2 Books Published by Black Bayou Press on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

In this celebration of life in death, Mona Lisa Saloy captures the solemn grief, ongoing struggle, and joyous processions of New Orleans after the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. She knows the music of the neighborhood spoken and sung in affirmation of what is genuine and hopeful, as well as the despair of destruction that nature and politics heaped upon The Crescent City. Saloy’s details of down-home activities and use of local expressions convey the many cultures and voices of this unique place. In this ode to New Orleans there is joy and hope, and a passionate call to join the resilient Second Line.

Mona Lisa Saloy is the kind of poet, once you hear her read, you will never forget. On the west coast, reviewer Joyce Jenkins, editor of Poetry Flash, wrote that "Mona Lisa, named after the Nat King Cole song, has got heart, a voice, and some fine, jazzy poems." Mona Lisa Saloy is currently an Assistant Professor of English, teaching writing and literature at Dillard University in New Orleans.