8/14/2023 0 Comments Menu new orleans food and spirits![]() ![]() In the book, Crayton begins to use the powers he’s unwittingly collected for dark purposes, and he becomes consumed with the power he has stumbled upon, which raises the suspicions of his friends. But the average follower of voodoo is just as religious in a positive, hopeful way in their relationship with God or the spirits or whatever, as a Christian is.” There are people who use it for dark purposes. ![]() “Like anything else, there’s a dark aspect. “Voodoo is a real religion with a system of gods and spirits, and they wanted to continue to practice their own religion,” he said. It became something that people would come to watch. A sort of deal was arranged wherein they incorporated some elements of Catholicism into their theology and were allowed to gather in Congo Square north of the French Quarter on Sundays to practice voodoo, perform rituals and dance. Koster explained that New Orleans is associated with voodoo in part because when slaves were brought over to the U.S., there was a big effort to convert them to Catholicism. “I’ve always been into dark stuff like horror movies,” Koster. Koster handles a delicate subject - voodoo - well, delicately. Odd things start to happen, but there’s more to it than your typical “wacky hijinks ensue.” Crayton inadvertently integrates himself into a voodoo sect when he disturbs a ritual while doing a favor. “Gris-Gris Gumbo” centers around two friends in the city in their mid-20s - Crayton and Green. It sounds romantic, but there is a rhythm to that town. From the time I was a kid, I was just kind of under its spell,” he said. “My parents would take us to New Orleans on vacations, which is not what most families would do, I don’t think,” Koster said.Ī trip down Bourbon Street to see Al Hirt play trumpet as a 13-year-old still stays with the native Texan. His feelings for the city go back a ways. Koster’s first book, “Texas Music,” a non-fiction historical account of the very title subject, was followed a few years later by “Louisiana Music,” and he spent a lot of time in New Orleans researching the latter. From the Neville Brothers to the Saints and go-cups, “Gris\-Gris Gumbo” is very much a book of and about New Orleans. The book is set in New Orleans, and the city oozes off of every page. You know what gris-gris is.’ She said, ‘I want people to ask what it is. When JournalStone said they wanted this, the first thing I said was, ‘Should we change the title of it?’ Scarlett (Algee, JournalStone managing editor) said, ‘I like it.’ I said, ‘You’re from the South. “I have a whole list somewhere of alternate names,” Koster said. Gris-gris is a voodoo spell or curse, but most folks can’t pronounce it or have never heard of it, especially if they’re not from New Orleans or the South. He sent it to JournalStone, a small horror publishing house, the week of Halloween 2021. “That it’s published is a total surprise to me.”īack then, Koster tried to sell it, came close a couple of times, published another novel (“Poppin’ a Cold One”), and would still occasionally send his voodoo book out to open submissions. “I gave up on ‘Gris-Gris Gumbo’ 20 years ago,” he said. What many may not know is Koster is also a novelist, whose latest, “Gris-Gris Gumbo,” a tale of voodoo gone awry among friends in pre-Katrina New Orleans, is out now, 20 years after it was first written. ![]() To me and to most folks who know him, he’s Koster: Somewhat zany, whip smart, thoughtful, and as affable and approachable a fellow as I’ve ever met. To many longtime readers of The Day, Rick Koster is your friendly neighborhood food critic/arts and music writer, a familiar face around town, at a concert or restaurant. ![]()
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