I have loved New Orleans since the first moment I got there. Throughout the city there resides the palpable energy of both the living and the dead. Last time I was there, I took a walking tour and discovered some pretty spooky local stories about violence, ghosts, fires, and Voodoo. 

I also learned about Marie Laveau and the services she provided: she was a dedicated practitioner of Voodoo, healer, herbalist, and entrepreneur. Laveau was also known as a prominent female religious leader and community activist. 

My narrative for this piece explores a haunting, finding a way to be healed, and an "exorcism" of sorts — a pattern that can be found in many stories about New Orleans. The work also serves as a metaphor for the patterns that we keep subconsciously replaying in our own lives, and the hope that we can love ourselves enough to finally conquer the demons that haunt us. 

My deepest thanks to Hub New Music for asking me to write this work in honor of their 10th anniversary.

– Jessica Meyer

Commissioned by The Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College and Hub New Music with additional support from the Cheswatyr Foundation