Voodoo In New Orleans.

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This is one of the books I used for inspiration for the background of my Quentin character. I found this really useful to learn about New Orleans Voodoo and the myths and folklore that surround it. I also found this useful to get a sense of the smells and aromas in the new orleans streets. When telling a story I like to be descriptive and give the reader a sense of the environment. Because this was a short story and I had never experienced the place for my self, I thought I would look at a collection of books and short stories from descriptive writers that could help me with my story. 

This book is so beautifully written and so descriptive that you feel like you are there with him.

'The white man will never forget the smells of south Rampart Street: Stale beer and whiskey, oyster barrels too long in the hot sun, hamburgers-with-onions frying on griddles at open windows, a musky mingling of perspiration and cheap perfume and the curious oder of incense that lingers at some doorways.' Robert Tallant, Voodoo in New Orleans.

You can smell whats cooking and feel the warmth of the weather. You can also sense the year the book was written or when it was set, just by the language and its also very apparent that when this book was written there was a lot of racial segregation and conflicting dynamics happening. I found this really interesting and have lightly referenced this when talking about Quentin's mother and father and their relationship. I feel that by doing this I have given an idea of the age of Quentin and when he would have been turned. With out outright saying it. 

In the book it talks about the birth of voodoo from slavery. It talks about its beginning and what sort of rituals took place. You get a sense of how Voodoo was seen by the authority and how secretive it had to be, in order to keep it alive. Sometimes the rituals were dangerous and dark but they created them to feel safe. To give them a sense of power. Finding this book has given me a better understanding of the history and I feel it is great research for my short story and character development.

Reference: Robert Tallant, (1983) Voodoo in New Orleans, 2, New Orleans, Pelican Publishing.