Narrative, Trauma and the Muse: Fury Sounds Off in Fiction
Publication information:
Abstract
True New Orleanians don’t call their home “The Big Easy”. Certainly not post Katrina and the levee debacle. Trained in the 1980’s to be a social worker at Charity Hospital in “ the city that care forgot” has meant seeing the effects of inter-generational trauma through centuries of injustice and abuse. A healer offers a safe space for survivors to express their grief. But how to keep being of service without becoming jaded or bitter? I finally found the Muse. And the Muse does care, inspiring a vibrant culture of art and music. After all, New Orleans is the home of Jazz funerals and celebrations of life. I will share excerpts of fiction the Muse has given me to continue to bear witness despite the heartache and the fury. The Muse has comforted and empowered me to see art as advocacy, bringing me home, right where I belong.
Presenter Biography
Isabella Christodoulou, graduate of Barnard College, Tulane School of Social Work and Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute is a licensed clinical social worker. She has devoted her career to vulnerable populations in New Orleans, London and New York City. She writes fiction and is a member of NOLA playback Theatre.