“WRITING KATRINA” (SPRING 2007) collection

(Mss 377)

Inventory

Earl K. Long Library

University of New Orleans

January 2012

Contents

Contents

Summary

Historical Note

Container List

Index Terms

Procedures for Requesting Special Collections Materials

Summary

Size: 0.2 linear feet

Geographic

locations: New Orleans, La.

Inclusive dates: March-April 2007

Summary: Interviews with persons who experienced Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) and/or its aftermath in the New Orleans area. Each interview file contains a transcript, related documentation, and CDs. The interviews were conducted by Eileen Guillory as an independent study under the supervision of Dr. Connie Z. Atkinson at the University of New Orleans during the Spring 2007 semester.

Related

collections: The Times-Picayune Hurricane Katrina Editions Collection (Mss 331); “Writing Katrina” (Spring 2006) Collection (Mss 332); “Writing Katrina” (Fall 2006) Collection (Mss 333)

Source: Gift, May 2007

Citation: “Writing Katrina” (Spring 2007) Collection, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

Historical Note

Hurricane Katrina was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record and the third-strongest to strike the United States. After crossing Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 25, 2005, it entered the Gulf of Mexico and, as a strong Category 3 hurricane with a Category 5 storm surge made its second landfall near Buras, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005. The heavy winds and storm surges associated with Katrina weakened the levee system that protected the city of New Orleans from flooding. Many levee failures were reported, including major breaches at the Seventeenth Street, London Avenue, and Industrial Canals, which allowed water to inundate at least eighty percent of the city. Katrina proved to be the costliest hurricane and one of the deadliest disasters in United States history.

More than eighty percent of area residents evacuated in advance of Katrina’s arrival, many did not. As the world watched in growing horror, rising floodwaters forced many to flee for their lives or to await long-delayed rescue in attics or on rooftops. The disaster had significant and enduring economic and political implications on local, state, and national levels, as well as an incalculable personal toll on the hundreds of thousands of lives it touched.

The course “Writing Katrina” introduced students to the methods and practice of collecting interviews. Students learned about interview preparation, research and technique; the nature and character of evidence; transcribing and editing interviews; and legal and ethical concerns in conducting and making available oral histories. The course stressed the documentation of recent experiences of New Orleanians during and after Hurricane Katrina. The present collection, created by Eileen Guillory as an independent study in the Spring 2007 semester, grew out of that course.

Container List

	NARRATOR	SUBJECT	INTERVIEWER	DATE
377-1	Ball, Marjorie	Effects of Katrina on the elderly, narrated by a volunteer and member of the board at St. Anna’s Residence (New Orleans); riding out the storm; evacuating; and experiences in three nursing homes across Louisiana.	Guillory, Eileen	2007-03-08
377-2	Barnes, Isabel	Effects of Katrina on the elderly, narrated by a resident of St. Anna’s Residence in New Orleans; riding out the storm; and evacuating.	Guillory, Eileen	2007-03-27
377-3	Helfrich, Leah; Moulton, Joanne	Effects of Katrina on the elderly, narrated by a resident of St. Anna’s Residence in New Orleans; riding out the storm; evacuating; and awaiting news of a family member in New Orleans, narrated by her daughter.	Guillory, Eileen	2007-04-03

Index Terms

Ball, Marjorie

Barnes, Isabel

Elderly

Guillory, Eileen

Helfrich, Leah

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Moulton, Joanne

St. Anna’s Residence (New Orleans, La.)