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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dan Fox
A black and white illustration of two fish facing opposite directions. The fish are black and their fins are white. The fish on the left is facing up, and the fish on the right is facing down. There are black drops of water forming a circle around them. Illustration by Artemesia Trapeze.

WILD WAVES

Taylor Balkissoon
A black and white illustration of leaves growing around a black frame. The frame is black and has white dots. Inside the frame are individual leaves spaced apart. Outside of the frame there are overgrown leaves all around it. Illustration by Rachel Speck.

DIRT NERD

Ian Willson
A grayscale illustration of a dark-skinned person touching their hands to their stomach. We can see from their chest to their waist. They’re wearing a white shirt that’s lifted up to uncover their stomach. Their hands are placed in their stomach with their fingers forming a heart around their belly button, the way people do when they’re pregnant. Illustration by Victoria Allen.

RAISING LOUISIANA

Ashley Hill Hamilton
A black and white illustration of people on a ferris wheel being controlled by changing weather. The person in one cabin is being blown on by a cloud, and they’re frozen in a block of ice, shivering with multiple layers on. The person in the cabin below them is a skeleton on fire, being lowered into hell while the Devil cheers nearby. Illustration by Ben Claassen III.

TIPS FROM THERIOT

Isabel Ryan Theriot
This is an excerpt of the cursive handwriting on lined paper from which the article is transcribed.

TALES FROM THE PEN

Leather
A black and white illustration of two light-skinned hands twisting a megaphone. The side that sound comes out of is facing down, and the sound waves coming out of it look like sound is getting quieter. Illustration by Sadie Wiese.

FOR THE RECORD

Marisa Clogher
An out-of-focus black and white photo of a brass band with the MaCCNO logo overlaid it in white. Below the logo reads “The Music & Culture Coalition of New Orleans” in white.

GET YOUR BRASS OUT AND VOTE!

MaCCNO
A black and white illustration of 3 tarot cards sitting side by side. The left card depicts a person with an afro tied back, and 2 trumpet players on either side. The trumpet players are facing each other on either side of the afro, and the bottom half of their bodies turn into musical notes that come from the person’s ears. The bottom reads “Judgement.” The middle card depicts a toward with planks protruding down the sides. The background is black, and there are storm clouds and lightning bolts. The bottom reads “The Tower.” The right card depicts 4 hands all grabbing each others’ wrists in order to form a square. There are flames surrounding the arms and in between the hands. The bottom reads “Four of Wands.” Illustration by Karla Rosas.

TAROT

Michelle Embree

Latest

A black and white illustration of egrets standing in dark water in the marsh, with oil refineries in the background. There are two egrets and they are facing away from each other. The water is black, and there’s grass on either side. In the background is a fence, and beyond the fence is an oil refinery. The structures are all white and the sky is black. At the bottom reads “St. John Makes, Marathon Takes: Communities Want a Refund” in gray letters. Illustration by Pippin Frisbie-Calder.

ST. JOHN MAKES, MARATHON TAKES

The Marathon Garyville Refinery is a fortress of smokestacks and towers that occupies about five square miles of former sugarcane fields on the Mississippi River. Its footprint...

Chris Staudinger
A black and white photo of the bells of tubas laying down on a table. The open, circular parts are laying face down, and they’re all white. The bell most prominently in frame has a crack in it. There are chairs and instrument cases in the background. Photo by James Cullen.

ROOTS OF MUSIC MARCHES ON

Derrick Tabb had an idea. It wasn’t a new idea, but one he had been kicking around for some time. Tabb saw post-Katrina New Orleans as a city that had been badly damaged both...

James Cullen
A black and white drawing of MF DOOM holding and looking down at a skull with a mask the same as his. The mask he’s wearing covers his eyes and comes down in two parallel lines on either side of his mouth. The skull in his right hand is only visible from the side, but we can see it has the same design as his mask. He’s wearing a cape, holding a microphone, and has a sword attached to his hip. The shading is all done with dots, and there’s a dark circle behind him, like he’s a comic book character. Illustration by Kate Lacour.

MF DOOM 1971 — 2020

I was sitting in my car outside the CD Warehouse (or Sound Warehouse or Warehouse Records; I forget) circa 2003. In my possession was the new MF DOOM (as Viktor Vaughn) album,...

Ballzack
A grayscale illustration of a dark-skinned person with no facial features looking to the right of the frame. Their face is shaded using dot work. Their hair is in a short afro and they’re wearing white dangling earrings. The background is black, and there’s a ray of white that resembles a spotlight coming from the top right corner. This spotlight is also shaded with dot work, but it’s much lighter. Illustration by Ruth Mascelli.

SCENE NOT HEARD

Prologue I started working in the entertainment industry in New Orleans, costume department, in late 2017. As a production assistant (PA), my days were consumed with filing and...

Christine M. Hamilton
A grayscale illustration of a rat in a top hat holding cash. Behind the rat there is a building, and surrounding the rat is money and cheese. Illustration by Artemesia Trapeze.

MONEY FOR NOTHING

After COVID-19 hit, Sia Karamalegos was among the many New Orleanians whose loss of work left her unable to make rent. Considering the economy was in total freefall, she hoped her...

Holly Devon

“We Just Want to Talk” COINTEL in New Orleans: Then and Now

The names of recent arrestees have been changed, and only “they/them” pronouns are used to protect the arrestees from retaliation. In 1972, a young radical Marxist named Harry...

Alex Taylor, Delaney Nolan

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