Snapshots in Time
New Orleans Portrayed
Photographs by David G. Spielman
What makes a good photograph? Is it the right lighting? A perfect composition, person or place? Or is it capturing both in an instant? New Orleans photographer DAvid G. Spielman has spent four decades living and working in the city he calls home, capturing those instants with the interesting people and places around him. In his latest book, “New Orleans Portrayed,” Spielman offers a visual love letter to the Crescent City, with stunning, moving, intriguing black and white portraits of a place and the personalities that make it one of the most unique places in the world.
Hardcover, 120 pages, $45.
News Item
Louisiana Writer Award
The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana recognized author and Tulane professor John M. Barry in fall of 2020 as the recipient of the 21st Louisiana Writer Award. Barry, who is also one of our 2021 Louisianians of the Year honorees, was recognized for his work documenting Louisiana history and the state’s coastal restoration efforts and challenges. He is the author of “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History” and “Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America.” Previous winners of the award include Ernest Gaines, James Lee Burke, Tim Gautreaux and Johnette Downing.
Comfort Food
Fresh from Louisiana: The Soul of Cajun and Creole Home Cooking
by George Graham
From farm-fresh produce to the freshest caught seafood and game, Louisiana is an embarrassment of food riches. In his latest cookbook, “Fresh from Louisiana,” Lafayette-based chef, restaurateur, award-winning food blogger and author George Graham explores the best ways to enjoy all of the market fresh bounty that Louisiana has to offer the home cook. With more than 100 recipes and full color photos, Graham highlights an entire menu of Cajun recipes, from starters to dessert, along with colorful stories, memoirs and characters. Corn and crab bisque, sweet-tea brined chicken, braised collards in hock stock and praline pumpkin pie are just a few of the favorites included. Graham guides home cooks in a familiar and comfortable way, as if he’s cooking right there with you in your own kitchen.
Hardcover, 240 pages, $40
Southern Screens
The South Never Plays Itself: A Film Buff’s Journey Through the South on Screen
by Ben Beard
Hollywood South continues to play a big role in the business of film making, but while many movies are filmed throughout Louisiana, what do movie makers really understand about the places they capture their films? From “A Streetcar Named Desire” to “Steel Magnolias,” “Eve’s Bayou” and “12 Years a Slave,” Louisiana, and many other locations across the region, has been the backdrop for and exploration of the stories and personalities of the American South. Part memoir, part history book and movie guide, “The South Never Plays Itself” takes a deep dive into what movies get right and what they get wrong about their portrayal of the South from the point of view of a true movie buff.
Hardcover, 304 pages, $28.95
