
   Free for senior citizens (62 and older)
   Free for children 3 and under
       Originally opened as the College of Louisiana in 1826, the school occupied an old courthouse and other buildings in the town of Jackson. The college steadily grew and two dormitories were built on new property in 1832 and 1837. The West Wing, the latter of these two buildings, remains today.
       After less than 20 years, the College of Louisiana closed because of declining enrollment. Suffering similar problems was the Methodist/Episcopal-operated Centenary College at Brandon Springs, Mississippi (established in 1839).
       Centenary then moved to the vacant campus of the College of Louisiana. Since the all-male student bodies of the two institutions were effectively combined, the school succeeded with the name Centenary College of Louisiana now owned and operated by the Methodist/Episcopal Church South.
   
6. Postcards from Louisiana. Little Freddie King FQF (French Quarter Fest).

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