Poems for New Orleans begins by tracing events in the Crescent City’s early history, such as the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and its rise in the 19th century as an important trading centre, but much of the book’s focus is on the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 and the storm’s calamitous aftermath, when government at all levels failed to alleviate the suffering of victims, through ineptitude, malice, indifference and greed. The narratives in the book tell a series of interconnected stories, past and present, which seeks to discover the essence of New Orleans.At the core of the book is the multi-century story of the Lebage family, of Haitian origin, beginning with Lemoine Lebage, who fought with Andrew Jackson’s forces in the Battle of New Orleans and then set down roots in New Orleans, and extending to five generations later, when Grace Lebage, a singer and poet, struggles to restore her life in the Crescent City after Hurricane Katrina has wrecked her ancestral home. Although the enormous and unfinished tragedy of Katrina suffuses Poems for New Orleans , its words shine forth in celebration of a great American city that reveals its indomitability, its creativity, its sense of humour and good times, and its multicultural vitality and beauty in the face of every adversity and setback.