Show and Tell

In 2006, a college professor found herself teaching freshmen composition students during the fall semester at Xavier University of Louisiana. This in itself was not unusual; what was different was that this "fall" semester was starting in January, thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Whether an out-of-towner who rode out the storm on campus or a New Orleans native who lost everything to the disaster, each student had been affected in some way, as had their still-shaken professor who was aware that, in time, not only would the shock wear off but the all-important memories and stories would fade. The students were encouraged throughout the course to write about the disaster from a variety of angles: finding out about the storm; evacuating; filling the time created when the fall semester was put on hold; and coming back to the ruined city and damaged campus. Throughout the semester Laborde, herself a creative non-fiction writer, shared her writing and her photographs (most taken in her recovery work as an Exterior Damage Assessor for the City of New Orleans) in order to encourage students to share their own observations and experiences in the form of journal entries and essays.

This essay includes sections of Laborde's essays that were published in other publications, as well as passages by her students.