On the surface Dixie Lust will read as personal archives about living in and discovering the South. It’s a haze of fried foods at mom and pop eateries, impromptu rock and roll shows on the back porch, and grand road trips in the spirit of Jack Kerouac. It’s New Orleans, Austin, Mobile, and Savannah – as well as Bunkie, LeBeau, and Grand Isle. It’s not “indie” and it certainly isn’t “preppy” – it’s a style all of its own. Below the surface, there’s a love affair taking place that even non-southerners can identify with. Dixie Lust is a reawakened desire for the simple things in life. It’s a story about loving life exactly where you are.
Maybe it was having a Canadian friend come down for Mardi Gras and discovering just as much as she did about my culture and heritage. Maybe it was sitting alone in the grassy field,listening to Cajun French Music at Festival International de Louisianne. Maybe it was finding myself falling for a once-farmer who lives and breathes for the wide open country. I can’t pinpoint one moment where it just came to me… This year has been a changing of heart, a journey home, for me. The art, the music, the food,…the people of the south – they’ve all captured my heart in a distinctive way. Very simply, I just felt compelled to write about the simplicity of my new found love.
When I was a senior in high school, there was a scheduling glitch and I was thrown into a creative writing course. I went in with the worst attitude - thinking I couldn’t write anything worth reading. I wrote what I thought were stupid musings but my classmates identified with my work. They encouraged me to write more – and my teacher taught me technique. The more I learned and the more I read of their work, the harder I pushed myself. I fell in love with writing that year (and I ended up scoring at the top of my class!). It was such a sense of community – and to me that’s what blogging is about. It’s a positive place of learning and expressing your true self. It’s all about putting yourself out there and spreading your ideas and energy.
The Bohemian Manifesto by Lauren Stover, fear, Anthony Bourdain, random acts of kindness, black and white photography, the beauty found in decay, yoga, wide open spaces, acoustic songs, Sucre on Magazine Street, religions of the world, folk art, fried food, honesty, the strength people of post-Katrina New Orleans show, the sounds of a fiddle, The Blue Dog by George Rodrigue, murky bayous, Bollywood movies, skylines, love, the works of Adrian Fulton, the stories of the elderly, Tolstoy, open mic night at the local art bar, blogging
