Stories from Richard Ford, Ellen Gilchrist, Robert Olen Butler, Andrei Codrescu, Barry Gifford, John Biguenet, Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy Lemann, Valerie Martin, Julie Smith, and 30 others, including a previously unpublished piece from Tennessee Williams.

The beautiful paperback gift book has French flaps with photos of the French Quarter, and 384 pages with classique rough cut edges. $16.95 (ISBN 0-9714076-7-3) Free Shipping!

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NEW FROM LIGHT OF NEW ORLEANS.... back in america

by Barry Gifford

Barry Gifford, the author of Wild at Heart, Night People and the screenplay for David Lynch’s Lost Highway, as well as a contributor to French Quarter Fiction, offers his strongest, most mature collection of poems to date.

“Barry Gifford’s consummate skills give us reflecting images and themes in quick, bright strokes that linger on the retina.”—THE WASHINGTON POST

“Barry Gifford has been chronicling the decline of Western Civilization for 25 years; as America goes, so goes Mr. Gifford.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

...37 different servings of the Vieux Carré; from crawfish and newspaper nasty to ballroom and china elegant. 37 views of love, death, sexuality, murder, betrayal, self-loathing, redemption, and the best beignets around. This marvelous anthology puts us in one of the most intoxicating places on earth, then says, 'Stay a while. Gaze at us from all sides, all angles. Breathe us in; let our sights, sounds, smells, tastes and idiosyncrasies make you one with the Quarter. Get comfortable, have a sip of life, and visit.'

It's a feast for the eyes, heart and soul."—THE CLARION LEDGER

"An eclectic collection of short fiction by some of our most prestigious writers, while introducing the work of promising new voices.

Ellen Gilchrist's 'Sunday' offers you a line so perfect, it leaves you humble.

Whatever your taste in fiction, you will find a story in this book to satisfy you, and some will inspire and enlighten you, just as some will challenge you."—PLANET WEEKLY

“Penetrates, subverts and explodes the standard shopworn clichés that ride this city’s ragged coattails... 'The Night Was Full of Hours' is a staggeringly personal peek into the life of this city’s most famous writer, Tennessee Williams.”—WHERE Y'AT

"This anthology—compiled by Joshua Clark as a labor of love and a present for the rest of us—reveals the many facets of the Quarter, while emphasizing the very human people who make it the place where we all dream about going to seed. In addition to the notable (and very different) authors is a score of others who will one day be just as celebrated."—Michael Dirda, THE WASHINGTON POST

"This is the Quarter with a volcano of smells and termite-infested buildings.

Clark has amassed a powerful assortment of talented writers, whose smooth, elegant prose makes reading joyful, not the chore you swear you’d undertake if only you had more time. The stories are elegantly written, never sensational, always cool and intellectual and often humorous without being intentionally funny. As well, these writers know how to craft a lead that readers can suck up like a Hurricane.

The level of detail in which the stories are written is astonishing. ...Miss Consuelo Yesso hands Parshal Lee the monkey’s skull wrapped in aluminum foil, as though it were a roasted potato. The combination of exotic monkey head and housewifey pantry staple seems odd, but somehow it makes sense for these characters, who probably can’t be bothered with Tupperware.

Here’s hoping we won’t have to wait long for the next edition."—NEW ORLEANS MAGAZINE

“In 2025 when every structure in the Quarter will be built out of copper plaques commemorating the people who once lived here, this book will be the first one the lit hounds pick up in search of ur-sounds.”—Andrei Codrescu

“The Vieux Carré unmasked by those who love her.

Nothing else could hope to lift the veils of privacy so utterly. None has ever given us such an unabashed, intimate view into the mindset of Tennessee Williams in his later years as his piece here, and perhaps none of his other works have either.

But most importantly, these are stories for anyone who loves great fiction, regardless if they have even heard of the French Quarter. Whether it’s flash fiction, horror, or satire, when it comes down to it, these are simply great stories: breathtaking, beautiful, poignant, tragic and comic.”—ALTERNATIVES

"The colorful and eccentric residents of the Quarter swarm through these stories like fire ants.... Each story offers an evocation, a sharply drawn scenario that will transport the reader to a particular time and location in the French Quarter. Enjoy the trip."—SUNDAY ADVOCATE MAGAZINE

“An unprecedented evocation of the haunted city responsible for America’s Bohemian bent. Sensual delights from some of the most renowned authors of our era plus many distinctive new voices make for a truly intoxicating experience.”—Jane Ciabattari, contributing editor PARADE Magazine and author of Stealing the Fire

“The true heart of a place, even the infamous Big Easy, is revealed through its folklore and stories, and this poignant reality is reflected brilliantly here. These stories are a distilled pleasure achieved through muscular and lyrical revelations.” —Yusef Komunyakaa

“Anyone who has ever been seduced by New Orleans' French Quarter, even those who have not yet, cannot help but have those feelings conjured up by Joshua Clark's collection. These stories convey the heart and soul of the Quarter; having them discovered and assembled here is a remarkable act of scholarship and love.” —Michael Feldman, host of Public Radio International’s “Whad’Ya Know

AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S most legendary and unique places, for three centuries the French Quarter of New Orleans has been home and muse to countless artists. Anchored in this setting, 37 short stories are collected here for the first time. These works branch across every genre from mystery and romance to surrealism and prose poetry, as incomparable as the neighborhood from which they sprang, forming an eclectic mix of some of the most exciting modern fiction found anywhere.

These characters also find themselves everywhere from Sarajevo on the eve of World War I to Algiers Point just across the Mississippi River, and their stories wander from the 18th Century New World to a rooftop view of Bourbon Street as the third millennium begins. Nothing else could hope to lift this neighborhood’s veils of privacy so utterly. These are stories that penetrate the standard clichés that “N’awlins” evokes, stories that reflect the true sense of this place that eight million visitors a year seek and so often miss—its sensuality, mystery, the life behind its walls.

read some reviews:

NPR

Gambit Weekly

Leonard Earl Johnson's column on the Book Release Party

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