For writers, the French Quarter is a dream. This quirky neighborhood is filled with eccentric characters, intriguing secrets, fascinating stories, and some amazing history. The place is literally dripping with inspiration. I’ve written several books on the history of New Orleans and hundreds of articles as a columnist for Ambush Magazine and French Quarter Journal.
Publications
Here are some of my previous publications:
BOOKS
In Exile: The Story of Cafe Lafitte. Forthcoming from LSU Press.
The Rainbow Fleur de Lis: Essays on Queer New Orleans History. Forthcoming from the University Press of Mississippi.
Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2022.
Southern Decadence in New Orleans. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2018. (With Howard Smith)
My Gay New Orleans, Editor. Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2016. (With Jeffrey Palmquist)
Treasures of the Vieux Carre: Ten Self-Guided Tours of the French Quarter. Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2014.
In Exile: The History and Lore Surrounding New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Oldest Gay Bar. Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2012. (With Jeffrey Palmquist)
That Chameleon Time: Reflections in Verse and Tale. Fort Worth, TX: Franklin Publishing Co., 2004.
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
Foreward. Kingian Nonviolence Frameworks Training Manual: Empowering Movements for Change. Joseph Santiago, et al. Crown House Productions, 2023.
“On New Orleans and Its LGBTQ Community: A Microcosm.” In Grabbing Tea: Conversations in Queer Librarianship. Eds. Shawn Smith-Cruz and Sara Howard. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press, 2024.
“The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana: A Community Organizing Success Story.” In Queering Education in the Deep South. Kamden K. Strunk, Ed. Charlette, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2018.
“Re-Reading Langston Hughes: Rhetorical Pedagogy in ‘Theme for English B’.” In Re-Envisioning the Harlem Renaissance. Eds., Australia Tarver and Paula Barnes. Madison: Farleigh-Dickinson Press, 2006.
“A Formalist Analysis of ‘Richard Cory’.” In Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism by Ann Dobie. Heinle & Heinle, 2001.
REGULAR COLUMNS
“History is Queer.” Regular column in yazzqueen 2022-Present.
“Rainbow History”. Regular column in French Quarter Journal. 2019–Present.
“Replacing the Up Stairs Lounge Fire Plaque.” FQJ. July 2024.
“The Faerie Playhouse on Esplanade.” FQJ. May 2024.
“Otis Fennell: Mayor of Frenchmen Street.” FQJ. April, 2024.
“Three Decades of Activism, One New Riverfront Park.” FQJ. April, 2024.
“The Vibrant Life and Designs of San Nicholas.” FQJ. January, 2024.
“When the Courtroom Cheered: A Mid-Century Miscarriage of Justice.” FQJ. November, 2023.
“A Gay Couple’s Notable Influence on the French Quarter.” FQJ. September, 2023.
“Bill Rushton: Journalist and Activist, Part One.” FQJ. August, 2023.
“Bill Rushton: Journalist and Activist, Part Two.” FQJ. September, 2023.
“Digging In at Madame John’s Legacy.” FQJ. July, 2023.
“The Tattooed Arm and the Natchez Massacre.” FQJ. July 7, 2023.
“Ferris LeBlanc and the Up Stairs Lounge Fire 50 Years Later.” FQJ. June 1, 2023.
“What’s in a Name? Bulbancha and Mobilian Jargon.” FQJ. March 8, 2023.
“A Treasure Trove of Vintage Gay Mardi Gras Pictures.” FQJ. February 3, 2023.
“Go Your Own Way: The Life of Barbara Scott.” FQJ. September 12, 2019.
“Queer Eye for Preservation.” FQJ. August 12, 2019.
“Gay Letters and Desire.” FQJ. November 18, 2019.
“Dixie’s, Yuga, and Gay Carnival.” FQJ. January 26, 2020.
“The Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service.” FQJ. June 27, 2020.
“The Queer Quarter: A Moveable Feast.” FQJ. June 29, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID-19 French Quarter.” FQJ. March 22, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Two.” FQJ. March 28, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Three.” FQJ. April 5, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Four.” FQJ. April 16, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Five.” FQJ. April 25, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Six.” FQJ. May 16, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Seven.” FQJ. June 3, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Eight.” FQJ. July 8, 2020.
“A Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter–Part Nine.” FQJ. August 2, 2020.
“A Conclave of Revelers.” FQJ. December 26, 2021.
“Moments in Gay New Orleans History”. Regular column in Ambush Magazine. 2012—present. A full list of articles is here.
“Campaign Trail Reflections: What I learned Running for Office.” FQJ. January 23, 2022.
“The Quarter’s Last School May Close.” FQJ. February 21, 2022.
FICTION
“A Constellation of Memories.” Saints and Sinners Anthology. 2012.
“Hustler Court.” Saints and Sinners Anthology. 2015.
ARTICLES
“A Conversion Therapist’s Epiphany.” The Gay & Lesbian Review Blog 2023.
“Stewart Butler.” 64 Parishes Encyclopedia. March, 2023.
“Remembering Reggie.” Dallas Voice. June 3, 2022.
“A Night to Remember: A Review of Upstairs Inferno.” In The Gay and Lesbian Review. July, 2016.
“Emotional Intelligence in Hamlet.” Business Journal for Entrepreneurs. 2005.1 2005.
“The Mythic Method at Work in Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’.” Ethics and Critical Thinking Journal. 2003.4 2004.
“Rhetoric in ‘Astrophil and Stella’: Ciceronian or Ramist?” CCTE Studies 68 2003.
“Chaucer’s Clerk of Oxford: Prototype for Prufrock?” Yeats-Eliot Review 17.2 2001.
“Let’s Get Medieval on McVeigh.” National Writing Project E-Journal 1997 .
POETRY
“Ghosts of the Sacred Enclave” 67 Days of NOLA Poetic Exploration Between Here and There. Joseph Santiago, Editor. 2023.
“Between the Beach and the Bayou” Image 1999.
“Collins Ave., Miami.” Southwestern Review 1998.
“The Song of Angels.” Southwestern Review 1997.
Professional Affiliations
PEN, 2020
Authors Guild, 2020
