City of Hey Baby

<p><strong>Patrice Melnick</strong>'s latest collection is a Dear John letter to her old lover New Orleans. Amidst brown scum waterlines and refrigerators taped shut like rancid clams her post-Katrina speaker recalls the good times of the broken relationship. Many writers have conveyed the sights or tastes of the city but Melnick excels at capturing its smells sounds and sweaty skin-feels. The <em>City of Hey Baby </em>is also the City of Can't Forget You Baby this collection makes wonderfully clear.</p><p><strong> -Julie Kane</strong></p><p><br></p><p>In <em>City of Hey Baby</em> <strong>Patrice Melnick</strong> captures and celebrates the heart and soul of post-Katrina New Orleans from the trials endurance and rebirth of human spirit to the music and cuisine that flood waters could not destroy. With nuance and detail that only a lover of the city can see Melnick patiently and artfully stitches patches of images feelings and reflections into a patchwork that is uniquely New Orleans and worth cuddling with.</p><p><strong> -John Warner Smith</strong> State Poet Laureate of Louisiana</p>