Mystick Krewe of Swan Songs is a meta-farce about New Orleans limning its unique culture and characters, rituals and customs, particularly with regard to the long, slow dance of Eros and Thanatos. Structured in the form of the krewe’s debuting Mardi Gras parade that takes place on February 15, 2014, it lines up on the neutral ground of the newly named Angela Davis Parkway (formerly honoring the president of the Confederacy). The floats, flat boats powered by giant swans with mechanical feet that allow them to move on land until they reach Bayou St. Jean, will enter the water and make their way toward Lake Pontchartrain. But first, “Curriculum Chairs,” well-known locals with impressive bona fides in academe, provide brief lectures and commentary to illuminate the observer, particularly those unfamiliar with our terrain and ways, so that the five Tableaux Vivants that follow may be more easily understood. In addition to over 500 endnotes provided for exegesis, a series of appendices contain recipes donated by the characters themselves,  the full text of a lecture given by one character, and an embroidery pattern for the Vulvate Madonna. Not recommended for persons missing the satire gene, which is located on the fo’teenth chromosome.