The Blood-Jet Writing Hour hosted by Rachelle Cruz

Join Rachelle as she talks to Dick Lourie Dick Lourie is a poet and blues saxophone player whose most recent book of poems, If the Delta Was the Sea (Hanging Loose 2009), is the product of both professions. Focusing on Clarksdale, a small city in the Mississippi Delta, this collection draws on oral histories and interviews Lourie conducted with Clarksdale residents, as they tell of their own lives, the town’s history, and racial relations today, along with Lourie’s experiences playing blues with local musicians in the city’s juke joints and annual festivals. If the Delta Was the Sea is Lourie’s seventh book of poetry. His previous works include Ghost Radio (1998), Anima (1980), and Stumbling (1973). Dick Lourie’s readings feature a lively blend of music and poetry, interweaving the spoken word with music recorded by his blues band and live performance on his sax.