From: SStantoine at aol.com <SStantoine>
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2005 09:23:26 EDT

In response to Maia's request for literature from the Gulf Coast, I thought I might mention the anthology STORIES FROM WHERE WE LIVE: THE GULF COAST. (It's part of Milkweed Editions' Stories from Where We Live series, for which I serve as series editor.)

The anthology contains stories, poems, and essays for readers ages 9 and up, designed to evoke a sense of the Gulf Coast region and the interrelationships between its people and the natural world. Yes, it includes a hurricane story
(an excerpt from THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD), but more important, at least to me, is the way the disparate authors represented in the volume articulate their deep-rooted connections to this diverse, fecund, but sometimes unforgiving environment. I hope this doesn't sound foolish coming from one sitting so far from all the devastation, but it leaves me with a great measure of hope for the restoration and renewal of these battered communities.

(For those who are interested, the book is available through booksellers and from Milkweed itself (ISBN 1-57131-636-1). Any inquiries can be directed to 1-800-215-2560 or sarah_ebner at milkweed.org.)

Sara St. Antoine Cambridge, MA
Received on Mon 05 Sep 2005 08:23:26 AM CDT