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The Ballad of Louis Wagner
& Other New England Stories in Verse by
John Perrault with photographs by Peter E. Randall
The Ballad of Louis
Wagner is a riveting account of the notorious murders on
the Isles of Shoals in 1873, the ballad's 'narrator' is Louis
himself, the man convicted and hung for the crime. The man whose spirit
is doomed to relive his transgression by repeatedly telling the tale to
listeners whom fate has appointed. This collection by Portsmouth's Poet
Laureate includes Sonny's Back, the story of a Vietnam Vet
returning home to Old Town, as well as ballads on Henry David Thoreau of
Concord, the celebrated Boorn brothers of Manchester, Vermont (they
confessed to a murder they never committed), and of Portsmouth's Gerald
McLees who survived the sinking of the submarine Squalus in 1939.
Each ballad is prefaced with explanatory text and accompanied by a Peter
Randall photograph. The book contains a CD of John singing all the
ballads and songs.
From John Perrault: I've been
stumbling over the rocks and roots of Maine and New Hampshire all my
life. Stub your toe, twist your ankle, and the ground gets to you. As it
clearly gets to Peter Randall's camera. When I first saw Peter's images,
I fell right into the pictures. Now, here we are, wandering around in
the woods together. It's not that we're lost. Just detained
awhile.
About the Author John Perrault is a practicing attorney in
both Maine and New Hampshire. He teaches a course in politics and
literature at the University of New Hampshire, and American Literature
at Southern New Hampshire University. A published essayist and poet, his
work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Commonweal, Poet
Lore, Key West Review, Accent, and numerous other publications. John
has also recorded six albums of original and traditional music,
accompanying himself on guitar. He is the current poet laureate of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This is his first book. The Ballad of
Louis Wagner and Other New England Stories in Verse.
New
England. Poetry. $25.00, 6" x 9", 13 b&w photographs, 96 pages, cloth,
CD, ISBN 1-931807-18-3
Contact Information
John Perrault
P.O. Box 1211
Portsmouthh, NH 03802-1211
E-mail: rockweed@comcast.net
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