Denison's Beck Lecture Series will host Tom Piazza, award-winning author ofWhy New Orleans Matters, for a reading of his fiction and nonfiction works at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (April 5) in the Barney Davis Board Room. A book signing will follow. The reading is free and open to the public.

InWhy New Orleans Matters, Piazza, a resident of the city, illuminates the storied culture and uncertain future of the city that gave America jazz music and Creole cooking. Exploring the hidden contours of familiar traditions like Mardi Gras, Piazza also discusses the undercurrents of corruption, racism, and injustice in ravaged New Orleans. Piazza will visit classes in both the English department and the music department, which are co-sponsoring his visit.

Known both for his fiction and his essays on music, Tom Piazza's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Oxford American, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, The Village Voice, The Quarterly, Story, and American Short Fiction. His books include the novelMy Cold War; Understanding Jazz: Ways to Listen; the short story collectionBlues and Trouble, which won the James Michener Award for Fiction; andThe Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz, which won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for Music Writing. His bookAdventures With the King of Bluegrass, a portrait of bluegrass legend Jimmy Martin, was a finalist for the Ralph J. Gleason Award. His most recent work is the post-KatrinaWhy New Orleans Matters.

Piazza is a graduate of Williams College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Reading by New Orleans author Tom Piazza with book signing to follow; 8 p.m., Wednesday (April 5), Barney Davis Board Room (200 West Loop). Free and open to the public. Contact 740-587-6207.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575