Belle Perdue
Dispatch from the General Store
A letter from our near-future, post-AI world—where Main Street is back, the internet is quiet, and the hardware store sells lemonade by the quart.
Letters from the Archives
2025
Two Truths and a Coastline: Chevron's Verdict, Seen Both Ways
Chevron’s verdict might be a turning point—or just another delay in a long line of them. One writer sees it as too little, too late. Another sees the start of something real.
Letters from the Archives
In Praise of Steam and Spirit: A Gentleman’s Reply to ‘Men Are But Children Grown’ (1853alt)
A fictional letter from 1853alt Baton Rouge responds to a lady’s sharp critique of steamboat racing. Dignity, steam, and a hint of bruised pride.
Society of the Vis-à-Vis
A Fractured Nest: The 1913alt Egg Boycott Divides the Society of the Vis-à-Vis
Two fictional letters from 1913alt debate the Housewives’ egg boycott with equal parts wit and indignation. Mayonnaise, morals, and meringues are on the line.
Letters from the Archives
A Lady Responds to 'Hawkeye': Sarah Louviere Challenges Gender Norms in 1873alt Louisiana
In this fictional response to an 1853 editorial, Sarah Louviere challenges the idea that girls are born neat and boys wild. Mud, hammers, and freedom ensue.
Society of the Vis-à-Vis
Opposition Letter: A Lady of Baton Rouge Denounces the New Society Section (1873alt)
In this 1873alt satire, a woman of “breeding” protests the rise of civic equality—before being flattened by poetic justice in the form of a horse.
1890alt
From the Sugar Rows to the Statehouse: Bernard Babtiste on Black Leadership in 1896alt Louisiana
In this 1896alt editorial, freedman Bernard Babtiste defends Black political legacy in Louisiana, remembering the years when they governed—and built.