fieldwork
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Kentucky Breakdown: Smoke Signals (1/3)
This is a tragi-comic story that begins in King City, California in 2019 and ends with me alone and desperately stranded on the shoulder of a busy-yet-remote Kentucky highway, less than an hour from Cincy, with smoke pouring from a sizzling, popping trailer wheel hub. But let’s back up. After 35 years I’m leaving my…
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Al Sunseri and the Oldest Oysters in America
Yesterday I talked to Al Sunseri, third-generation owner of P&J Oyster Company, the oldest continually operating oyster dealer in the U.S., in business since 1876 and shucking oysters in the Quarter since 1921. We talked about the full arc of New Orleans’ oyster story—from 19th century canals to seasonal availability, to the shift in class…
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New Orleans Folds Space
Today started out ordinary and veered straight into uncanny. I sat down at Honey’s, a neighborhood café I picked more or less at random, and barely had time to sip my coffee when Hayden—yes, that Hayden—walked in like it was the most natural thing in the world. We met over a month ago, hundreds of…
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Are We Going To Die on the Sacramento River?
There are a few things that worry me. Because of the very wet California winter, water levels are high and I’ve heard flow rates are intense. Additionally, the Sacramento River is full of hazards including snags, sweepers, strainers, rocks, stump fields, and eddies.
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2015 Summer Voyage on Upper Mississippi
Starting in late June, the Secret History shantyboat will be back on the Upper Mississippi River for a series of exhibitions and an entire summer of fieldwork gathering river stories.
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An Intense Winter Fieldwork Trip
Tomorrow I am leaving for Minnesota and Wisconsin for a week of intense interviewing. 14 interviews in 6 days. Along with river experts, artists, and community engagement people, I hope to be talking to Hmong, Vietnamese, African-American, and Prairie Island Indian folk who are connected with the river. Along with all my cold weather gear,…
