If they are honest, anyone who has ever read a James Lee Burke novel wishes they could write that wonderfully. He can describe a place and make you taste the air there. So when I found myself in New Iberia, Louisiana, I had to find a way to get to Books Along The Teche, downtown. It is advertised at Mr. Burke’s favorite bookstore.
New Iberia is James Lee Burke’s hometown. His famous detective, Dave Robicheaux, lives here. I have read about this place for years through several novels about crime and poboys and sweaty, mysterious acts of violence. His descriptions of the place give me deja vu all over again.
Main Street is hugged on each side by big, old, columned, 100 year-old homes that look almost birthday cake-ish in their ornate architecture and detailed embellishments. Porches, so deep you could wander around them until supper, reach out as you drive by. Mossy trees bend and crook above thick St.Augustine grass and seem to hold the history of the place in their gnarled branches. The road follows the Teche River.
In the little bookstore, I discover Mr.Burke has a new book coming out. The lady in the store knows the famous writer and this makes me feel a bit closer to his words as well. As any reader of my blogs here knows, I need all the proximity to great writing I can get.
