Past and Present

For Today
Carolyn Hembree
Carolyn Hembree’s poetry collection, “For Today,” tackles grief, trauma, anger, love and living in New abook follows a recent mother who grieves her father who died right before she gave birth to her child. Throughout this collection, Hembree writes poems that talk to the speaker’s community, from their ancestors and neighbors to their poet community (both the living and the dead.) This collection is part of LSU Press’s Barataria Poetry Series. Hembree is a professor at the University of New Orleans and is the poetry editor of Bayou Magazine. Paperback, 105 Pages $19.95

Po’Boy
Burke Bischoff
Burke Bischoff’s “Po’Boy” tackles the story of the humble yet iconic sandwich that has become synonymous with New Orleans itself. Bischoff, who is a native of New Orleans’  Westbank, gets into rich historical detail about the sandwich, from how it was created in order to feed streetcar employees to the different details about the common (and some not so common) fillings for the sandwich. “Po’Boy” is for anyone who is a fan of the sandwich and New Orleans culture who wants to delve into deeper histories, or for someone curious to learn about New Orleans cuisine. “Po’Boy” is part of the Louisiana True book series that highlights different elements of Louisiana culture and traditions. Paperback, 120 Pages $21.95

The American Daughters
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s newest book is a novel titled “The American Daughters,” that follows the protagonist, Ady, and her mother Sanite. The pair are enslaved, and then separated, when Ady runs into a free Black woman of color who introduces her to a group of spies called the “Daughters.” Known for his prior two books that were also set in New Orleans, Ruffin has garnered the reputation of writing and creating stories about the city that gets read within the state, while also becoming popular throughout the world. While Ruffin wrote some historical pieces in his short story collection, “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You,” this novel differs from his first, “We Cast a Shadow,” which was set in a not-so-distant future.  Ruffin was just given the Louisiana Writer Award at the Louisiana Book Festival for this year. Hardcover, 304 Pages $28

Danny Cherry Jr.
The Pike Boys
“The Pike Boys” is the first book by New Orleans author Danny Cherry Jr. The novel follows Jessie Pike, the owner of the most popular brothel in 1920 New Orleans. The novel blends genres of historical fiction, a family drama and of a character who tries to get out of a life of crime and poverty. The novel begs the question, can a person change, or do they just try to overcome or succumb to the obstacles between them and their goal. With a large cast of characters and scenes with action, it also asks: Can Jessie achieve an end worth the violent means, or will the violence eat him, like it has his family before him? Paperback, 412 Pages $19.99