Offline
Growing up on Williams Boulevard inspired Sheryl St. Germain's 20-year career in poetry
"I've had my crawfish and oysters, so I know I'm home," said Sheryl St. Germain, inviting visitors into the house where she grew up on Williams Boulevard.
That house is the last family residence on this busy commercial throughway, but it was St. Germain's home from the time she was 5 until she left for college in Hammond. Now, her mother, Myrl St. Germain, makes a stubborn stand there, the lone holdout among the grocery stores and offices, Starbucks and banks.
St. Germain poses for a photograph at her childhood stomping ground, the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
"Nothing was here then," she said, gesturing to the nearby casino.
St. Germain attended Grace King High School when it was an all-girls' school, worked at the nearby Woolco, graduated early and went to Southeastern Louisiana University, where she began her writing studies in earnest.
Novelist Tim Gautreaux taught her poetry and told her, "Somebody should write about Kenner."
And she has.
Growing up on Williams Boulevard inspired Sheryl St. Germain's 20-year career in poetry - Susan Larson - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
"I've had my crawfish and oysters, so I know I'm home," said Sheryl St. Germain, inviting visitors into the house where she grew up on Williams Boulevard.
That house is the last family residence on this busy commercial throughway, but it was St. Germain's home from the time she was 5 until she left for college in Hammond. Now, her mother, Myrl St. Germain, makes a stubborn stand there, the lone holdout among the grocery stores and offices, Starbucks and banks.
St. Germain poses for a photograph at her childhood stomping ground, the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
"Nothing was here then," she said, gesturing to the nearby casino.
St. Germain attended Grace King High School when it was an all-girls' school, worked at the nearby Woolco, graduated early and went to Southeastern Louisiana University, where she began her writing studies in earnest.
Novelist Tim Gautreaux taught her poetry and told her, "Somebody should write about Kenner."
And she has.
Growing up on Williams Boulevard inspired Sheryl St. Germain's 20-year career in poetry - Susan Larson - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com