Oxford American features Louisiana music in magazine
Louisiana is the focus of the annual Oxford American music issue. The Little Rock, Ark.-based magazine’s 14th annual Southern music issue includes coverage of music from Acadiana, north Louisiana and New Orleans. Alex Rawls, a former editor of the New Orleans-based Offbeat magazine, served as the issue’s guest editor.
“No one knows Louisiana music like Alex Rawls,” said Roger D. Hodge, the Oxford American’s new editor. “Music is not a mere pastime for the people of this state; it is their body and their blood and their life.”
The 152-page issue includes New Orleans writer Jason Berry’s six-page story about Professor Longhair; three new poems by Pulitzer Prize-winning Louisiana poet Yusef Komunyakaa; Chris Rose’s account of Louisiana’s foundational role in American music; “The Music of Louisiana,” a 21-part feature including close-up looks at songs performed by Professor Longhair, New Orleans singer and longtime Baton Rouge resident Johnny Adams, Shreveport singer-songwriter Margaret Lewis, Baton Rouge’s John Fred Gourrier and 17 others.