Don't It Make Ya Wanna Holler?

Prototype of the young, contemplative Stanley Kowalski

Guess what? Time to get your holler on, because the Tennessee Williams Festival, held in New Orleans, is about to commence! March 20-24, 2013. Check it out, yo: http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/

Don't you just love festivals and conferences! They inspire. They encourage. They are an opportunity to gather around watering holes and confab -- and how fab is that? Festivals have many of the ingredients employed to shake, stir and Pimp That Muse!

New Orleans is an exciting destination for fests, meet-up, assignations, and gatherings of bibliophiles and aficionados of the narrative arts. The Crescent City is home to many beloved authors, historical and contemporary, its lush atmosphere has been backdrop to diverse narrative of page, screen, and stage, and it’s host to two long-running festivals, Words and Music, and the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival.

You’re from out of town? You get to stay in a hotel -- and hotels are fun! Each New Orleans neighborhood has distinctive character, and should be visited, yet there are advantages to in staying in the French Quarter; it is central and the locus of local culture. There is a lodging for every taste and budget. Book early, accommodations fill. Consider yourself warned….Consider, for special occasions/other-people’s money: Hotel Monteleone. Moderate: Hotel St. Pierre. Budget -- youth hostels close to the Quarter.

In the Quarter you’ll want to visit Faulkner House Books, an intimate space specializing in regional tomes and proffering author readings. For gently pre-loved books, locals swear by Dauphine Street Books, Librairie, and Crescent City. On Thursday evenings, drop by the Gold Mine Saloon for the 17 Poets Reading Series.

The fashionable Marigny neighborhood, an easy stroll to Frenchman Street, leads to Faubourg Marigny Art and Books -- specializing in works for the LGBQT community. While on Frenchman, the scent of regional cooking will tempt you. Consider dining at the family run Praline Connection, then coffee at Café Rose Nicaud. Followed by jazz at Snug Harbor, The Spotted Cat, and/or D.B.A.

A visit to the enchanting New Orleans Healing Center on Saint Claude Avenue can be an event in itself. While there, slip into Maple Street Books and sojourn to Café Istanbul for music and the Youth Poetry Slam.

Take the a streetcar called Uptown to meander along Magazine Street, miles of shops and restaurants nestled in unique storefronts and houses. There you’ll find the outstanding Maple Street Books and Garden District Book Shops. Unwind in Audubon Park. On Sunday, hit the Maple Leaf Bar for the longest running poetry reading in the USA, the Everette C. Maddox Memorial Prose & Poetry Reading. Then, back to the Quarter for a stroll along the Mississippi, and late night dinner and drinks on Decatur Street. Then a visit for beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde (open 24/7), with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and shared stories.