In 1963, Edwin Blair was a 26-year-old Yale University grad who had moved to New Orleans to work in the oil business. He was soon drawn into the world of French Quarter bohemians Jon and Gypsy Lou Webb, founders of Loujon Press. The husband-and-wife team were producing the now-famous literary journal, The Outsider, and had plans to publish their first book, It Catches My Heart in Its Hands, the first full-length collection of poems by Charles Bukowski.
Blair spoke with the Historic New Orleans Collection in 2012 and 2013. For this edition of NOLA Life Stories, Blair shares his memories of the Webbs and reflects on how he became an early supporter of the press.