The Sweet Briar College Writers Series opens Tuesday, March 7, with a timely visit from writer Tom Piazza, author of the newly released “Why New Orleans Matters.” Piazza – an award-winning writer and resident of New Orleans – will read from his book at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, in the Wailes Lounge of the Florence Elston Conference Center.

Author Tom Piazza.A native of Long Island, N.Y., Piazza’s passion for his adopted hometown compelled him to finish his book in a matter of weeks when Katrina was still monopolizing the front-page news. While taking refuge in Missouri and “going a little crazy,” watching the TV coverage, Piazza said he was inspired to write about the city he calls a “small model of all the best of America.”

In “Why New Orleans Matters” Piazza explores the spirit of his beloved New Orleans in the aftermath of the hurricane. Not only does he write of the people and culture struggling to rise above the floodwaters and destruction, he exposes strong undercurrents of racism, corruption and injustice that challenge the city’s soul. “That spirit is in terrible jeopardy right now,” Piazza writes. “If it dies, something precious and profound will go out of the world forever.”

John Gregory Brown, SBC English professor and New Orleans native, concurred, calling Piazza’s book an “informative, engaging and often moving account of the historical, social and cultural value of the city of New Orleans. … It serves as an invaluable reminder of all that would be lost if this remarkable and diverse city were not rebuilt.”

Piazza is the author of seven books, including “My Cold War,” which received the Faulkner Society Award and was named one of the year’s best books by the “San Francisco Chronicle.” His collection of short stories, “Blues and Trouble,” won the James Michener Award for Fiction. Of Piazza, who is also a well-known music writer, Bob Dylan wrote, “[His] writing pulses with nervous electrical tension – reveals the emotions that we can’t define.”

As a music writer, Piazza won a 2004 Grammy Award for album notes written for “Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey.” He also authored “The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz,” “Understanding Jazz” and “Adventures with the King of Bluegrass,” a book about maverick bluegrass man Jimmy Martin.

Poet Thomas Sayers Ellis.The series continues on Thursday, March 23, with poet Thomas Sayers Ellis. An associate professor of English at Case Western University and co-founder of the Dark Room Collective, Ellis was a 2005 recipient of a $40,000 Whiting Writers Award.

Describing his work, SBC associate professor of English Janet Sylvester said, “To read him, or to hear him at work, is to be made immediately aware of the age-old, frontier-opening possibilities of the art.”

Ellis grew up in Washington, D.C., hanging out at go-go clubs, one of which – the Maverick Room – he immortalized in the title of his recently released book of poetry. Inspired by his days in the District, Ellis’ poetry is “cutting edge, brilliant and down-home, all at once,” Sylvester said.

Sylvester further described Ellis as a “master of music, drawing his lines, as [famed African-American poet] Michael Harper says, out of the rhythms of ‘neighborhood and native speech.’ ”

Ellis’ work has appeared in numerous publications including, “The American Poetry Review,” “Best American Poetry (1997 and 2001),” “Boston Book Review” and “Giant Steps: The New Generation of African American Writers,” among others.

Author J.C. Hallman.The series wraps up on Wednesday, April 5, with Sweet Briar’s own J.C. Hallman. Hallman is the Margaret Banister Writer-in-Residence at Sweet Briar and the author of two books, “The Chess Artist: Genius, Obsession, and the World’s Oldest Game” and “The Devil is a Gentleman: Exploring America’s Religious Fringe.”

Published by St. Martin’s Press, “The Chess Artist” chronicles Hallman’s adventures in the chess subculture. “The Devil is a Gentleman,” to be published by Random House in May, details another journey, this time through a wide range of contemporary religious movements. At the reading, Hallman – a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars – will share excerpts from his most recent book.

Following each reading, there will be a reception and book signing. All events in the series are free and open to the public, and will be held at 8 p.m. in the Wailes Lounge of the Florence Elston Inn and Conference Center. The series is sponsored by the Sweet Briar College Creative Writing Program. For more information, contact John Gregory Brown at 381-6434 or brown@sbc.edu .


– By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer