Dave Griffith, who teaches creative writing at Sweet Briar College, will serve on a panel for the upcoming “Virginia Festival of the Book,” March 26 to 30 in Charlottesville.

Dave GriffithThe panel discussion, “Depravity, Upheaval and the ‘Good War’ ”, will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, March 28 at Second Street Gallery, located at 115 Second Street S.E. in Charlottesville. The discussion will be preceded by a reception at 5 p.m.

Admission is free.

The event is co-sponsored by the gallery and Sweet Briar’s neighbor, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

In addition to Griffith, the panel includes moderator William Cleveland, an author and activist; visual artist Sandow Birk of Los Angeles, and VCCA fellow and award-winning composer Judith Shatin.

Griffith, also a VCCA fellow, is the author of “A Good War is Hard to Find: The Art of Violence in America.” The book was written in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and examines America’s love-hate relationship with violence.

He has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also was awarded the Scott Turow prize.

For more information about this event, visit the Virginia Festival of the Book Web site.