Local photographer Cheryl Gerber will discuss her new book The Danse Macabre: Celebration and Survival in New Orleans, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May `5, at the Old Metairie Library, 2350 Metairie Road, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

The Danse Macabre reveals the city’s rebellious and humorous spirit, which celebrates life in the face of disaster and death. In this street-level tableau of New Orleans culture, photographer Cheryl Gerber portrays the city’s rich and famous while paying homage to the everyday people who make life so special in her hometown. Colorful shots of Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, second lines, and other iconic arrays of New Orleans culture are juxtaposed with images of the homelessness, crime, and racism that are equally central to life in the Crescent City. Within these pages we find Southern Decadence revelers clashing with religious protesters, Catholic traditions merging with Voodoo, and New Orleanians from all walks of life expressing themselves through satire and parody.

Cheryl Gerber is an award-winning documentary photographer and New Orleans native. She has been a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Associated Press, New Orleans Magazine, and Gambit for more than 25 years. She is the author of New Orleans: Life and Death in the Big Easy and Cherchez la Femme: New Orleans Women.

Gerber has won several awards from the New Orleans Press Club for her work on social issues and news photography.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.