Here’s the first of two pieces on New Orleans-related books I’m privileged to do this month. Wendell Pierce’s memoir, The Wind in the Reeds, brings together so many threads of what makes NOLA indelible—art, grief, joy, and fidelity to what’s most improbable and necessary in the heart. I hope artists of many disciplines and backgrounds read this book. You may know Pierce from his fantastic performances on “The Wire” and “Treme.” My review is up today at Chapter 16.