Brent Hendricks’s memoir, A Long Day at the End of the World, is representative of that venerable genre, the Southern Gothic. But it also participates in an even older tradition, as old as the Book of Lamentations: crying out in grief and anger in the face of loss.

Over the past decade, New Orleans has had a violent crime rate that is five to six times higher than the national average. The documentary Shell Shocked, directed by John Richie, aims to shed light on the cycle of violence in New Orleans and to present ideas, opinions, and testimonies from people on all sides of the issue.

In a charming new short video, Hayley Gaberlavage, a painter in New Orleans, explains her philosophy and process.

The O, Miami Poetry Festival began April 1st and continues for the rest of this month. The goal, in short, is to deliver poetry to the more than 2.6 million residents of Miami-Dade County during the month of April (National Poetry Month)

The documentary filmmaker Les Blank—responsible for such titles as A Poem is a Naked Person, A Well Spent Life, and In Heaven There is No Beer?—died Sunday at age seventy-seve