We're live, and kicking!

Welcome to CultureGulf, "a digest of arts and cultural journalism related to the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast."

Some of you may already be thinking, Hmm, good idea -- but why now?

For about a year after Katrina, most of my conversations with people outside of Louisiana began with the question: "What's it like there?" Although I always tried to explain, it was almost impossible -- there was no short answer (although "manic-depression" came close), and most people, no matter how genuine their concern, didn't have time for the long answer.

But I've noticed in the last six months or so that people have stopped asking the question altogether. And yet it feels more important then ever to try and provide an answer -- to try and explain the extreme highs and lows that come with living here and watching everyone around you struggle, and yet still be able to eat too much at a fantastic new restauarant, or listen too long to a 12-piece brass band at a favorite old haunt, or stroll through the open galleries of many local artists who have determined that's there is no other place they'd rather be. As challenging and as frustrating as it is to be here sometimes, the process by which *an entire region* is rebuilding itself -- not just physically, but spiritually and culturally as well -- is a fascinating one to witness.

Although I won't hesitate to highlight the bad news here -- and believe me, there's always more of it -- I'll also consider it my duty to commit occasional acts optimism here, even if it sometimes defies rational thinking. As Bob Dylan wrote in his memoir, "I like a lot of places, but I like New Orleans better." Enough said. For now.