Here is an excerpt of Wolfe's writing entitled, "New Orleans -- River."
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And he looked upon
The huge yellow snake of the river,
Dreaming of its distant shores,
The myriad estuaries
Lush with tropical growth that fed it,
All the romantic life
Of plantation and canefields that fringed it,
Of slow lights on the gilded river-boat,
And the perfumed flesh of black-haired women... (1)
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1. Wolfe, Thomas. A Stone, A Leaf, A door: Poems. New York: Macmillan. 1945. 65.
Questions:
Does Wolfe's poem still speak to us about New Orleans -- how it was, and how it is now?
How differently would Wolfe's work be executed if he were writing today?
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