Since 2003, Elizabeth Coffman and Ted Hardin of Long Distance Productions have been accompanying swamp poet Martha Serpas on visits to the Mississippi Delta, documenting disappearance of Cajun culture, poetry, and the wetlands for their in-progress film “Veins in the Gulf.”
Coffman teaches communications at Loyola University Chicago and Hardin teaches film at Columbia College.
“Martha and her poetry introduced us to the dilemma of coastal land loss and the extent of the damage in the gulf,” Coffman says.
“Katrina caused extensive land loss and damage to the wetlands, particularly where the marshes already had oil canals dug through them.
The storm brought national attention to the area — primarily to New Orleans, rather than the bayou regions. The devastating loss of southern Louisiana’s bayous is not a part of the national story about Louisiana yet.”
Serpas rose to prominence with her 2006 Katrina poetry book “The Dirty Side of the Storm,” which reflected her embrace of a spiritual perspective toward ecology and the loss of natural treasures.
Coffman, and Hardin are returning to the Delta in the coming weeks to shoot the devastation.
Coffman and Hardin’s 2002 Bosnia doc “One More Mile: A Dialogue on Nation-Building,” was broadcast in Europe.
They’re holding a fundraiser in June. Details to be announced. See
