The McFerren Plot

In this book richly varied in technique and topic which buzzes and swarms like a cloud of bumble bees, Martha McFerren, well-known New Orleans poet, presents a collection of her work from the past decade and beyond. From the double entendre of "Plot" in the title, it is alternately wry, laugh-out-loud funny, epiphanic, romantic and sharp.

It's the rare poet who speaks in a personal voice, rarer still one with an original point of view, and rarest of all a poet with both. Little Lulu rubs shoulders with Maud Gonne and Pocahontas, Helen of Troy with Francois Villon. But bees have patterns and so does McFerren. Her great topic is the elusive way the past lingers in the present. She emphasizes the mystery of it -- how we see it as a light that flickers and flits, never to be fully caught.

DVille Press proudly launches its River Poets Series with this wonderful volume that sets the bar for other Louisiana poets and their work.