Nominated for the 2009 Southern Independent Booksellers Association SIBA Awards in the poetry category
Winner, Poetry (general), National Best Books 2009 Awards
"A magnificent journey into the delicious realms of unknown New Orleans. Fisher exposes the secrets of this complex city and lures us into the provocative world . . . which is New Orleans . . . a must read for any serious lover of superb writing." —Rosary O'Neill, author and playwright, The Actor's Checklist and Uncle Victor
"Some of these aphorisms are charming, and some may even be profound." —Andrei Codrescu, author, Wakefield and New Orleans, Mon Amour
"Fisher is suitably eccentric and outrageous to represent New Orleans. . . . A talented writer." —Greg Langley, The Baton Rouge Advocate
"A cogent, sparkling tour de force of wit, wisdom, and most importantly love. Her sense of what makes the French Quarter such a maddening, but endearing, magnet for creative souls is priceless." —Christian Allman, publisher, Gris Gris Rouge magazine
"Superb literary anecdotes and allusions, bristling with wisdom, surprisingly turned with wit and creativity, beam gems of thought." —Bishop James H. Burch, The Catholic Diocese of One Spirit
"Magnus opus. . . . Thought-provoking . . . felt deep within the belly and heart. Be prepared . . . to laugh, cry, dance, and think." —National Librarian
"Magnificently captures the heart and soul of New Orleans." —Jeff Rector, award-winning actor, writer, and director/producer
"Thought-provoking insights for living the human drama are compelling and smack of genius. Kudos." —Catherine Lanigan, author, Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile
A book to dip into for inspiration, laughs, and genuine folk wisdom. Full of one-liners and ageless proverbs, nonsense and common sense, Hearsay is a feast for the senses and the soul." — Darlyn Finch, poet and author, Red Wax Rose
"Wonderful bedside companion." — Roy F. Guste, JR., author, The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré and Antoine's Cookbook
"Another celebration of the greatest city in America as only Fisher could write it . . . a grasping for light in lightless New Orleans nights, a voice in a time of frightening silence, clarity in a time of chaos." —Joshua Clark, author, Heart Like Water: Surviving Katrina and Life in Its Disaster
"Delicious concoction." —Rosemary James, cofounder, The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, and editor, My New Orleans: Ballads to the Big Easy by Her Sons, Daughters, and Lovers
"Superb literary anecdotes and allusions, bristling with wisdom, surprisingly turned with wit and creativity, beam gems of thought." —Bishop James H. Burch, The Catholic Diocese of One Spirit
"Totally unique book, filled with . . . ‘French Quarterisms’ . . . flip open to any page and delight." —Bookviews
This collection of dark and enchanted satire, musings, and witticisms exposes a swatch in the psyche deeper than character studies or scenarios of right or wrong, good or bad, politics or peccadilloes. Crafty, uncensored, and contentious, this irreverent commentary serves up the perfect "quipsodic" tonic for overcoming the perpetually positive, goodie-two-shoes, saintly Stepford, happy middlebrow mindset. From the hallowed halls of tycoons to the underbelly of pop culture and flawed people living in the abyss, beyond the revelry and merrymaking, the guises and disguises, herein lies a quirky shadow dance of quips; a dark-jewel slice of life. Taking umbrage at milquetoast platitudes, with sardonic, world-weary wit, the narrative delivers insolent interpretations of how Louisiana's rebellious, rollicking French Quarter saints and sinners approach life, love, lust, backstabbing, and survival on the brink.
TJ Fisher is a documentary filmmaker, thespian, writer, and the coauthor of Orléans Embrace with the Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré. She is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Academy of Television and Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Writers Guild of America. She lives in New Orleans.
Regional: South, Philosophy
512 pages, Cloth, 7 1/4 x 9 1/4
48 Line Drawings, Two-color Interior
Distribution Rights: WOR
$7.99 (CAN $8.99)
9780977351435 (0977351432) Pub Date: May 2008
Morgana Press