Why New Orleans Matters Part 2

I was right. Of course things became terrible after hurricane Katrina, I was just hoping to put off the disaster for for a few more chapters. He was very clever. We fell in love with the city and then read about its destruction. He supplied the details and the clear descriptions for us to visualize. But it was an emotional retelling of the events. We followed him as his home and his friends' homes were submerged in toxins and sewerage. Fortunately, he wasn't repetitive. He explained what Katrina had done and moved on to something constructive. His goal with the piece was never to explain what Katrina left behind, but to remind us of why New Orleans is worth rebuilding. He concentrated on the actions that were being taken by the government and support groups. He emphasized the various plans that were being considered to repair the city. The Bottom-Up approach would save the spirit of the city, while the Top-Down approach that was being considered, would kill it.
I included a clip of a New Orleans jazz funeral which Piazza often mentioned in the text as a celebration of life in New Orleans. I also included a video of some pictures taken after Katrina.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krJW2qMVv4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvoEiBnpCc8

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Why New Orleans Matters Part 1

I have stopped reading on the last page of Part 1 and I have fallen completely in love with New Orleans. Unfortunately I have this sinking feeling that once I turn the page I will have to suffer through its destruction. Katrina has been mentioned briefly throughout the text, but only in reference to particular events. Instead the text has been concentrating on the culture and reality of New Orleans. Rather than sugar coat the city and write over one hundred pages of a travel article, we have heard of its beauty, spirit, severe poverty levels, horrendous crimes and the dishonesty of some of the states finest. Part 1 has been believable. To love New Orleans is to accept its negative aspects with the positive and adore it despite them. Piazza clearly loves New Orleans. He understands that no place is without its faults. Poverty and violence are part of its spirit. He did not leave them out of his description. It makes it very easy for the reader to honestly fall in love with the city as well. I'm terrified about what will happen to the people and places that I have learned so much about. 

Writing about Places, Science, and Art

     Writing about a place has always been tricky. In my opinion, there isn't any description around that can be as clear or as accurate as a picture. For the most part, photographs are very easy to acquire of whichever place you have visited. What a picture cannot do as well as a piece of writing is express the specific emotions you felt while standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon or while strolling through dear old Granny's prized flower garden. (I'm sure there are very talented photographers and artists out there who will disagree, but unfortunately I am no one of them.) Language was created as a form of expression. Let your travel piece express what you felt and saw that moved you. The place you describe may have been visited countless times before and that’s okay, because then your readers have something that they can relate to. If it was a unique and unusual experience, then it’s something they are going to be interested in hearing about.

     Art and science tend to be approached differently. Science leans toward a clear explanation of a process, while art tends to become a critique or review of some sort. Generally the artist’s ability and the quality of the piece itself are discussed. Both science and art require a solid knowledge base in the topic being discussed. Someone who doesn't enjoy any theatre wouldn't make a very good theatre critic, and a man who cannot work a toaster properly would never be trusted to explain rocket science to children. Being clear and honest are crucial. The reader demands it.