GlassHarper
07-20-02, 06:34 PM
Here is the text of a letter I have sent to the local
alternative press weekly that conducts an annual poll entitled
"The Best of New Orleans." The poll is an expanding list (now up
to a page and a half) of categories for readers to vote on, some
of which are patently absurd! Prompting this bit of
philosophizing was an article in the Times-Picayune for 7/17, on
the "cleanup" of the French Quarter which, I fear, is just the
first volley in neophyte council-person Jackie Clarkson's
campaign promise to rid the Quarter of riff raff. And she has a
history indicating that is how she perceives street performers!
The Editor
Gambit Weekly
3923 Bienville St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Dear Editor:
Its high time your "Best of New Orleans" readers' poll
include a significant category that has been ignored if not
denigrated in the past: "Best Street Performer."
This is not to demean the other vitally important categories
such as "Best Ersters on the Half Shell," (an erster's an erster
fer ah that!), or "Best Jazzland Ride," (throw more money at it,
maybe more people will magically appear!).
Admittedly I am a street performer (the Jackson Square
Glassman) and thus would appear to have an axe to grind (no pun
intended), but clearly (so to speak) street performance in New
Orleans has a two hundred year history. Not to blow my own horn
(or rub my own rim), but time and again I have had both tourists
and locals stop at my pitch and say, "This is the most
educational thing I've seen here on the street."
The closest you've come to acknowledging our rich heritage
of street performance was when an award went (most deservedly) to
David & Roselyn who won in the "Best Folk Band" category. But
there is a plethora of other deserving artists out there who are
excluded: Chris, the amazing bowling ball juggler; Tim Eric,
professional escape artist; even (shudder) Harold, the mime. And
how about the wonderful classically-trained violinist who plays
Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikowski from a darkened doorway at
night lighting up Royal Street with sweet fiddle music?
From time-to-time the city administration tries to "clean up
the French Quarter," (see Wednesday's T-P front page article).
This often has included attempts to curtail street performance
which would be a mistake of monstrous proportions. I've never
heard any tourist say: "the main reason we came to New Orleans
was to watch street entertainment." I've often heard tourists
say, in effect: "Street entertainment has made our trip here just
that much more enjoyable!"
It is time your annual poll acknowledge the important
contribution street theater makes to the ambiance of the French
Quarter!
Sincerely,
PETER BENNETT
website: www.glassharper.com (http://www.glassharper.com)
email: glassharper@hotmail.com
New Orleans, LA 70116
alternative press weekly that conducts an annual poll entitled
"The Best of New Orleans." The poll is an expanding list (now up
to a page and a half) of categories for readers to vote on, some
of which are patently absurd! Prompting this bit of
philosophizing was an article in the Times-Picayune for 7/17, on
the "cleanup" of the French Quarter which, I fear, is just the
first volley in neophyte council-person Jackie Clarkson's
campaign promise to rid the Quarter of riff raff. And she has a
history indicating that is how she perceives street performers!
The Editor
Gambit Weekly
3923 Bienville St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Dear Editor:
Its high time your "Best of New Orleans" readers' poll
include a significant category that has been ignored if not
denigrated in the past: "Best Street Performer."
This is not to demean the other vitally important categories
such as "Best Ersters on the Half Shell," (an erster's an erster
fer ah that!), or "Best Jazzland Ride," (throw more money at it,
maybe more people will magically appear!).
Admittedly I am a street performer (the Jackson Square
Glassman) and thus would appear to have an axe to grind (no pun
intended), but clearly (so to speak) street performance in New
Orleans has a two hundred year history. Not to blow my own horn
(or rub my own rim), but time and again I have had both tourists
and locals stop at my pitch and say, "This is the most
educational thing I've seen here on the street."
The closest you've come to acknowledging our rich heritage
of street performance was when an award went (most deservedly) to
David & Roselyn who won in the "Best Folk Band" category. But
there is a plethora of other deserving artists out there who are
excluded: Chris, the amazing bowling ball juggler; Tim Eric,
professional escape artist; even (shudder) Harold, the mime. And
how about the wonderful classically-trained violinist who plays
Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikowski from a darkened doorway at
night lighting up Royal Street with sweet fiddle music?
From time-to-time the city administration tries to "clean up
the French Quarter," (see Wednesday's T-P front page article).
This often has included attempts to curtail street performance
which would be a mistake of monstrous proportions. I've never
heard any tourist say: "the main reason we came to New Orleans
was to watch street entertainment." I've often heard tourists
say, in effect: "Street entertainment has made our trip here just
that much more enjoyable!"
It is time your annual poll acknowledge the important
contribution street theater makes to the ambiance of the French
Quarter!
Sincerely,
PETER BENNETT
website: www.glassharper.com (http://www.glassharper.com)
email: glassharper@hotmail.com
New Orleans, LA 70116