Gumbo Ya-Ya gathers Louisiana folktales, legends, and customs collected by Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant through the WPA’s Louisiana Writers’ Program.
This anniversary edition contains the complete text of the original 1945 printing. Garlic hangs from the rafters, the Loup Garou holds a convention on Bayou Goula, spiders dwell in haunted houses, and images of St. Rosalia are carried from church to church. Ghosts haunt these pages, too, including the headless horseman of Natchitoches and the whimsical apparition who startled the citizens of Monroe. Together, these stories form a portrait of the traditions and practices woven through Louisiana society.
Lyle Saxon (1891–1946) was a central figure in Louisiana’s literary community during the 1920s and 1930s, widely known as a raconteur and bon vivant. Called “Mr. New Orleans” and the “dean of New Orleans writers,” he published scores of articles and short stories for the Times-Picayune, four books of creative nonfiction, and one novel. He also directed the Louisiana branch of the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal program overseen by the Works Progress Administration. A longtime French Quarter resident, Saxon advocated preserving the neighborhood’s historic homes and encouraged writers and artists to live, work, and visit there, helping spark a cultural renaissance.
Edward Dreyer served as assistant state director of the Louisiana Writers’ Project under the Louisiana State Library and the WPA. As a young man in the 1940s, he traveled around the state collecting folktales.
Robert Tallant (1909–1957), a New Orleans native educated in the city’s public schools, worked as an advertising copywriter, bank teller, and clerk before becoming one of Louisiana’s best-known twentieth-century authors. His friendship with Saxon led to an editorial position with the Louisiana WPA Writers’ Project during the 1930s and 1940s, where he co-authored this collection. Over the eleven years following 1948, Tallant produced eight novels, six full-length nonfiction works, and numerous short stories and articles on local subjects. In his later years, he lectured in English at Newcomb College and reported for the New Orleans Item.
- Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant, authors
- Published November 2, 2015
- Paperback
- 584 pages
- 25 images
- 5.8 in. wide
- Published by Pelican Publishing
Gumbo Ya-Ya gathers Louisiana folktales, legends, and customs collected by Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant through the WPA’s Louisiana Writers’ Program.
This anniversary edition contains the complete text of the original 1945 printing. Garlic hangs from the rafters, the Loup Garou holds a convention on Bayou Goula, spiders dwell in haunted houses, and images of St. Rosalia are carried from church to church. Ghosts haunt these pages, too, including the headless horseman of Natchitoches and the whimsical apparition who startled the citizens of Monroe. Together, these stories form a portrait of the traditions and practices woven through Louisiana society.
Lyle Saxon (1891–1946) was a central figure in Louisiana’s literary community during the 1920s and 1930s, widely known as a raconteur and bon vivant. Called “Mr. New Orleans” and the “dean of New Orleans writers,” he published scores of articles and short stories for the Times-Picayune, four books of creative nonfiction, and one novel. He also directed the Louisiana branch of the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal program overseen by the Works Progress Administration. A longtime French Quarter resident, Saxon advocated preserving the neighborhood’s historic homes and encouraged writers and artists to live, work, and visit there, helping spark a cultural renaissance.
Edward Dreyer served as assistant state director of the Louisiana Writers’ Project under the Louisiana State Library and the WPA. As a young man in the 1940s, he traveled around the state collecting folktales.
Robert Tallant (1909–1957), a New Orleans native educated in the city’s public schools, worked as an advertising copywriter, bank teller, and clerk before becoming one of Louisiana’s best-known twentieth-century authors. His friendship with Saxon led to an editorial position with the Louisiana WPA Writers’ Project during the 1930s and 1940s, where he co-authored this collection. Over the eleven years following 1948, Tallant produced eight novels, six full-length nonfiction works, and numerous short stories and articles on local subjects. In his later years, he lectured in English at Newcomb College and reported for the New Orleans Item.
- Lyle Saxon, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant, authors
- Published November 2, 2015
- Paperback
- 584 pages
- 25 images
- 5.8 in. wide
- Published by Pelican Publishing