Literary New Orleans

Thelma Toole

New Orleans native John Kennedy Toole’s iconic work “A Confederacy of Dunces” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. The story of its publication is worthy of its own book – or, in this case, podcast! This is a rare 1982 interview with Mrs. Thelma Ducoing Toole, the author’s mother. She talks with Dr. Kenneth Holditch, a friend, literary scholar and longtime professor of English at the University of New Orleans. She recounts to him the story of how, after years of trying, she was finally successful in getting her late son’s comic novel published, making it a part of New Orleans’ literary history. Thanks to the University of New Orleans for the use of this archival interview.

T.R. Johnson

T.R. Johnson is the author of the highly-acclaimed book “New Orleans: A Writer’s City.” A professor of English at Tulane University, he teaches a course on the literary history of New Orleans, which makes him the perfect person to discuss the topic with producer Peggy Scott Laborde. In the interview, the two discuss why the city is such a fertile setting for writers and talk about many of Louisiana’s famous literary figures, including Lafcadio Hearn, Kate Chopin, Grace King, Solomon Northup, Tennessee Williams and Anne Rice.

Dr. Kenneth Holditch

Literary scholar Dr. Kenneth Holditch taught at the University of New Orleans for almost three decades. He was considered one of America’s most respected scholars concerning the life and work of Tennessee Williams and works by many Southern authors. In this interview with Peggy Scott Laborde, Holditch, who died in 2022, discusses Williams and numerous writers connected to New Orleans, including Walker Percy, John Kennedy Toole and Anne Rice and also what makes New Orleans an irresistible setting for writers and their literary works.

Walter Isaacson

Internationally-known biographer and Tulane University professor Walter Isaacson was born in New Orleans. The noted American historian and journalist first came to know National Book Award winner Walker Percy when he was a student, and then as a friend. In this interview for the WYES documentary “Literary New Orleans,” he spoke with producer Peggy Scott Laborde about Percy, as well as his connection to the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “A Confederacy of Dunces,” and also some of the other writers New Orleans has influenced, as well as what makes the city such an inspiration.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Lawyer-turned author and English professor Maurice Carlos Ruffin is a New Orleans native who has written two novels along with a collection of short stories. The LSU creative writing professor and recipient of numerous awards spoke with Peggy Scott Laborde about why New Orleans has become a popular literary setting, as well as talked about some of his favorite writers and books and what influence the city has had on them – and him.