Remembering Raymond Myles (WritingJunkie.net)

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"Border Song (Holy Moses)"
by Raymond Myles

I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of the St. Bernard Housing Project of the Seventh Ward in New Orleans, LA, aka Death City/Sin City/City of the Dead. During the 7th and 8th grades, I attended Phillips Junior High School. It was there that I met Raymond Myles, who was obviously gifted even back then. Unlike me, Raymond did not live on the outskirts of The St. Bernard but in it as did most our Phillips classmates. Yet we were both outsiders.

I was teased for being fat and talking proper. The girls in particular loathed me. Raymond was teased for being a "fat sissy." He hung around me a lot. I always liked him. We lost touch when I left Phillips to attend a private boarding school on scholarship in Richmond, VA, that aspired to integrate its exclusive ranks. I saw him perform at a brunch in New Orleans shortly before he was murdered. Didn't really get to say hello. A crowd of admirers swarmed him.

............................................................ Nordette

From Louisiana Music Archive: Gone But Not Forgotten, 1998
Raymond Anthony Myles (murdered 10/11/98; age 41)

Gospel music prodigy recorded his first hit at age 12 and went on to record several acclaimed albums; Myles performed all over the world with virtually every big name artist in Gospel including Al Green, Shirley Caesar, Patti LaBelle, and Aretha Franklin; also see this profile from OffBeat Magazine.

"The narrative (of the book Outgunned: Up Against the NRA) begins in New Orleans with the 1998 murder of gospel singer Raymond Myles. Myles, a local legend, was shot and robbed while driving home at night. The weapon that killed him was the pistol he carried for self-defense. The city's mayor, Marc Morial, was shaken by the death and angered by political deadlock over guns. He turned to attorney Wendell Gauthier for a fresh approach." ~~from a book review by The LA Times' Thom Powers

The Goddess and
The Skylark
Dancing Through the
Word Labyrinth

Links

"Fourth Anniversary of Katrina: We'll Still Here", August 2009

"Gaining Yardage"

"Behind the Color Blind"

"Oil"

"Poets Hurricane Katrina Anniversary Poem Published"

*Nordette Adams is not affiliated with the movie in production and promoted at the RaymondMylesMovie website, which was created in 2008, but she endorses the project completely.