William Greiner: Baton Rouge Blues
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Pink Shoe, Baton Rouge, LA, 2007 (from “Baton Rouge Blues”)
© William Greiner
William Greiner’s home was New Orleans until Katrina struck. At that point he moved with his family to Baton Rouge, about 65 miles northwest of New Orleans. In the year or so since moving, William has been trying to make sense of all this both through his photography, and also through his blog.
William wrote me an e-mail asking for my address so that he could send me something. Shortly after replying to him, I went away to Vermont for a few days — and upon returning to Boston, I already had an envelope from him. I opened it to find a pocket-sized book from him titled Baton Rouge Blues. The book mixes an essay by Brett M. Levine with William’s photographs of Baton Rouge.
The series, Baton Rouge Blues, is the product of the emotional and psychological roller coaster I have experienced living here after the storm. Anger, frustration, bewilderment, gave way to confusion, disorientation, then resignation and, finally, acceptance.
Also worth noting is William’s early color work, which you can find on his website.
Thank you, William, for the book!
March 29th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Hey Shane! Thanks for the props! I have always loved getting (snail) mail and when I was fortunate enough to have this little book published by the Uni. of Alabama in Birmingham , I decided to surprise some folks with a copy of the book. I specifically wanted people who had recognized my work or had a link about me on their sites to get one. A few folks , whom I don’t even know, will be getting surprises in the mail box! And I hope they enjoy that experience as much as I do! Cheers, Wm.
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:52 am
[...] March, William Greiner sent me a copy of his small book Baton Rouge Blues. At the time that I wrote about the book, I mentioned William’s early color work which I [...]